“What can we do to serve you?”
That’s the question the pastoral team at Grace Community Church in Sarasota, Florida, asks their community partners—and then they try to meet those needs.
For example, one of the church’s partner organizations is Better Together, a nonprofit that works to decrease the number of youths in the welfare system by helping parents find jobs, housing and community—the necessary tools to help them reunify their families.
When Better Together asked Grace Community to help them fulfill their mission, the church did not hesitate to cut a check. In November 2023, the church donated $25,000.
“We believe in the power of generosity and the power of loving people through generosity,” says Outreach Pastor Michael Cason.
The church also works with 10 other organizations including The Resurrection House, a resource center for the area’ unhoused population.
“The Resurrection House is a new community partner that we brought on at the beginning of this year,” Cason explains. “We had some really passionate people in our church who were already serving with them. They then circled back to me and asked, ‘Can we do more?’”
When The Resurrection House asked for help cleaning and refurbishing one of their common areas, the church—which has an average weekend attendance of 3,500—recruited volunteers and hired professionals to get the task done.
Another partner is Solve Maternity Homes, a nonprofit that serves pregnant women experiencing poverty, addiction or abuse. One of the Solve mothers has started attending Grace Community.
“I got to learn about her life, her child’s life, and the impact that Solve Maternity Homes had on them,” Cason says. “She’s slowly stepping into the church, which is something that, to my knowledge, she hasn’t been doing for a very long time.”
Whether or not she makes Grace Community her permanent spiritual home doesn’t matter to Cason. “Just go find Jesus somewhere. Find your community somewhere.”
He calls the church’s collaboration with community partners a “remarkable opportunity.” On its own, the church can accomplish a lot, he adds, “but it’s when we partner with those in the community that we can go so much further.”
