Church Planting
Emmanuel Upstate PCA - Greenville, SC
WILLIAM & Judy CASTRO
Emmanuel Upstate is a multi-ethnic church plant which brings together people from the US, Brazil, Spain, Mexico and South and Central America. The desire is to gather people from the many ethnic groups in the Upstate of South Carolina in one Reformed, Ordinary Means of Grace, Christ-centered congregation.
Purpose: We exist to glorify the Triune God to whom we are reconciled by Grace though faith in Christ alone.
Mission: To bear witness to Christ and make disciples of Him from all people with no distinction, to be part of His body. (Acts 15:9)
Method will reflect the three marks of the church (Preaching of the word, right administration of the Sacraments, exercising church discipline when needed) using the Ordinary Means of Grace, including the Word, Sacraments and Prayer all for the gathering, disciplining and perfecting of the saints.
Vision: EU will be a covenantal, multi-generational congregation of people from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, with a common desire to worship the Triune God in the historic, reformed, and confessional manner, who will strive to be an example of the Grace of God by breaking through cultural and ethnic barriers.
William and Judy have three girls: Grace, Laura, and Camila.
Visit the Castros at: emmanuelupstate.org
Christ Church Presbyterian - Knoxville, TN
JOHN BLEVINS, III
John Blevins grew up in a northern suburb of Atlanta. Twenty years ago, John experienced life in East Tennessee for the first time while playing football at Tusculum College in Greenville, TN. He then transferred to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, where the Lord changed his life forever in two significant ways. First, our loving Heavenly Father forgave John's sins through His Son Jesus Christ's death, and the Holy Spirit, indwelling John, gave him eternal life and adoption into God's family. Second, the Lord began putting together John's earthly family as He introduced him to his now-wife of seventeen years, Taylor. The Lord has blessed John and Taylor with three sons J.C. (15), Benton (13), and Walker (7). It was almost ten years before John answered God's call to ministry while an outside salesman for the nation's largest water and sewer supply company. After coming under the care of the Georgia Foothills Presbytery of the PCA, John graduated from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. During seminary, John served Fellowship PCA in Greer SC as their pastoral intern. In 2015 John was ordained and installed as the Associate Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, TN. In 2021 John began laboring in the planting work of Christ Church Presbyterian in Powell, TN. By God's grace, John labors at the ministry of Word, prayer, and sacrament. He is committed to ordinary means of grace ministry, the regulative principle, historic presbyterianism, the Reformed faith, and making disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit to the Father's glory.
Pastor John and his wife Taylor believe the Lord has called their family to serve Him by partnering with PCA churches to establish a new church in the Knoxville area. During the last five years, the great need for faithful gospel ministry in the greater Knoxville area has become apparent to the Blevins and weighed heavy on their hearts. John's greatest desire is to glorify God and be used by the Lord to make disciples of Jesus Christ. While not native to East Tennessee, the Blevins like to consider themselves locals. John has enjoyed meeting and serving his neighbors through Bible studies, mercy ministry, coaching youth sports, and volunteering. In 2020, Taylor began her career as a registered nurse at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in downtown Knoxville.
Mount Zion Presbyterian Church - Fairfax, VA
Jegar Chinnavan & Jemima Jegar
Rev. Jegar Chinnavan, a Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (GPTS) 2011 graduate, was ordained on August 24, 2014 as an Assistant Pastor of Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church. Soon after his ordination he, his wife Jemima, and their daughter Sheena, moved to Fairfax, Virginia where he began the planting of the First Asian Indian Presbyterian Church (PCA), now called Mount Zion Presbyterian Church. Since then he has transferred to the Potomac Presbytery and has the oversight of Spriggs Road Presbyterian Church (PCA). Rev. Chinnavan, and his wife Jemima Jegar, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and licensed educator, want to bring the Gospel of Christ to the many Asian Indians in the area. When Jegar presented his vision at a GPTS luncheon, he said, "Looking back I see how God shaped my life to be more directly involved in building His kingdom. Although a native of India and raised in Singapore, I was converted out of Hinduism, the acceptable religion of my native country." He further said, "Since coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ my want to serve Him in a meaningful way prompted my desire to be prepared for whatever calling I might receive." Jegar also completed a Th.M. degree from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
All Saints Reformed Church - Southwest, UT
Reverend Dr. Benjamin Kappers
Reverend Dr. Benjamin Kappers has been the Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, IL since 2013. In 2022, he will be leading a team of nine adults and eleven children to plant a church in Southwest Utah.
