Grace Church, EQUIP Podcast

In this episode, we hear from David Delk, Executive Pastor at Grace Church in Greenville, South Carolina, as he speaks to the Ministry Staff of Grace. David explains the different types of churches by their main discipleship pathway and addresses scripture to support the responsibilities of church staff and members to create the greatest discipleship impact.

To access information about coaching opportunities, additional resources, and upcoming EQUIP events, go to gracechurchsc.org/equip.

RESOURCES: 

Responsibilities of Staff vs Members Document

In this episode, we hear from Matt Williams, one of the teaching pastors and governing elders at Grace Church in Greenville, South Carolina, as he speaks at a 2019 EQUIP Event. Matt helps answer this question, “What is the value of the local church?”

To access information about coaching opportunities, additional resources, and upcoming EQUIP events, go to gracechurchsc.org/equip.

In this episode, Bill White describes the growth he has seen in a church that executes vision in a way that is compelling and encouraging to everyone, and seeks to make disciples. Bill unpacks the tragedy of a vision being caught up in what a church says, not what they do. If a church can unveil compelling service behind the scenes, those in fellowship with them will be encouraged and motivated to enter into the mission because they have seen the fruit of a vision in the workings. Capturing a vision through relevant serving can help lead those willing to serve into next steps, or provide encouragement to those currently serving. As he concludes, Bill emphasizes that before you start telling a story, you must have a story to tell. Too often a vision can lose its momentum from the stage, where it only gains as it is proven true and compelling by action. Disciples are made from doing, not from consuming more content. When we learn to celebrate God’s goodness and mercy through action, we are only drawn further into serving a great God.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Check out gracechurchsc.org/equip to access additional resources and coaching opportunities. If you have questions, need coaching, or just want us to discuss a topic on the podcast, please email us at [email protected].

Thanks to Scott Beardsley, Meg Gurley and Lauren Bryant for their help in producing this episode.

In episode 17, Chris Rivers speaks with Turner Vaughn, campus pastor at Grace Church’s Powdersville campus, as they discuss a new training developed for men at Grace Church around the mission of Men’s Roundtable. 

Men’s Roundtable (MRT) exists for two main goals within Grace Church: to assimilate men living in the margins to participate in the life of the church, and to give men language to wrestle with how they are created, wounds from their past, and ultimately how to grow in the Lord’s design for the practice of Biblical manhood. MRT has been designed to act as a road map through various studies in order to gauge and identify areas for growth and to better understand unique brokenness as it applies to different aspects of a man’s life and responsibilities. MRT carries out the opportunity of discipleship by equipping men to lead in a biblical way, replicate biblical leadership, build relational capital with those around them, and invite them into how God is working in the church. MRT has been influential in the surrendering of lives to the mystery of the Gospel, as well as deepening the roots of faith in the active and working Gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal of the MRT training series is to help onboard new facilitators and to prepare the hearts and minds of those who will someday step into this role. The series hopes to accomplish just that with five new episodes: What is MRT/role of MRT facilitator? How do I prepare to lead a successful MRT study? What does it look like to be a great MRT facilitator? How do I encourage ownership and replicate discipleship within the members of my group? How do I troubleshoot and handle common problems within a study? Grace Church hopes to equip and motivate those listening to do the hard work of ministry just as the gospel in Ephesians 4 commands us.

Consider listening to episodes, download the resources below and adapt in your context.

RESOURCES

MRT Training Handbook: (gracechurchsc.org/MRThandbook)

AUDIO TRACKS Overview: DOWNLOAD

Four Types of Men: DOWNLOAD

Men's Roundtable Teachings: http://gracechurchsc.org/mrt

Check out gracechurchsc.org/equip to access additional resources and coaching opportunities. If you have questions, need coaching, or just want us to discuss a topic on the podcast, please email us at [email protected].

Many thanks to Lauren Bryant, Meg Gurley, and Scott Beardsley for helping to produce this episode.

In episode 16, Chris Rivers speaks with Bobby Raulerson, Campus Pastor at Grace Church’s Harrison Bridge campus, and David Delk, Executive Pastor.  They unpack some of the key ideas in the Grace Church Philosophy of Ministry and discuss how the church’s commitment to life on life discipleship helps guide these principles.  As a church, Grace values the idea of equipping and motivating members to get involved in someone’s life, meet their needs, and help them grow in their relationship with Christ. This means all of the activities and ministries are centered around this idea. Rather than using a dynamic speaker or an over-the-top experience to attract people, the focus is on discipleship and life change.

David and Bobby share five key ideas. The entire Philosophy of Ministry can be DOWNLOADED here. 

1. What happens during the week in the lives of our volunteers and leaders is way more important than what happens during our worship services. 

2. We believe it is way more important to become compelling people than it is to create compelling experiences.

3. Discipleship and shepherding is hand-to-hand combat. Expect leaders and volunteers to carry real weight and get messy with people.

