An Open Door in Powdersville
Providence Presbyterian Church sits just off Highway 153 in the Powdersville community of northern Greenville, South Carolina. The congregation is a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a partner church in Foothills Presbytery. The tagline that runs through every page of the church is the same one that runs through its Sundays: "Come as You Are, Leave Transformed." The shorter version, repeated on the homepage and in the Facebook Group, is even more direct: "You don't have to dress up. You don't have to make up. Just show up."
Providence calls itself a "thin place," borrowing an old Celtic phrase for a location where the boundary between everyday life and the presence of God feels paper-thin. The building is small and the membership is small, but the ministry footprint is wide. A Christian preschool operates on the same campus. A ukulele band plays for retirement home residents twice a week. A backpack food program quietly feeds children at a neighborhood elementary school every weekend. And a small flock of chickens, traveling from Powdersville to West Africa, has become the church's most unlikely and most discussed outreach.
Sunday Mornings at Providence
The weekly rhythm is unhurried. Sunday School for all ages begins at 9:45 a.m. in Ellenburg Hall, the church's fellowship and education building next door. The multigenerational Chancel Choir rehearses and leads worship from the choir loft above the nave, and on most Sundays the adult class gathers upstairs in Ellenburg Hall. Children and youth meet in their own classrooms, and the youngest are welcomed into the nursery.
Worship follows at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary, running about an hour, with the final blessing at noon. On the occasional fifth Sunday of a month, the congregation spreads a covered-dish picnic lunch in Ellenburg Hall immediately after the service, with barbecue sandwiches and a running joke about "stretchy pants."
Anyone who cannot attend in person can watch the service on Facebook Live at 11:00 a.m. The church's Facebook Group is where members swap announcements, prayer concerns, and the occasional ukulele video. A weekly sermon archive is also available, with recent messages drawing on Genesis 9, Mark 10, the story of Noah's covenant, and the everyday questions that surface when life feels like a flood.
Inside the Order of Worship
The service follows a traditional Presbyterian order that has been practiced in Reformed churches for centuries. A short call to worship opens the hour, and the first hymn names God as the center of the day. A prayer of confession follows, naming the ways the congregation has fallen short, and the minister responds with the assurance of pardon, "In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven."
Scripture is read from both the Old and New Testaments, followed by the sermon and an affirmation of faith drawn from the church's confessional standards. The prayers of the people lift up the community, the church, and the wider world, and the offering is gathered with an offertory anthem. Communion is celebrated on scheduled Sundays using bread and juice, with all baptized Christians welcome at the table. When a baptism is scheduled, the same service includes the sacrament, and the water in the font is described as a tangible sign of new life, drawing on the imagery of Noah's flood, the parting of the Red Sea, the River Jordan, and Jesus at the wedding at Cana.
Preaching Through the Storms
The pastor at Providence, the Rev. Elliott Grow, preaches a series of sermons that walk through the congregation's covenant phrase by phrase. The "Worship Regularly" message, posted in full on the church's site, uses the story of Noah's flood as the lens. Grow opens with images of recent hurricanes on the evening news, then turns to the floods that members experience in their own lives, the bills that cannot be paid, the responsibilities that pile up at work and at home, the grief, anger, hopelessness, greed, bitterness, guilt, shame, and fear that wash over any ordinary week.
His argument is that the weekly order of worship is itself a survival kit. Call to worship. Confession. Forgiveness. Scripture. Affirmation of faith. Offering. Prayer. Hymn. Sending. Each element of the liturgy gives worshipers a way to respond to God when they feel overwhelmed. The promise to worship regularly, Grow writes, is the choice to keep trusting in God's covenants day by day, through thoughts and actions, by studying the scriptures, by breaking bread with the least of these, and by living out baptismal vows.