The need for the gospel in Southwest Utah is great! The greater St. George area is home to nearly 180,000 souls. The St. George area is regularly ranked in the top five fastest growing regions in the nation. Of those 180,000 people, less than 2% identify as evangelicals. There are more Protestants per person in Sudan, Cuba, Qatar, Malaysia, and Bahrain than in Southwest Utah. This is an unreached people group right here in our own nation. This is a mission field, as Christ said, that is ripe for the harvest. Even more, there are no evangelical reformed means of grace churches.
Our mission is simple: The mission of All Saints Reformed Church is to establish an orthodox, reformed, and evangelical church in the spiritual desert of Southwest Utah. All of our team members and families are from right here in Chicago. We have felt the clear call of the Lord to go serve God in this mission field. We have committed to leave behind our jobs, homes, families, and much else to heed that call.
He is married to Melanie, and they have five children: Caleb, Grace, Anna, Andrew, and Luke. Pastor Ben graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS in 2011 and earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL.
Pastor Ben and Melanie enjoy playing games and having people in their home. Pastor Ben also enjoys reading and keeping up with current events. His desire is that the Lord would use him to impart to Christ's church a deeper love for and obedience to God through his ministry
LOCAL & STATESIDE MINISTRIES
Calvary Home for Children
LAURA LINDSLEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
At any given time, there are approximately 1400 children in the Upstates foster care system, 6,000 throughout South Carolina, and 500,000 nationally. There is always a critical shortage of places for these children to live. Thats why the success of Calvary Home for Children in Anderson, South Carolina is so vital to our community and to the children who need a home. Calvary Home has three cottages, with house parents, on campus capable of providing a home for a total of thirty-six children. Caring for children in need is a 24-hour, 7-day a week operation that requires a steady stream of funds. Since Calvary Home for Children is privately funded, it relies on individuals, churches, businesses, corporations, and service organizations to partner with them as they serve children. The cost to feed, clothe and care for each child at Calvary Home is approximately $10,000 per year. Some goals are to move forward in their vision for an administration building (counseling center, adoptions agency, and staff offices), funding and building five more cottages on the Simpson Road Campus and expanding the ministry to include multiple cottages on the Norris Hill Campus. Can they count on you to get involved in the exciting work that God is doing there?
Webpage: www.calvaryhome.org
Address: 110 Calvary Home Circle Anderson, SC 29621
Phone: 864-296-5437
Child Evangelism Fellowship
Good News Club at Oakview Elementary
Child Evangelism Fellowship also known as CEF is a Bible‐centered, worldwide organization that is dedicated to seeing every child reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, discipled and established in a local church. The volunteers at WRPC have the wonderful privilege of reaching out to the children at Oakview Elementary School with the Good News Club.
Gospel Reformation Network
PresbYterian Church in America
The Gospel Reformation Network exists to cultivate healthy Reformed churches in the Presbyterian Church in America. It’s distinctive vision includes the promotion of key tenets and methods of seeking the advance of the church through: Biblical fidelity & confessional integrity, Gospel-driven & Christ-exalting ministry, intentional evangelism & personal discipleship, godly leadership & Presbyterian polity, Reformed worship & vibrant community, and missional clarity & church multiplication.
More information about and from GRN can be found here: http://gospelreformation.net
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary - Taylors, SC
Dr. jonathan master, President
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (est. 1987) is committed to providing biblically grounded, pastorally focused, and confessionally faithful theological education to the next generation of Reformed ministers. The Seminary intentionally strives to be a “nursery for missionaries,” and graduates serve the church in many missions fields around the world. Every Trustee and Faculty Member subscribes fully to the Westminster Standards and commits to uphold the teaching of the Standards throughout our academic programs.