4. We intentionally don’t solve all the problems in our church with staff leadership or money; we believe more discipleship takes place when volunteers and leaders figure it out and make it happen. Visit Gracechurchsc.org/equip to access 

5. God uses conflict and tension as a tool for transformation. People will seek to relieve tension, discomfort, or suffering before God has done everything he wants to do. We want to shepherd tension wisely to allow people to stay in it until they deal with root issues. Relieving it prematurely only brings more pain later.

Resources:

If you're new to Grace Church Equip, head on over to gracechurchsc.org/equip to access coaching opportunities, additional resources on our EQUIP Hub, and upcoming EQUIP events. Have a question or want to speak to someone on our team? Email [email protected] and we will get you connected.

Many thanks to Lauren Bryant and Scott Beardsley for helping to produce this episode.

Check out gracechurchsc.org/equip to access additional resources and coaching opportunities. If you have questions, need coaching, or just want us to discuss a topic on the podcast, please email us at [email protected].

In episode 15, Chris Rivers speaks with Matt Kelley, Worship Pastor/Director of Leadership Development at Grace Church, and Davis Craig, Students’ Advisor and Internship & Residency Director, about the concept of creating a downline. This discipleship strategy involves intentionally pouring into the lives of others with the goal of replicating future leaders. Matt shares his experience being the recipient of a downline and also building his own downline.  He poses the question to listeners:  Who are the 2-3 people in your life you need to be investing time into who could be the next person to take your role?  

Matt and Davis unpack the challenges involved in creating a downline including: seeing the process as a threat to your position, making the time to include people in your world, having flexibility with your schedule, creating opportunities for training and cleaning up the messes this may create, and loving people well enough to tell them the truth.  This strategy, while difficult to flesh out, is an important and necessary step in the process of reproducing leaders. With an attitude of humility, patience, and intentionality, listeners can learn to build a discipleship culture that impacts the future of the church and those who will come behind.

If you're new to Grace Church Equip, head on over to gracechurchsc.org/equip to access coaching opportunities, additional resources on our EQUIP Hub, and upcoming EQUIP events. Have a question or want to speak to someone on our team? Email [email protected] and we will get you connected.

Many thanks to Lauren Bryant, Meg Gurley and Scott Beardsley for helping to produce this episode.

In episode 14, Chris Rivers speaks with David Delk, Grace Church’s Executive Pastor, as they discuss the concepts involved in approaching the working world from a Biblical perspective. The reality of the world in which we live sets us up to experience a large part of our lives in the workplace. This episode seeks to explain how important it is for the church to disciple people around the idea of work, and to explore the impact that is possible by recognizing the potential for ministry within an occupation or executive position. David speaks on practical ways to lead a discussion that invites members to offer advice, collaborate on similar struggles, and bond over shared experiences or feelings. Key ideas such as recognizing motivation, the power of encouragement, and servant leadership are discussed as listeners learn how to incorporate the Gospel of Jesus at work. 

Consider listening to the episode, download the resources below and adapt in your context.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

- What is Senior Executive Roundtable DOWNLOAD

- Principle: People Do What They Want To Do DOWNLOAD

- How to Conduct a Roundtable with your Team DOWNLOAD

- Legacy Business Advisors (Now called Venture) LINK

If you're new to Grace Church Equip, head on over to gracechurchsc.org/equip to access coaching opportunities, additional resources on our EQUIP Hub, and upcoming EQUIP events. Have a question or want to speak to someone on our team? Email [email protected] and we will get you connected.

Many thanks to Lauren Bryant and Meg Gurley for helping to produce this episode. 

As followers of Jesus, we are commissioned to get involved in someone else’s life, meet their needs, and help them grow in their relationship with Christ. Jesus doesn’t ask us to simply be nice to our neighbors. He calls us to sacrifice, to love others who are not like us, to enter into others’ brokenness, and to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of the gospel.

In this episode, Chris Rivers speaks with three members of Grace Church’s Outreach Team about a resource they created called The Outreach Serving Tool. This resource helps members of Grace Church identify one action step they can take to pursue their personal ministry in their community.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

If you're new to Grace Church Equip, head on over to gracechurchsc.org/equip to access coaching opportunities, additional resources on our EQUIP Hub, and upcoming EQUIP events. Have a question or want to speak to someone on our team? Email [email protected] and we will get you connected.

Workshop Session from 2021 Creating a Culture of Discipleship. Learn more by visiting gracechurchsc.org/equip

If you're new to Grace Church Equip, head on over to gracechurchsc.org/equip to access coaching opportunities, additional resources on our EQUIP Hub, and upcoming EQUIP events. Have a question or want to speak to someone on our team? Email [email protected] and we will get you connected.

Workshop Session from 2021 Creating a Culture of Discipleship. Learn more by visiting gracechurchsc.org/equip

If you're new to Grace Church Equip, head on over to gracechurchsc.org/equip to access coaching opportunities, additional resources on our EQUIP Hub, and upcoming EQUIP events. Have a question or want to speak to someone on our team? Email [email protected] and we will get you connected.