Welcome to Waves of Grace – a new, family centered ministry of Grace Lutheran Church. Waves of Grace began with a question: how do we as a church engage with families who have busy schedules, including commitments on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings? We wondered what role the “traditional” model of youth and family ministry had in 2025’s America, and how we as a church could meet people where they were, rather than expecting families to fit to our schedule. These discussions led us to the image of a wave, crashing onto a shore and returning to the water in perpetual motion. Coming and going and coming and going. What would a ministry of the wave look like, where we invited folks to come to shore and sent them back into the ocean with our blessing? What could our church look like if we dove head first into the water, rather than staying on land for fear of getting wet? Waves of Grace is a flexible, monthly curriculum, intended to provide all of God’s children, especially youth and families, opportunities to engage with faith outside of the church’s walls. Each month will have a Bible centered theme, like creation, fear, and blessings; a creative way to pray to God; and weekly Scripture verses and prompts to experience faith in the ocean of life. Folks are encouraged to begin each week in prayer, Scripture, and discussion of the texts. Then, as the week continues, find ways to engage with that week’s prompts, and see how faith can be experienced in all of life’s ordinariness. These prompts may invite you to be creative, conversational, contemplative, or communal. But know there is no right or wrong way to respond to them – play with as few or as many as you see fit! As the week comes to an end, you are invited to share with others how you engaged with the prompts and experienced Christ’s love. This can happen at the family dinner table, over FaceTime with your grandchild, at a coffee shop with friends, or in prayerful conversation with God. Waves of Grace is for families of all shapes and sizes! Along the way, we invite you to send pictures to Grace Lutheran Church to share your experiences and creativity with others. Our hope is that this will show that worship happens 24/7, not just at 10 AM inside of a church! This is the “ocean” experience of Waves of Grace. But like a wave, you will be invited to splash onto shore for a monthly community gathering at 6 PM, the last Sunday of each month. We will meet in Grace’s fellowship hall for a time of prayer, food, fellowship, music, games, communion, and storytelling. As a faith community, we will share together how we engaged with each month’s theme, finding encouragement and fostering relationships before returning to the ocean for another month.
It is our hope that Waves of Grace will accomplish these three goals. First, we hope to connect with folks, especially families, who do not have the time to commit to traditional worship opportunities. Second, we hope to engage with folks beyond Grace’s community – all are welcome to participate in Waves of Grace! And third, we hope to foster stronger relationships within the Waves of Grace community – that by disrupting the traditional notions of what church means, we can learn to worship in all times and all places. Maybe that means attending a baseball game for one of our high schoolers; maybe that means writing letters to someone going through a difficult time; maybe that means sitting at the dinner table with your family and talking about Scripture. However you engage with Waves of Grace, we hope you’ll come along on this new adventure. To quote one of my favorite camp songs, “Waves of mercy, waves of grace. Everywhere I look, I see your face.” We hope you dive in with us!
