Mill Village Ministries is a collection of social entrepreneurs whose mission is to unite with God’s vision for individual life change and holistic transformation of under-resourced communities. Mill Village Ministries strives to build relationships, leverage resources, and empower individuals to transform their communities by providing healthy food options, training teens in job and leadership skills, launching local entrepreneurs, and more.
Founded in the mid-1990s by Pastor Steve Watson of New Jerusalem Baptist Church, Greer Community Outreach Center focusing on meeting needs in the Greer community. To that end, the GCOC runs an after-school program and summer camp, a shelter for the homeless, a food bank and a resource center to provide for needs, while also developing a variety of partnerships to build affordable housing, and support those who need it most in more than twenty units.
Allendale County is located in the lowcountry of South Carolina, and our partnership with local churches in Allendale began over a decade ago. We believe communities are best transformed through the gospel-centered work of their own local churches, and we desire to serve with them on their terms. Grace Church has been invited into ministry in Allendale by Fairfax First Baptist Church and Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church. The leaders of these churches desire to invest in the youth of the area to create a self-sustaining community. To do this, they focus on providing opportunities for children and teens to know Christ, know Scripture, and become leaders in their areas of influence through community events and a summer camp program, Camp Impact.
Griggs Church is a local congregation serving the historical Poe Mill neighborhood of Greenville, which has seen economic downturn since the mill’s closing in the 1970s. Our work with Griggs includes providing manpower to run a three-week summer day camp for children in the Poe Mill area with Grace Church Student volunteers.
Reconcile Church is a church plant we support in West Greenville. The church’s mission is to preach the gospel, produce disciples, and pursue justice in the area of White Horse Road.
Homes of Hope is working to develop foundational, safe environments for low- to moderate-income families in the Upstate. By providing affordable, energy-efficient rental and homeownership options, their clients can now afford housing and power bills. Supplemented by Homes of Hope’s financial wellness program, affordable housing gives families the freedom of a disposable income so that they can begin saving and investing. Homes of Hope also runs a workforce development program for men overcoming drug and alcohol addictions.