The Seminary’s core values as defined by the Faculty are Biblical Fidelity, Confessional Integrity, Experimental Piety, and Ecclesiastical Accountability. The Seminary’s program distinctives as defined by the Faculty are Individual Instruction, Affordability, and Accessibility.
www.gpts.edu
200 East Main St. | Taylors, SC 29687
864-322-2717
Metanoia Prison Ministries Perry Correctional Institution - Pelzer, SC
Anthony Rogers, regional director of south carolina
Mr. Anthony Joseph Rogers “Tony” was ordained to the ministry of the PCA as a Teaching Elder on May 26, 2019. Mr. Rogers graduated from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2018 and has been called by Calvary Presbytery to do prison ministry in the state of South Carolina. He will be on staff with Metanoia Prison Ministries and will begin his call at Perry Correctional Institution, a maximum security correctional facility in Pelzer, SC. The ministry partners with the church for the discipling, mentoring and reintegration of prisoners.
Tony is married to Janis and they have three children, Katie, Alex and Ellie.
Piedmont Women’s Center
TAMMIE HOWELL, CEO
Piedmont Women's Center is a trusted provider of women's health care and has been serving the Upstate of South Carolina since 1991. As a non-profit 501©(3) organization they provide all of our services at no charge. Their caring and professional staff are committed to understanding and meeting the individual needs of those they serve.
They meet each client where they are and take them to where they never imagined they could be. Coming alongside those who face an unexpected pregnancy, a women’s health issue, or a previous child loss through abortion, miscarriage, or infant loss is an undeserved privilege. They stand beside their clients so they do not have to face their fear or grief alone.
Volunteer Needs:
Resource Coaches
Nurses (or other medically licensed professionals)
Call Center
Our needs, requirements, and the application are listed on our website:
Web Page: www.piedmontwomenscenter.org
Address: PO Box 26866, Greenville, SC 29616
Phone: 864-233-3823
Twin Lakes Fellowship - Jackson/Florence, MS
The Twin Lakes Fellowship is a ministerial fraternal devoted to the encouragement of Gospel ministry and ministers, and to the promotion of healthy biblical church planting. The Twin Lakes Fellowship is a ministry of the Session of the historic First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS (in conjunction with several other PCA sessions and ministers in Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina). This fellowship is designed to pursue a twofold purpose: 1) To encourage ministers and churches to promote the work of church planting through their local congregations; and 2) to encourage ministers in their personal growth in grace, so as to maximize their effectiveness in promoting the work of the Gospel.
REFORMED UNIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP
Anderson University
John & Cheryl Boyte
John Boyte is a graduate of Clemson University where he earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering
John has worked with youth as a lay minister directing and teaching the Junior High Youth at Peoples Bible Church in Greenville, SC and the Senior High at the Evangelical Church of Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand. He was involved with teaching Sunday School and assisting with the youth at New Covenant before joining the staff in 1996. He finished the MDiv at Erskine Seminary and is ordained as a Teaching Elder in the PCA Church. He married his wife, Cheryl in 1987. They have three children, J.J., Casey, and Caleb. John served as Associate Pastor of New Covenant Church for twelve years while also serving as the campus minister at Anderson University. He has served as campus minister at Anderson for over 18 years. He has also served the church as an interim pastor at Covenant Preabyterian Church in Easley, SC.
Wofford College
Oliver & Kim Pierce
Oliver and his wife, Kim, both grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. Oliver studied English and Philosophy at Middle Tennessee State University where he got involved with RUF and loved it so much he ended up interning for RUF at MTSU after he graduated. Kim graduated from Berry College and they got married shortly after! After Kim finished up PA school in Nashville, the Pierces headed to Philadelphia for Oliver to study at Westminster Theological Seminary. While in Philly, Oliver interned at Tenth Presbyterian with the Tenth College Fellowship at UPenn, Drexel & Temple.
In 2018, Oliver graduated from WTS and the Pierces moved to Indiana, Pennsylvania, where they spent four years pioneering a new RUF at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After eight years of adventure in college ministry in Pennsylvania, the Pierces are excited to be back in the southeast and have a new opportunity to love and serve students at Wofford. Oliver and Kim have two daughters, Emilia (born 2018) and Julia (born 2020).
If you are a Wofford student, prospective student, or parent, the Pierces would love to meet you.
