Stewardship 2027

Stewardship is about more than what we give. It is about what we love, what God has entrusted to us, and how we choose to respond. Our time, our abilities, our attention, and our financial resources all reflect something about our hearts and the ways we participate in the life and ministry of Grace.

During this season of Extravagant Generosity, we invite you to prayerfully consider where God may be calling you to give, serve, grow, and connect. Whether through financial giving or sharing your gifts through one of Grace’s many ministries, every act of generosity helps strengthen our church family and extends God’s love beyond our walls.

Put Your Heart into Action

Serve from the Heart

Choose the ministries and areas where you would like to share your time and talents.

Serve

Give from the Heart

Prayerfully consider your financial commitment for the coming year.

give

Find Where Your Heart Can Serve

There are many ways to serve, and every role matters. Explore the opportunities to learn more about the ministries of Grace and where your gifts, interests, and experience may be a good fit.

Children’s Ministry

  • Help make special children’s events possible by serving in a variety of roles, such as assisting with crafts, supervising play, or helping at activity stations. Specific needs and sign-ups will vary by event.
    Time Commitment: 1–3 hours
    Frequency: Seasonal, depending on the event

  • Spend time with our older children as they learn, build relationships, enjoy dinner, and participate in activities together.
    Time Commitment: 2.5 hours
    Frequency: Once a month

  • Care for our youngest children while their parents participate in worship, learning, and fellowship. Nursery substitutes help fill in when our regular workers are unavailable.
    Time Commitment: 1–3 hours, depending on the event
    Frequency: As needed and based on your availability

  • Help our children learn about God through engaging, age-appropriate lessons. All lessons and materials are provided—you simply come ready to connect with the children and guide them through the planned activity.
    Time Commitment: 1 hour on Sunday
    Frequency: As often as you’d like, from once a month to more regularly

  • Help supervise and engage with children during Wednesday night activities as they learn about Scripture, play, and enjoy fellowship together.
    Time Commitment: 1.5 hours
    Frequency: As often as you’d like during Wednesday night sessions

Food & Fellowship

  • Help reset the kitchen and fellowship spaces after meals by washing dishes, cleaning surfaces, putting items away, and assisting with general clean-up.
    Time Commitment: Typically 30–60 minutes after an event
    Frequency: As needed

  • Help prepare the main portion of meals for church gatherings and fellowship events. Food & Fellowship leaders will provide guidance, menus, and instructions as needed. Multiple volunteers are needed each event.
    Time Commitment: Varies by event
    Frequency: As needed

  • Help plan menus and coordinate meal needs for church events and fellowship gatherings.
    Time Commitment: Varies
    Frequency: As needed

  • Assist with preparing ingredients, setting out dishes, serving food, and helping meals run smoothly during church gatherings and events.
    Time Commitment: Varies by event
    Frequency: As needed

  • Help purchase groceries, supplies, or other items needed for meals and fellowship events.
    Time Commitment: Varies by need
    Frequency: As needed

  • Help keep the church kitchen organized and stocked by monitoring food, paper goods, and other supplies and identifying items that need to be replenished.
    Time Commitment: Flexible
    Frequency: Periodically or as needed

Missions

  • Help elderly and disabled neighbors prepare their homes for winter through hands-on projects such as replacing lightbulbs and smoke detectors, installing window coverings or storm doors, and assisting with outdoor faucets and other basic winterization needs.
    Time Commitment: 4+ hours
    Frequency: Once a year, typically the first Saturday in November

  • Support local food assistance efforts by donating needed food items and helping transport collected donations to Rose of Sharon.
    Time Commitment: Varies
    Frequency: As needed

  • Help provide weekend food support for students at Providence during the school year. Volunteers assist with packing meals and/or delivering them to the school on Thursday mornings.
    Time Commitment: Varies by role
    Frequency: Packing opportunities every 4–6 weeks; deliveries weekly on Thursday mornings during the school year

  • Help deliver prepared meals to homebound individuals in our community, offering both nourishment and a friendly connection.
    Time Commitment: Varies by delivery route
    Frequency: Monthly, on the third Friday at 10:30 a.m.

  • Help plan and coordinate Grace’s annual Mission Christmas Tree, including selecting participating charities or ministries, determining requested items, and organizing the overall presentation and collection.
    Time Commitment: Varies during the planning and collection period
    Frequency: Once a year

  • Help support the Thrift Shop @ Grace in the role that best fits your interests and availability. Volunteers may work at the cash register, sort and price donations in the workroom, or help on the sales floor by straightening, restocking, and assisting with general organization.
    Time Commitment: Thursday workday and donation intake, 1:30–3:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday shifts, 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. or 12:30–3:00 p.m.
    Frequency: As often as you prefer or as your schedule allows

  • Serve alongside other Grace volunteers at Trash Pandas baseball games by helping in concession areas. Roles may include cashiering, preparing drinks, assembling food items, supporting grab-and-go areas, or assisting at specialty stations such as Dippin’ Dots.
    Time Commitment: Approximately 2 hours before first pitch through an early release during the game
    Frequency: Select games during baseball season

  • Help prepare shoebox gifts for distribution through UMCOR by researching needed items, purchasing supplies, packing boxes, and helping deliver completed shoeboxes to the UMCOR warehouse in Decatur.
    Time Commitment: Varies by task
    Frequency: Once a year, with purchasing typically beginning in July and a scheduled packing event later in the year

  • Serve at the UMCOR warehouse in Decatur by helping inspect and prepare disaster-response and cleaning kits before they are sent where they are needed most. This is an active, hands-on opportunity that involves standing for extended periods in a warehouse that is not climate-controlled.
    Time Commitment: Several hours per workday
    Frequency: Approximately 4–5 workdays each year, often on federal holidays
    Note: Dress appropriately for the season and wear comfortable shoes.

