Issue no.

14, October 2010

Join us in thanking God for
His provision and grace in our
lives in the following ways:
• His provision of Jesus who fully drank the
wrath of God on our behalf so that we can
experience forgiveness for sin and
reconciliation with God
• East North Street Baptist Church allowing
us to use their facilities in a dual usage
agreement!
• 20 attendees going through Partnership
Class
• 2 new college reGroups
• Opportunities to serve at Shepherd’s
Gate, Connie Maxwell Girls Home, a
block party with Rocky Creek Baptist Church,
and others where we can practice humbly serving
others as Jesus served us
• God’s continued financial provision through your
giving
• Successful Multiplying Disciples Summit (MDS)
• Currently 37 one-on-one discipleship
relationships meeting weekly to study Colossians
• The grace of God to us that He is seeing fit to
build His church through Renewal
Prayer Needs:
• God to continue to draw those who are far from
Him so that they would trust Christ for salvation
and sanctification
• Preparation for Renewal’s first team to travel to
Scandinavia in January to seek out a partnership with
churches in that region
• Hugh and Hollie Carson as they continue raising
support to be on staff full-time at Renewal
• Financial and personnel resources to upfit East North
Street so that it will meet ENS and Renewal’s needs
• Relationship between ENS and Renewal as we embark
on this journey of using the same space for the glory of
God - pray for unity, love, and humble service between
the two congregations
• Fall Getaway (first weekend of November) - all Renewal
college students going to Pigeon Forge, TN for a
weekend of teaching and fun together

Renewed Relationship with God
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to
the fellowship, and to the breaking of bread, and to
prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
Much effort was invested in the month of September
to start our fiscal year well. With the return of college
students, school beginning, and families returning to
the routine of non-summer life we saw the danger of
getting comfortable with church life. In response, the
elders began encouraging our people to return to the
simple, but profound purpose of why we exist: to
multiply disciples to the glory of God. On Sunday
mornings, Matt began teaching through the book of
Luke in a series entitled “The Disciple Experiment”.
We are walking
through each
passage where
Jesus describes
what a disciple is,
and what a
disciple is not.
We have all been
challenged as we
examine our lives
and see how we measure up to what Jesus has called
us to as His disciples.
The elders also challenged us to follow the Titus 2
model by taking on someone spiritually younger than
each of us to disciple. Each of these pairs are
studying Colossians together, and meeting each week
to discuss what they’ve learned and how to apply
what Jesus commands.
Most of our congregation have never been involved
in a one-on-one discipleship relationship before, so
many did not know how to proceed with this
challenge. Many of our congregation had been
apart of
discipleship
classes where
they either
taught or were
apart of the
class to learn,
but few had
participated in
a one-on-one
relationship with this purpose. To equip them, we
put on a Multiplying Disciples Summit, which was
a seminar that gave practical instruction on how to
disciple another person. We all left encouraged,
more passionate about discipleship, and feeling
like we have the resources to accomplish what
God has called us to do: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold I am with you
always, to the end of the age.” Currently, there are
37 pairs meeting together weekly to study
Colossians together to model this process of
discipleship! Please join us in praying that these
pairs would see growth as God works in them
through discipleship. We are very thankful to
Summit Church for allowing us to use their space
for this event, and for Crosspoint Church for
sending workers to watch our children while
parents participated in the event.
If you would like to listen to any of the sermons
from “The Disciple Experiment” as we walk
through Luke, or messages from the Multiplying
Disciples Summit (MDS), you can access them from
www.renewalupstate.com/sermons .
How to Give
“Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone
as he had need.” Acts 2:45
Thank you again for your commitment to give to
Renewal Church! See the following information on
how to give:
• By check
Place a check in the pre-labeled envelope along
with a stamp, and mail to Renewal Church - 201
B. West Butler Rd. #151, Mauldin, S.C. 29662
• Online
Go to www.renewalupstate.com and click on
“Online Giving” at the bottom of the home page.
Click “Register” to give a one time gift.
• Automatic Draft
Go to www.renewalupstate.com and click on
“Online Giving” at the bottom of the home page.
Click “Register” to complete your automatic
draft.
A few reminders:
• All gifts are tax deductible
• Please make us aware of any address changes or
changes to your giving so we can make the
necessary adjustments. Send an email to
church@renewalupstate.com to update your
information!
• Should you desire to give to send our first
exploratory team to Scandinavia, please not that
on your checks.

