Growing in Grace Ministry

By Rev. Dr. Tony Davis, Associate Priest, St. Andrew’s Church, Little Rock

If one were to walk into St. Andrew’s narthex at 5:45 p.m. on a Wednesday evening (except for Christmas and New Year’s) you would walk into a motley hive of fellowship, breaking bread, prayer, worship and praise. Bill Carpenter, the steward of this Wednesday night ministry, prays a blessing over the food that is prepared. Then the roughly 100 people gathered enjoy a meal, sing along with Michael Brymer and his team, hear a gospel-centered sermon and/or testimony, come front for a time of prayer and then split into gender-specific meetings to close out the evening.

Preparation for this time began earlier in the week with food delivery and lesson plans for the GiG Kids ministry. On the day of, a gathering of church members and volunteers arrive around 4 p.m. with Cathy Lamb and her crew preparing the meal, Michael and his crew practicing for worship and three vans spreading out across the city of Little Rock. By the time the vans arrive back at St. Andrew’s, many are already sitting at tables, drinking coffee and sharing their stories.

When sitting down to listen to their stories, one will find some who had just been released from jail earlier that morning. For others, a judge mandated that they attend a recovery program a certain number of times each week and—for tonight—they have come for a meal and a signature on their form. Many have been coming for years, have walked a long road to recovery and state that they came to know the Lord at the rail right here in the sanctuary at St. Andrew’s on a Wednesday night such as this. By 6:15 p.m., Michael strums his guitar and this beautiful gathering moves into the sanctuary for a time of worship, praise and—most importantly—a time for the Holy Spirit to speak and to change lives.

Everyone here will tell you that this is “GiG.” Growing in Grace is a ministry that started 20 years ago in the house of Don and Donna Blair before quickly moving to St. Andrew’s. It is not your typical recovery program; it certainly is not your typical Anglican church service. In fact, I personally have never experienced anything even closely related to how the Spirit moves during GiG. The night and the service are an intersection of heaven and earth for those attending, if only for a couple of hours. At the end of the evening, some go back to a halfway house; some go home to their families; others do not have a home to which to return. Again, many may have come for just a meal and to get a court-ordered signature. And we welcome that. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. … Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:35,40 ESV) What an honor and a joy to get to eat, praise and worship and sit in the presence of our God together, if even for two hours on one Wednesday night in Little Rock.

Rev. Dr. Tony Davis joined the pastoral staff at St. Andrew’s Church in Little Rock as an associate priest in June, after serving as a Biblical worldview teacher and, most recently, the head of upper school at a local private school. He has a Master in Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He and his wife, Hillary, have four children. 

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Related Posts