The Congregation's Covenant
Each week the members of Providence renew six promises together. They call them simply the covenant, and the words are printed on the website and recited in worship:
- Worship Regularly
- Pray Faithfully
- Serve Willingly
- Give Cheerfully
- Live Joyfully
- Love Unconditionally
The promises are short, but the congregation takes them seriously. The covenant is paired on the homepage with a cluster of invitations, "Haven't been to church in a while? We don't do shame. Just come and join us," and the recurring line, "As a group of friends, we have power." A second version of the welcome on the site adds, "God shares his blessings with us so that we can share with the community."
What to Expect as a First-Time Visitor
The church's own welcome pages repeat the line about pajamas, and the dress on Sunday morning runs from blue jeans to a sport coat. Communion is open to all who trust in Christ. The order of service is printed and projected so newcomers can follow along without any prior knowledge of Presbyterian liturgy, and greeters are stationed at the door to hand out bulletins and answer questions.
Parking is available on the church grounds at 4000 Highway 153, Greenville, SC 29611. The sanctuary is a single story, and the education wing in Ellenburg Hall is one level with no stairs to the main floor. Sunday School classes for every age, from nursery through adult, meet at 9:45 a.m., and the worship service is intentionally shorter than the Sunday school hour so families with younger children do not have to choose. The church office number is 864-605-1011, and a message left on the office line is forwarded to the pastor.
Providence Preschool and Kindergarten
Providence Preschool and Kindergarten operates as a Christian-based, half-day program for two-year-olds through kindergarten. The school's motto is "LEARN AND PLAY THE CREATIVE WAY." Class hours are part time: K2 through K4 meet from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and the kindergarten runs from 8:25 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. Tuition is set at $260 a month for three-day classes (Tuesday through Thursday), $290 a month for four-day classes (Monday through Thursday), and $365 a month for the four-day-a-week kindergarten.
The curriculum introduces letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and nursery rhymes in age-appropriate ways, with a weekly Bible story woven into every classroom. K3 students begin writing their names, and K4 is treated as a runway to kindergarten work, with daily writing, cutting, painting, singing, and praying. The kindergarten itself is led by a certified teacher, follows South Carolina state standards, and caps enrollment at ten students so that each child receives plenty of one-on-one attention. Judi serves as director, Sheree as assistant director and lead kindergarten teacher, and a full staff of lead teachers covers the preschool classrooms, including Shannon, who teaches music.
Tours are required before registration, and the waitlist does not carry over from year to year. A Student Handbook is available online, and families can contact the preschool through the church office at 864-605-1011.
Ellenburg Hall
Just down the road at 4006 Highway 153, Easley, SC 29611, Ellenburg Hall serves as the fellowship and education hub of the church. Sunday School classes meet there, preschool classes fill its rooms during the week, and the hall hosts the 5th Sunday Lunch, the Scholastic Book Fair, congregational retreats, committee meetings, showers, and seasonal events. The hall is also available for community rentals; inquiries go to Gene Smith at 864-630-6987 or ellenburghallevents@gmail.com.
Angel Ministry
One of the most tender ministries at Providence began when members started sewing burial gowns, buntings, cocoons, and blankets for babies who do not leave the hospital because of fetal demise, stillbirth, or other complications. The garments are made from donated materials, including repurposed wedding gowns, and are given at no cost to the families who need them. Finished items are distributed to Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Bon Secours, and Prisma Healthcare. Anyone interested in donating a wedding dress, lace, thread, white fleece, or funds can reach the ministry through Robin Bell, the Missions Committee chair, or by designating a gift to the Angel Ministry through the church's online giving page. "God is good," the page reads, "and we thank all who have helped to get this ministry underway."
Backpack Ministry at East End Elementary
Providence partners with East End Elementary School, just down the road in the Powdersville area, to make sure children do not go hungry over the weekend. Each week a rotating crew packs food for about thirteen students, with volunteers delivering the backpacks to the school on Friday afternoons. The same partnership supports a back-to-school supply drive each August and an Angel Tree gift program at Christmas, in which church members shop for specific children identified by the school. The ministry runs quietly, and the names of the children are not publicized, but the impact on the school has been consistent enough to keep the project going year after year.
