Two Year
Ministry Plan

We are celebrating that over the past two weekends, over 870 students and leaders attended the 24Seven and Fusion retreats at Carolina Point! These weekends were full of energy with worship, teaching, games, and time spent in reflection and community for our students.

The Authentic retreat, for our 7th and 8th graders, explored the idea of how our identity and sense of self is easily rooted in things outside of God. This weekend helped our students find where they are searching for identity, and they learned that who God has made them to be is more significant than anything they could have imagined for themselves.

The Tribe retreat, for our 5th and 6th graders, focused on how God has given us a powerful gift that we often overlook or take for granted: relationships. Students learned how family, friends, and church community provide relationships that can help build their understanding and faith in God.

In addition to teaching, worship, and small groups, students were also able to have fun together and ride go karts, participate in team sports, and enjoy lots of other activities! We are so thankful for the additional 230+ volunteers and staff who helped plan and served on these retreats on the worship team, work crew, AV, program, and more. Join us in praying that God continues to work in the hearts of these students, for the Spirit to move in conversations with their parents, and that there is growth in their lives from the seeds that were planted on these retreats.

To learn more about Grace Church Students, click below.

This past weekend, high school students from across all campuses came together for Forge Winter Weekend—385 students and 165 leaders attended! Students gathered at our Pelham campus for teaching and worship, and then they spent Friday night at their respective campuses. On Saturday, there was more teaching and small group time, and groups also had fun around the Upstate during free time.

During the sessions, guys and girls split to hear gender-specific teaching. Our boys engaged the topic of Future Men—walking through what the Bible says about the direction, calling, and confidence of being a man made in the image of God. The girls learned about the idea of Reflected—understanding what it looks like to be a generation of young women made in the image of God who have the courage to move and confidence to yield as they live on mission for him.

We are so thankful for our students’ willingness to engage challenging topics and our leaders’ willingness to pour their lives into these young people. Will you pray that God would continue to work in hearts as our students learn and grow? To learn more about Grace Students, click below.

Over Christmas break, a team of Forge students traveled to Cuba to serve with Filter of Hope—a gospel-centered organization that brings simple, live-saving water filters to families in poverty who have no access to clean water. Our teens worked with Filter of Hope and local churches in Havana, Cuba to deliver water filters to families in need, explain how to use and maintain them, and share the gospel.

These teens got to experience a new culture, meet people who are very different from them, and serve outside their comfort zone. Our students moved from being unsure of how to communicate with locals and share the gospel to feeling confident by the end of the trip. They now feel more equipped to engage in conversation and share the gospel with people in their lives. We are thankful for how they got to serve and how God is continuing to work in their hearts through this mission trip.

To learn more about Grace Church Students, click below!

We are celebrating that over the past two weekends, 449 students, along with 258 leaders and volunteers, attended the Forge retreats at Carolina Point! These weekends were full of energy and a meaningful time of worship, teaching, and community for our high school students.

The FAKE retreat, for our 11th and 12th graders, explored the idea of exposing the fake gospels in their lives and fighting to find clarity, truth, and freedom in Jesus. The Mirrors retreat allowed our 9th and 10th graders time to learn how freedom from anxiety and being self-focused comes by removing yourself from the center of your life, putting God in the center, and focusing on loving others.

In addition to teaching, worship, and small groups, students were also able to have fun and explore the lake, ride go karts, participate in tournaments, and experience the OGO ball during their free time! We are so thankful for everyone who helped plan and served on these retreats. Join us in praying that God continues to work in the hearts of these students and that there is growth in their lives from the seeds that were planted on these retreats. To learn more about Grace Church Students, click below.

This month, our Fusion and 24Seven students had the opportunity to get away for a day at Denver Downs and connect at our Fall Classic. This was a special time we carved out for students to fellowship with their small groups, sit under biblical teaching, worship together, and just have a good time. Over 600 students and 181 leaders attended, and it was a memorable time for all.

Our Fusion students (5th and 6th graders) heard teaching on Creation and the Fall, and our 24Seven students (7th and 8th graders) finished their series, Prodigal. And of course, they all enjoyed lots of fun activities at Denver Downs—a corn maze, giant slides, games, and more. We hope you will join us in praying for our students as they continue to grow this year. To learn more about Grace Students, click below.

We’re all familiar with the value of mission trips, and we often think of traveling to international destinations and serving people from a different culture. However, there is also a need for showing the love of the gospel right here in our community. Over the course of three weeks this summer, over 80 Forge students gave of their time and energy to serve with several of our local partners here in the Upstate.

Mission Upstate was born out of our partnership with Griggs Church, located in Poe Mill. In the mornings, students did service projects for several partners of Griggs Church, and in the afternoons, they ran a camp for neighborhood kids in the Poe Mill and San Souci neighborhoods.

