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History
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| History:
On July 23, 1991 18 people met to discuss the idea of starting a church in Bryan Ohio. Little did we know the strange journey that would begin that evening. After discussion and some prayer, we decided to begin a church that would be in the middle worship-style wise and would be a place that everyone would be welcomed regardless of who they were, how they dressed, where or even if they worked, and where or even if they ever attended church. We wanted a church that was truly for every one and would actually welcome everyone—no strings attached. That is why we chose the name Grace Community. We wanted a place of acceptance for everyone and a place where everyone in the community could come. We located and rented a storefront on the corner of From there, God opened doors we didn’t even know existed allowing us to minister to the working poor in our county. The first Thanksgiving, we made up food baskets for some 30 families and that began our Christmas food ministry which now gives a week’s worth of groceries to 325 families each Holiday. We started a Bible Study at the Fresh Start Drug Program in Alvordton at their request. That led to men coming to church on Sunday mornings. It was not well received by some in our community because all these men where African-Americans. We were persecuted with phone calls, cross burning threats, and even death threats. The FBI came to town on a couple of occasions because of the death threats but God protected us and nothing serious ever occurred. Our next major entry into ministry came as people found out that we would help them with paying overdue rents and utilities. We had made a second decision that first evening and that was to put a tithe of the Sunday morning offering into a special account to help local benevolence needs. In the early days, that was only $30/week but it was there and it did help many over the first few years. That seed led to a harvest –“an exceedingly abundant more than you can imagine or dream” harvest. Between the tithe we still set aside every week and the donations of cash, clothing, furniture, toys, and food from those in our community, we now give away about $10,000/week in cash assistance and other material needs !!!! God is a very generous God. In 1992, our work with the addicts led us to open an aftercare program where they could come after they left the drug rehab and still have some help keeping away from drugs and booze. A year and a half later, due to the death of the man directing the aftercare program, we closed it down but God was not through with us in that area. We immediately began a homeless shelter which in 1995 became the Sanctuary Homeless Shelter of Williams County. The Sanctuary is a separate 501(c)3 non-profit and is operated by a board representing some 8-10 churches in the area. It has its own budget of about $70,000/yr and houses some 75 families a year with the average person staying about 43 days while they find employment and housing. We remained a storefront church for 8 years until we could build a 12,000 sf building at our present location on The thrift store is a wonderful ministry to the community because we sell every thing so inexpensively. Our highest priced item sells for only $1. Our thrift store idea came from the clothing that was being donated by the community to the people in the homeless shelter. We already had such an abundance of donations that we were shipping clothing to foreign mission stations in In Feb of 2007, we opened a branch thrift that specializes in home furnishings. We named it Home by Grace and it is in our recently renovated building on Another ministry which grew out of the shelter and our annual Christmas Food. Give-a-way is our Toy Give-a-way. This began with a few used toys being donated to the shelter residents but it was always more than we needed. So we put them out when people came to get their Christmas food baskets. In 1995, the Marine Corp Reserves came to us and asked if we would give their toys away along with ours. We said “Yes” and they began to supply us with some $8-15,000 in new toys each year which is added to the 2 tractor trailer loads of used toys we collect and clean every year. Over 2,200 children get their entire Christmas of toys each year from this program. In 2001, we formed another corporation to oversee the benevolence ministry and we called it Community Compassion. It is another 501©3 non-profit but it is a subsidiary of the church. Last year, CC gave away about $500,000 in cash, food, toys, furniture, clothing etc to help those in need in our community and around the world. Our most recent venture involves starting a free medical clinic to serve the working poor in our county. It is another independent non-profit and is overseen by a board of medical professionals and other believers from several area churches. In October of 2005, we formed the board of the Community Medical Clinic of Williams County and in Oct of 2006, the We expect to begin the clinic in June 2007 after raising some $200,000 to remodel the building and purchase the needed equipment. One of the most exciting things that Grace has done is to become an Ohio Conference Mennonite church. We started as an independent church and remained so for 14 years. After much research and prayer, we chose to affiliate with the Ohio Conference in March 2005. Grace Community church is not a typical church. Someone recently said that we are a family church that ministers as if it were a mega-church. We have been used by God in some unique ways to help the poor and even to help change the way our community does “church”. How all this came about is still a bit of a mystery as is much of what God does. Our real contribution has been to say “Yes, Lord” to all He has asked of us. He has never failed to provide all that was needed for every adventure He led us into. Our God has proven faithful in so many ways—from the growth of the church through new salvations to the new outreaches we have been able to start. It is our hope that you will join us on this journey with God. Please feel free to contact me at the church to talk about Grace, God or your personal needs. Mike Kelly, Sr. Pastor | |