ABOUT GRACE

Grace Lutheran Church’s ministry is centered in Prosperity, South Carolina. Prosperity is located in the central part of the state, just west of Columbia and in the lower end of Newberry County. The small town has seen growth in recent years with the increasing population around Lake Murray. The church’s sanctuary, educational wing, parish building,and ministry center sit just off of the Prosperity town square at the corner of Highway 76 and Grace Street. 

Grace congregation is a caring family of Christian believers, reaching out to share God’s life-transforming grace with our community. We worship our Lord each Sunday with an average of 141 persons in attendance. A growing Sunday School offers classes from nursery to adult to nurture and expand our faith in Christ. Thriving Preschool and Afterschool programs touch the lives of many children and youth from Newberry County. Annual summer Vacation Bible School is a community-wide affair with more than 100 children, youth, and adults involved, including adults with Special Needs.

Other outreach ministries extend the love of Christ to others as well. Weekly tutoring ministry offers first graders from Prosperity-Rikard Elementary assistance with basic reading, math, and spelling skills and good strong Christian role models. Lunch Pal volunteers also visit the elementary school twice a month to share lunch with students who need time with caring adults. Members of Grace, Senior Youth, and the Christian School family provide Christmas gifts and Bible storybooks for as many as 120 children during the holiday season. The congregation also presents a Live Outdoor Nativity each December to share the Christmas story with the community. Through the Community Service Fund, the congregation is able to provide help to those in our church family and throughout the community who are facing times of crisis or tragedy. World Hunger and Disaster Response offerings reach out beyond our back door to help others in need.

We are called to minister to all of God’s children and share with them the message of God’s love and life-giving grace. Our mission statement, adopted in 1996 outlines this calling:

“As part of Christ’s universal church, we the people of Grace recognize ourselves as sinners who have been redeemed by a living and loving God. Washed in God’s grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are commissioned to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

 
·        to be faithful stewards of all God’s blessings;

·        to nurture faith in Christ through Word & Sacrament, worship & prayer;

·        to minister to all God’s children, meeting both spiritual and physical needs;

·        to use our resources as a center of activities through which others may
        experience God’s life-transforming grace.

*It is our pledge as God’s people to fulfill this call to mission, both in our daily lives and as a congregation under the direction of our council.”

For 150 years, Grace congregation has survived difficult times, changed and grown in order to witness to the Prosperity community and beyond. “Newville,” as it was first known, was organized in 1859 while the town was called Frog Level. Charter and early members were direct descendents of the first settlers in Newberry County - Lutherans who left Germany to escape religious oppression. The first church building was dedicated in August 1859. When the first church structure was torn down and a new building erected in 1878, it was dedicated as “Grace Church.” The current parish building was completed in 1951 and dedicated on Oct. 26, 1952. Our present church structure, including the sanctuary and educational wing, was dedicated on March 31, 1974. Grace celebrated its 150th anniversary of ministry in 2009. Our new Grace Ministry Center was dedicated on Oct. 4, 2009, and with this new facility in place, we look forward to our next 150 years and opportunities to expand our outreach ministries to the community.

WHO ARE LUTHERANS?

If you’d like to know more about Lutherans and the Lutheran faith, click on the following link: www.elca.org/communication/brief.html

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