Service partners and projects:

• Calvary First Baptist Church—students helped with their Manna Ministry, providing food for homeless or others in need.
• Salvation Army—students washed vans.
• Rebuild Upstate—one of our teams replaced the siding on a house in Poe Mill.
• The Way Outreach Center—students supported this ministry that invites the homeless to come inside, sit, read, take a shower, etc.
• Poe Mill Achievement Center—team members did yard work and played with kids in their summer program.
• Front Porch Housing—students painted doors.
• Students also did yard work and helped build a playset for a family at our Taylors campus.

While the work these students accomplished was meaningful and helpful in tangible ways, the work that God did in their hearts is key in their discipleship. Many students saw for the first time that people in our community live with significant needs, and it impacted them. In fact, some students have coordinated times to go back to serve at Manna Ministry because they realized they can make a difference right here in Greenville.

Please pray that this work would continue—both in the community and in the hearts of our students. To learn more about Grace Students, click below.

For years, both members of Grace church and individuals from our community have experienced life change through re:generation—a 12-step discipleship process oriented around life change and hope through the application of God’s Word.

In late 2020, we were excited to launch re:gen for Students with a small number of our high school students. Since then, the ministry has grown consistently, and more and more of our students are grappling with the difficult issues in their lives and experiencing positive life change. In this age of social media and constant access to information, teens face many weighty issues—pornography, anger, resistance to authority, substance abuse, anxiety, and more. We’ve been both challenged and encouraged by their willingness to confront their struggles honestly and be vulnerable in community.

While working through these issues has been hard, the rewards are already evident—both in the lives of participants and in their circles of influence. We are so thankful for our students, the leaders walking through this journey with them, and above all, a faithful God who offers hope and freedom through the gospel.

Will you join us in praying for re:gen for Students? New groups will launch this fall. If you are interested in learning more, click below.

Throughout the month of March, students from Fusion (5th-6th grade), 24Seven (7th-8th grade), and Forge (high school) got to experience retreats at Carolina Point. Over the course of four weekends, over 1,000 students and 600 leaders, staff, and volunteers participated. Along with the usual camp fun and activities, students got to hear biblical teaching and spend time discussing God’s Word in their small groups. Our Fusion students focused on the gospel through their Pivotal teaching series, and 24Seven students learned about Blueprint—God’s design for our energy, dating, and sex. Untethered was the topic for 9th and 10th graders, and they dove into what our lives look like if we are cut off from God’s family. And our 11th and 12th graders heard teaching on Secrets—Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom of Heaven.

If you know a student who attended a retreat, be sure to ask them how God worked in their life through that focused time away. We are so thankful for God’s hand on our students and their leaders, and we hope you will join us in praying for continued life change. To catch a glimpse of what retreats were like, click the video below. To hear teaching from the retreats, click below to access the Grace Resource Library.

Over the past month, hundreds of Grace students have been at Carolina Point for retreats. Each weekend, a different age group has gotten to hear God’s Word, discuss the teaching in their small groups, experience camp life, and just have fun together.

One facet of retreats that makes all this possible is Work Crew! Families and individuals from different campuses made the trip and gave up their weekend to work behind the scenes. These folks got up early and stayed up late to set tables, wash dishes, keep things clean, and in general help keep the camp running so our students could experience the retreat.

Check out these pics of some families pulling together on Work Crew to minister to our students. This is what church is all about, and we hope you will join us in prayer that students who experienced life change on the retreats would continue growing and changing more into the image of Christ!

We have staff members in both campus staff and support staff roles all over the Upstate! We want you to get to know some of them as you stay updated with what’s happening at Grace Church.

What is your job title?

I am part of our campus support team for students as the projects coordinator. I work on specialized students projects for all of our campuses.

What brought you to Grace Church?

We moved to Greenville in 2014 and had wonderful new neighbors (Hi Chavez fam!) invite us to church. We have been attending ever since!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love having the opportunity to work with so many of our students staff across all campuses. I really love having a front row seat to watching our student staff's strengths and gifts come together on projects/teachings/retreats etc. It’s an amazing picture of how all of our campuses come together as one church to further our mission of life change for our students while connecting them to the local church.

What campus do you attend, and what is your favorite thing about it?

My family and I attend the Harrison Bridge campus. I am so grateful for the people and different relationships my family and I have built there over the years. Oh, and obviously the QT right outside the doors is nice, too!

What are you most excited about right now?

I am really excited about our student gender curriculum we have been creating over the past year, Distinct. We have studies coming out this summer for our Fusion boys and girls. Along with that, some of our female staff have been working on developing curriculum for our middle and high school girls that will be coming together this summer as well. We ask for continued prayer in this area for our students as we continue to discern what is most important for our female students to hear at each age group around God’s design for females. We will begin working on our middle and high school guys curriculum in April!

What is one interesting thing about you?

My husband, Doug, and I have four boys! If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would have been a Mom to four loud, loving, crazy, fun, busy boys, I would have laughed at you. It all works well for my overly competitive nature.