www.renewalupstate.com

Renewed Relationships With
Each Other: East North Street
Baptist Church
“Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple
courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46
From the beginning, when Renewal was just a
thought and we were trying decide where this
church would plant roots, Greenville was in our
focus. One of the reasons we felt drawn here was
due to the many churches that dot our landscape
that either lost the gospel long ago, or retained the
gospel but lost their people. East North Street
Baptist Church (ENS) is one of the latter mentioned
above in that they have retained the gospel, but
have lost members as a result. The elders at
Renewal began conversations with the leadership at
ENS and have entered into a mutually beneficial
relationship where both churches will have use of
the sanctuary, fellowship hall, classrooms, nursery,
and gym that make up the ENS campus.
This is again God’s provision and perfect timing for
Renewal because we have quickly outgrown our
large group space at the hotel, and our children’s
space. We knew we would need to find a new space
soon and are so excited to see how God has
provided through this 40,000 square foot building
with multiple rooms to accomplish much of what
we envision for our gatherings. This location is very
strategic for us as well since it is surrounded by
neighborhoods and schools instead of businesses as
the hotel is now. Please pray with us that we
would be a light in these neighborhoods that God
will entrust to us as we move into this space. To
read more about why our elders made this decision,
please visit http://www.renewalupstate.com/
blogs/renewals-new-home .
Hollie Carson teaching the women at MDS
Our monthly Connections meeting (membership
meeting) was held at Rocky Creek this month. We
were challenged to fast together as a body and seek
the Lord for His guidance as He knits together our
body and builds His church. We heard updates
from Toby and Matt, and were able to present Hugh
for the first time as a staff member. This time
encouraged us as we were able to spend extended
time in prayer together and love each other well.
Dix reGroup ladies enjoying a cookout together
Two new reGroups have started each with 15-20
college students from North Greenville University
and Furman University. We are so excited to see
these students meaningfully connected to a local
body of believers and to watch them grow in their
faith. Please pray with us that they would invest
their four years of college pursuing His Kingdom
instead of their own.
Due to a lack of space at Rocky Creek Baptist
Church and at the Hilton Garden Inn, our
Partnership classes have been limited to one hour to
download all the information about Renewal that
people should know to become Partners. This
changed in September as Grace Church donated
space for us to meet for this class to become a 6 hour
partnership class. Those seeking partnership now
meet for 2 hours on 3 Sundays and are able to hear
from all pastors and some staff before making the
decision of whether or not to partner with us.
Currently there are 20 going through Partnership
class this month. Please pray with us that, if led to
Renewal, they would meaningfully connect and
fully invest themselves in making disciples in the
context of Renewal Church.
Renewed Love for Those Far
From God
“...And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved.” Acts 2:47
Renewal is continually amazed at the opportunities
given her to be able to serve. During the month of
September, many of us were able to serve others
with nourishing and fun foods, as well as have a
great time of fellowshipping with many new and
old friends.
On Sunday, September 19th, many Renewal partners
assisted Rocky Creek Baptist Church with a block
party held at Hobby Lobby on Woodruff Road in
Greenville. There were twenty people from
Renewal that served that evening. They helped the
team from Rocky Creek by making popcorn and
snow cones.
Much of what we have done as a church for City
Serve has been very church-driven instead of it
being more organic from the members of Renewal.
We would like to create a culture where the opposite
is true – where individuals or small groups see
needs and seek to meet them by inviting the rest of
the church to help. To that end, the Rogers’ small
group pursued serving at Shepherd’s Gate, a
ministry of Miracle Hill
that serves homeless
women and children in our
city. They served a spaghetti
lunch to the ladies for which
all of the small groups
contributed food. Due to a
small kitchen and dining
area, the Rogers’ group
represented Renewal by
cooking, serving, and
fellowshipping with the ladies. There are many
churches who come to teach Bible studies, volunteer
to answer the phones, or clean the grounds, but
there are few who take the time to engage in
conversation with these ladies and serve the needs
of their hearts. The Rogers’ small group was so
touched by this experience that they are looking into
how to serve there more consistently.
The ladies of the Rogers’ small group were also able
to have another get together with the girls from the
Connie Maxwell Girls Home in Mauldin. Sarah
Rogers shared her testimony with the girls and all of
the ladies were able to encourage these girls in their
walks with the Lord. This is the third get together
with them in as many months and they have greatly
enjoyed being able to pour into these girls.
Matt teaching the large group at MDS
During the month of October, Renewal is looking
forward to several new opportunities for service.
On the 24th, we will join Rocky Creek Baptist
Church with a pledged walk to raise financial
support and continual awareness for Breast Cancer.
We will be sponsoring a young mother with three
children that was recently diagnosed with this
disease. Then, at Halloween, Renewal will host a
“Trunk-A-Treat” event. We will invite all partners
of Renewal to join us to give out candy in a public
parking lot on Halloween evening. This will be a
great way to reach out to the city. Lastly, Renewal is
excited about our new location on East North Street
in Greenville. We are looking forward to the
opportunity we will have to do ministry work
within the elementary school that is beside our new
location. There are many ways to reach out with the
love of the Lord. Thank you for your prayers as we
continue to serve and love our city well.

www.renewalupstate.com