Ukulele Ministry
Several members of the church have formed a ukulele group that plays in worship and visits Foothills Retirement Community on Mondays and Wednesdays. The players range from long-time strummers to beginners, and some of them take lessons at First Baptist Easley and join that congregation's ukulele classes. In the summer, members of the group have helped lead a ukulele class at First Baptist's children's camp. The little instruments have become one of the more visible ways the congregation reaches beyond its own walls, and videos of the players turn up regularly in the church's Facebook Group.
The Choir Loft
The Chancel Choir is described on the church's visit page as a multigenerational ensemble, and it leads the congregation in the hymns of the day from the loft above the sanctuary. The first hymn of each service is selected to focus on God as the center of the day, and the choir adds an offertory anthem during the gathering of gifts.
Chickens for Jesus
The "Chickens for Jesus" mission is the most distinctive outreach of the congregation, and it grew out of a conversation between two of its charter members, Robin Bell and Debbie Clapp. The pair wanted their small membership to do more for the gospel, and they coined the catchy name to show that they cared and that they did not take themselves too seriously.
The project draws on the Presbyterian Giving Catalog, raising spare change to buy a "family of chickens" for families in developing nations. The flock provides daily protein through eggs, additional income as the birds multiply, and useful feathers for crafts and pillows. The page on the church's site notes that the gift keeps on giving, securing a long-term, sustainable food source for the family, and points to a PC(USA) feature story about how the wider "Raising Chickens for Jesus" initiative grew from a single idea into a sustainable ministry in West Africa that opens doors for new churches and humanitarian work.
Donations are collected at Adult Sunday School and Wednesday Night Bible Study, and online gifts can be designated to the project. The longer-term goal of the effort is to help provide clean water for underserved communities as the project grows.
Other Community Connections
Providence keeps a long list of local partners. The congregation supports Pack 95 of the Cub Scouts in Powdersville, hosts a Women's AA meeting in the church's facilities, and encourages members to serve through Foothills Presbytery and the wider Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). A separate entry under the Ministries page tracks a "Family of Chickens" project from the Presbyterian Giving Catalog, with a future focus on water access. The Missions Committee, chaired by Robin Bell, ties the work together with a one-sentence mission: "Make Disciples. It is good news and good works. We are to lead, by example, others to Jesus Christ. This includes being respectful and kind with other diverse societies. Be inclusive and understanding of diverse cultures and social differences in the community and in the world."
What Providence Believes
Providence is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and lives within the bounds of Foothills Presbytery. The church models itself on the early community at Pentecost, "devoting ourselves to the church's teachings and fellowship, and the breaking of bread and prayer, praising God with generous hearts, and fostering the goodwill of all people."
For its confessional standard the church points to A Brief Statement of Faith, including the lines, "In life and in death, we belong to God... In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth praying, 'Come, Lord Jesus.'" Providence takes seriously the classical marks of the Reformed tradition: the authority of Scripture, the centrality of grace, the celebration of the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and the rule of elders who shepherd the congregation under the presbytery.
Leadership and Connections
The Rev. Elliott Grow serves as the church's Commissioned Ruling Elder and Stated Supply Minister. He can be reached through the church office at 864-605-1011. Robin Bell chairs the Missions Committee, which oversees the Angel Ministry, Backpack Ministry, Chickens for Jesus, and the global giving partnerships of the congregation. Judi serves as director of Providence Preschool and Kindergarten. The mailing address for both the church and the preschool is 4000 Highway 153, Greenville, SC 29611.
Providence keeps an active Facebook page, a members-and-friends Facebook Group, a YouTube channel with livestreamed services and recorded sermons, and a Twitter account for announcements. Online giving is available through the church's giving page, and a printed worship guide is available each Sunday morning for visitors who want to follow along with the order of service. Visitors planning a first visit can find directions, parking, and a short orientation at the visit page.