Jan 23, 2013 Grace As A Launch Pad…
Our story at Grace began with me as a college student that could wake up, throw on a hat and jeans, and walk to the next building in time for worship. I had a home church but really felt connected and fed the few times I went to Grace in the barn at Belmont. I left after graduation but kept in touch with many of my friends that were at Grace. Once Mike and I started dating, he said he was looking for a church in Nashville so I mentioned Grace. They were meeting at Eakin elementary school. He liked it and got involved with the set-up team. The friends and mentors that fed him, fed me as well. We continued to date long distance and he proposed.
We were blessed to go through a premarital class with Scott and several others who became good friends. The Lord continued to use GCC to show us how to grow with others in Christ. We did life together – the good (like having children) and the hard (family divorces, jobs, etc). We grew in our marriage and family as mentors poured their lives into us.
I remember hearing that our main purpose in life is to glorify God. Growing up as a Christian, I had never heard it taught that way. We experienced Grace staff, elders, leaders and friends all seeking to do just that – glorify God.
When we were building, I remember being proud that we were building small so that we could be a “launch pad” to send out churches and missionaries. I silently (well, maybe not so silently if you know me well) prayed that we would get sent out one day. And we were – to my own backyard! I never would have guessed after growing up in Hendersonville that I would be part of a church plant in my hometown. We are now honored and blessed to be a part of Redeemer Church. The legacy of what we learned from Grace (to hear the Word of God, preach the gospel consistently, engage in community to share in the gospel, and even down to serving in set-up and missions), has now been passed to a new community and a new generation.
Redeemer has become a new place of community and fellowship for us. We are thankful that Grace has been our home and support.
– Mike and Duffy Betterton