The Greatest Commandment
Jesus said to them “You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest commandment. And a second is like it: You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all
the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
Mission
“Com-passion” - from the Latin
word meaning “to suffer with” - is what happens when we put on
another’s shoes. When we look upon others with compassion, putting
their shoes on our feet, we recognize ourselves in them. Suddenly,
they cease to be “others” and we know them as one of God’s family -
our neighbors.
At Grace we recognize that we
are part of one great family - the family of God. We work to
stay connected to the realities of other people. We recognize
our neighbors in the community just outside our doors, across our
state and country, and in lands beyond our countries borders.
At Grace we believe love is an
action word. Loving our neighbor means ACTION! It is not enough to
send dollars to help neighbors in need. For Grace being a neighbor
means knowing our neighbor, developing relationships with people who
live different lives than we do. We know that to truly know and love
our God we MUST know and love our neighbor.
Dear children, let us not love with words or
tongue
but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18
Click here to see our goals
for Service and Evangelism
Local Ministry
Relationships
ABRO
- Grace partners with the American Belarussian Relief Organization
assisting in finding a quality of life and hope for the future for
children living in areas contaminated with radiation from the
Chernobyl Nuclear Plant accident.
Alliance of AIDS
Services of Carolina - Ministry to
persons who are HIV/AIDS positive.
Building
Together Ministries - a collaboration of Christians working
together to promote the well-being of individuals, families, and
communities through education, social action, and reconciliation.
Includes the Neighbor Store, Racial Reconciliation Ministry, and
Haiti Missions.
Food Bank of North
Carolina - collecting food and
stocking shelves at the food bank.
Habitat for
Humanity - building affordable
housing. If you have an interest in joining this effort, please
email Jerry Glick.
Habitour is a free, one hour information
session that allows you to see and hear what Habitat for Humanity is
doing in Wake County. Guests meet at the Habitat offices on Alwin
Court for a light lunch and video presentation, then board a bus for
a short tour. You will not be asked to make a contribution or
commitment of any kind. We just want to share our story. Contact
Habitour at 833-1999 ext 238 to reserve a spot.
Loaves & Fishes - mentoring and
tutoring at-risk children and youth.
Meals on Wheels
- Provide nutritious meals to the frail, homebound elderly and
handicapped citizens of Wake County in order to improve health,
reduce isolation, and prevent inappropriate institutionalization.
Shepherd’s Table - a
soup kitchen that offers a hot meal for people in transition
Step-Up - serves
working families with housing needs
Stop
Hunger Now -
is a non-profit, international
relief organization committed to ending hunger worldwide.
Urban Ministries of Raleigh
- a variety of programs for people in transition.
National/International Ministry
Relationships
Hope Farm
South Africa is the country with the
highest concentration of HIV infections, and the home to many
abandoned children that have either been orphaned by AIDS, or in
some way hurt by the effects of violence, alcohol, or drug abuse.
Hope Farm is a place where Andrew and Rae Wartnaby bring these
children that are abandoned or lost in some way. They have space and
loving hearts, so that when God sends them children in distress,
whatever the problem, they are able to say: Come home, let us help.
Their vision is to help form a community that ensures that every
child affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic has a primary caregiver, a
suitable dwelling, access to food, health, education and counseling.
Hope Farm offers these children a place where they are loved and
where they can be made witness to the love that Jesus Christ has for
them. Presently, Hope Farm cares for 64 grannies that in turn are
caring for 398 orphaned children. During my stay over the summer of
2008, Hope Farm was home to Andrew and Rae and their 5 children (3 -
whom are adopted orphans), 8 temporarily placed orphans and 2
volunteers (Andrew Fletcher and Ben Starr). While living with them
over the summer, Andrew and I completed a 2-room home started by
Grace member, Pete Kosturko a few years ago. This home will be used
to temporarily house families in crises. These families will learn
skills such as how to raise chickens for food, how to collect rain
water, how to perform daily hygiene rituals, and how to use solar
panels to charge batteries for electricity. These skills will be
learned while living on the farm with the ultimate hope of soon
transitioning them back into their community with the skills that
will help them live easier, healthier lives.
The Farm is the perfect example of a ministry running on faith
alone. With extremely limited income, Andrew and Rae rely heavily on
donations and volunteers to run and expand their ministry. Over the
last few years, five youth of Grace have volunteered on Hope Farm,
including Chuck Halley, Pete Kosturko, Sarah Vevurka, Andrew
Fletcher, and Ben Starr. Hope Farm is in need of volunteers for
extended stays, for it is the volunteers that truly help Hope Farm
grow both through their work and through their financial
contributions to the ministry. At this time, Grace Community
Church's volunteers are the only ones that lived for extended time
with the family.
If you are interested in donating to Hope Farm, please make checks
payable to Grace Community Church and indicate on the subject line,
"Hope Farm." If you are interested in learning more about the farm
or about volunteering there, please call Ben Starr at 906-2235 or
visit:
http://www.thembisa.com.
Convoy of Hope
Disaster Recovery Ministries
- Helping to meet the immediate and long term needs of people
hit by natural disaster.
Food For The Hungry
Opportunity International
International
Ministry Relationships
Grace
makes annual mission trips to work with our Belerusian, Haitian, and
Mexican neighbors.
Belarus
Haiti
CODEP/ L’Acul Support Facility - a project in Haiti
run by Mission Co-workers Rodney and Sharon Babe. Grace teams
work in collaboration with Haitian farmers on projects that include
re-forestation, building cisterns and irrigation systems, tilapia
ponds as well as education.
Mexico
Ministerio
de Fe - a border ministry in Reynosa and Migel Alemen. Medical
and construction teams partner with our neighbors south of the
border to build homes and provide medical treatment. Four mission
teams, 1 medical and 3 construction work in Mexico each year.
Special Events &
Mission Opportunities
Angel Tree -a Christmas giving opportunity to give to others
from what God has given us. Christmas gifts for children, adults and
ministries are purchased by Grace worshipers and delivered to
partner ministries.
Alternative Gift Christmas List - a Christmas shopping list that
allows you to give to partner ministries in honor or in memory of a
friend or loved one. A gift card is sent to the person honored by
Grace on the giver’s behalf .
Clinica de Cristo
- a one day free clinic with Sin
Fronteras serving the local Hispanic community.
Duke Thanksgiving Meal - Serving Thanksgiving
dinner to the children and their families at Duke Children's Hospital.
Great Day of Service
- an annual one day mission work
day serving several local ministries and agencies with simple
acts of kindness.
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