Since 2009, Grace has worked to build partnerships in Allendale, a county in our state that has faced significant economic struggles. One of the primary ways Grace supports local churches in Allendale is through Camp Impact, a six-week summer program for kids ages 5–12. But even when camp is not in session, the work in Allendale is ongoing. During the school year, our outreach team hosts Impact Student events for former campers, now middle and high school students. These special times allow Grace volunteers to continue investing in relationships, as well as provide community, teaching, and discipleship for students.

This fall, we hosted our first Impact Student Fall Overnight in Allendale. A team from Grace joined Allendale students for a unique time of teaching, small groups, and community building at a local retreat center. Students participated in several service projects centered around breast cancer awareness and Veterans Day, and also enjoyed a Halloween Party.

Taylor Frick, outreach project manager, felt like the event was an important milemarker for Grace’s work in Allendale County.

“It was the first opportunity we had for an overnight event tailored for our students who live there,” Taylor says. “It provided an opportunity for the Camp Impact community to invest in our relationships with each other, even though we’re from different parts of the state and have different backgrounds. Seeing these students stay involved as they navigate high school, and be open to our involvement as a church, is an answered prayer and great privilege to witness!”

Click below for more about our partnership in Allendale County, and make sure to check out the Impact Student Fall Overnight photo gallery!

Each year in Grace Student Ministry, leadership and staff strategically plan time outside of regular meetings for students to bond together as a group. While these retreats certainly include fun elements for groups to create memories, they also provide teaching and worship—a unique space where we pray expectantly for God to work in students’ hearts.

On Saturday, October 2, Fusion, 24Seven, and Forge students from across our church gathered at the Powdersville campus for the Fall Classic. Throughout the day each ministry experienced teaching, worship, and carnival-themed fun. For Fusion, 419 students and leaders gathered under teaching on Saul versus Paul. Our 24Seven ministry received teaching on trusting God in all areas, with 401 leaders and students attending. For Forge, 462 students and leaders listened to teaching on success. That’s more than twelve hundred people participating in this special time of discipleship!

Click below for more on Grace Student Ministry and don’t miss the Fall Classic photo gallery.

Over the summer, Grace was able to host two Ascend summer camps—one at our Powdersville campus and one at Pelham. Ascend is a week-long program for children and teens who have experienced the divorce of their parents or the loss of a loved one. We are thankful that over 40 children and teens participated this summer.

During their week at camp, kids spent time outside engaging in fun activities like water games, building connections with their leaders and each other. They also participated in group activities and discussions that addressed the specific hardships they were facing, and our leaders consistently pointed them to Christ and showed them love every step of the way. It was truly a blessing to see children and teens who were experiencing the isolation of a difficult season come together, break down barriers, and build community.

A few of our small group leaders had this to say about Ascend:

"The strength these kids have and show has impressed, almost astounded me. They are coping with situations, issues, questions, and feelings that have crushed older, more mature persons. These ‘little children’ have indeed humbled, taught, and inspired me." - Cleatus Blackmon

"I love getting to serve in Ascend/DC4T because I am inspired by the willingness of the students to show up and see how the Holy Spirit works in tangible ways throughout our time together." - Alison Little

We hope you will pray for all those who participated—that God would continue to work in their lives. If you know someone who could use this kind of support during a difficult season, click below to learn more about our Care ministries, including support for kids and teens.

Many of our students were busy serving others this summer. One way our Forge students ministered to our community was through Mission Upstate—a local mission trip where Grace students and leaders partnered with Griggs Memorial Baptist Church and other local partners to serve the Poe Mill and Sans Souci neighborhoods.

Over 80 students participated over the course of three trips, and they served in a variety of ways. They partnered with Manna Food Ministry to distribute food and toiletries to those in need. Students also worked on maintenance projects like yard work, cleaning, painting, and trash pick up with multiple partners, including the Salvation Army and the Poe Mill Achievement Center—which hosts after-school and summer programs for local elementary children.

One area where we really saw students take ownership was in hosting an afternoon summer camp for local children. They led small groups, ran the games and activities, and invested lots of time and energy into loving these children well. What a blessing to see our students give of themselves for others. Please join us in praying that God would continue to work in their hearts and lives, shaping them to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as sacrificial leaders in our communities. To learn more about Grace Students, click below!

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected students in particular—many are learning virtually and no longer have the same extra-curricular opportunities. However, we have found ways to get creative for Student Kickoff this year! Forge, 24Seven, and Fusion have all begun a new semester, and we are so excited to see students meeting with their small groups and hearing teaching from God’s Word. This semester, students are addressing topics of Creation | Fall, Choices, and The Hard Sayings of Jesus. We hope you will join us in prayer for our students, their families, and their leaders as they navigate this season together. Click below to learn more about Grace Students.