Worship

  • Help plan and coordinate fellowship activities or special events that give people opportunities to connect, build relationships, and enjoy time together. This may include developing ideas, organizing details, and helping with event logistics.
    Time Commitment: Varies by event
    Frequency: As needed

  • Lead a short-term or ongoing Bible or book study by helping guide discussion, prepare for each session, and create a welcoming environment for participants to learn and grow together.
    Time Commitment: Varies by study
    Frequency: Based on the length and schedule of the group

  • Help support the Small Groups ministry by assisting with planning, brainstorming, communication, and coordination of studies, fellowship opportunities, and group activities throughout the year.
    Time Commitment: Varies
    Frequency: As needed throughout the year

  • Lead a group centered around a shared interest, hobby, or activity that gives members an opportunity to connect and build community around something they enjoy.
    Time Commitment: Varies by group
    Frequency: Based on the group’s schedule

  • Lead a short-term Wednesday night study or activity during one of Grace’s scheduled fellowship sessions. Leaders may choose their own Bible study, book, discussion topic, or activity and guide the group through the selected material.
    Time Commitment: One evening per week during a 4- or 6-week session
    Frequency: Four session periods are offered throughout the year; volunteers may lead as their schedule allows

Congregational Care

  • Help care for members of the Grace family by writing cards for birthdays, new births, illness, sympathy, and other meaningful occasions.
    Time Commitment: Varies; generally a short weekly commitment
    Frequency: Ongoing

  • Help members stay connected through phone calls, texts, or emails, especially during times of illness, loss, transition, or extended absence from church.
    Time Commitment: Varies
    Frequency: As needed

  • Help extend the table of Christ to members who are unable to attend worship by delivering Communion to their homes or care facilities. Training will be provided.
    Time Commitment: 1–2 hours
    Frequency: Monthly

  • Help prepare care packages that remind members of the Grace family they are loved and remembered. College care packages are assembled and mailed twice a year to students away at school. Christmas baskets are prepared for members who are homebound or receiving long-term medical care and are hand delivered during the holiday season.
    Time Commitment: 1–3 hours per project
    Frequency: Three times a year

  • Offer care and companionship by visiting members who are hospitalized, homebound, or otherwise unable to participate regularly in the life of the church.
    Time Commitment: Varies by visit
    Frequency: As needed

  • Help coordinate the lending of medical equipment to members who need it by serving as a point of contact, keeping track of loans, and helping ensure equipment is clean and ready for use.
    Time Commitment: Varies
    Frequency: As needed

  • Use your knitting or crochet skills to create prayer shawls and other handmade gifts that offer comfort, encouragement, and care to members of the Grace community. Projects can be worked on at home or during the monthly gathering, which provides dedicated time to create and enjoy fellowship with others in the ministry.
    Time Commitment: Flexible
    Frequency: Monthly gathering on the second Sunday at 3:00 p.m.; projects may also be completed at home as your schedule allows

Hospitality

Small Groups

Technology

  • Help create a clear, consistent worship experience by managing audio during Sunday services. This includes balancing sound for the band and vocalists, managing microphones and other audio sources, and providing the audio feed used for Grace’s YouTube livestream and recorded services.
    Time Commitment: During one or both Sunday worship services
    Frequency: Based on your availability and the technology team schedule

  • Help support worship by managing the visual elements used during Sunday services, including lyrics, presentation slides, and other on-screen content. This role also helps provide the visual feed used for Grace’s YouTube livestream and recorded services.
    Time Commitment: During one or both Sunday worship services
    Frequency: Based on your availability and the technology team schedule

  • Help with special technology projects and maintenance needs around the church. Tasks will vary depending on the focus of each workday and may include equipment setup, organization, troubleshooting, installation, or other hands-on technology support.
    Time Commitment: Varies by project
    Frequency: As needed

Youth Ministry

  • Lead approximately 30 minutes of games during Sunday evening youth gatherings. Games help students have fun, build relationships, and enjoy time together as a group.
    Time Commitment: About 30 minutes on Sunday evenings
    Frequency: Based on personal availability

  • Help provide adult support for youth special events throughout the year, including lock-ins, Oinktoberfest, parties, trips, and other activities. Specific roles and time commitments will vary by event.
    Time Commitment: Varies by event
    Frequency: Several times throughout the year, based on your availability

  • Help lead or assist with Junior High or Senior High Sunday School as students work through the Bible one book at a time. Lessons are provided in advance, and volunteers help with discussion, classroom management, and modeling a faithful Christian life.
    Time Commitment: Sundays, 10:00–11:00 a.m.
    Frequency: Once a month

  • Help create a welcoming, faith-filled environment on Sunday evenings by participating in large-group discussion, sitting with a small group, sharing dinner with students, and assisting with classroom management. Volunteers play an important role in helping students build relationships and grow in their faith.
    Time Commitment: Sundays, 5:20–7:40 p.m.
    Frequency: Once a month

  • Provide dinner for approximately 20–30 students and volunteers during Sunday evening youth gatherings. Meals can be simple, such as sandwiches, hot dogs, or chicken fingers with sides, and first-time volunteers will be paired with an experienced dinner volunteer for support.
    Time Commitment: Meal preparation and delivery before the 7:00 p.m. dinner
    Frequency: 1–2 Sundays per school semester

  • Serve as a flexible backup when a regularly scheduled youth volunteer is unable to attend. Substitute volunteers are added to the youth volunteer communication group and can respond to openings as they arise.
    Time Commitment: Varies by role
    Frequency: As needed and based on your availability