Morning Grace
On a recent December Monday morning, Shades of Grace opens its doors as a beacon of hope and help in downtown Kingsport. (Photo by Annette Spence)
KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- Ten years ago, the Rev. Will Shewey was ready to do something different. Ten years ago, Shewey heard God calling him to start a ministry with the “last, least, lost and lonely." He just wasn’t sure what that looked like yet.
After kicking off with worship and other start-up activities in Mafair United Methodist Church for nine weeks, Shades of Grace opened as a storefront ministry in downtown Kingsport in October 2014. As people flocked to the doors, it quickly became evident that Shades of Grace was called to be a beacon of hope and help to the unhoused and addicted, Shewey says today.
“Whenever we opened the doors, we were caught off guard because we didn’t expect that,” Shewey said. “All I knew was that I had a burning zeal to start a storefront church. The ministry just evolved into this.”
For a decade, hundreds of United Methodists as well as believers from other faith traditions have visited Shades of Grace because it seems like a place where Jesus would hang out. Many visitors not only returned to provide food or other aid for the vulnerable downtown community. Some stayed to join the congregation in worship or to work alongside Shewey and administrator Jimmy Rogers.
“Don’t ever forget that Jesus Christ was often homeless, too,” Shewey writes in a book called, Reflections from God’s Living Room. “Jesus lived that way to identify with the least of these.”
In honor of Shades of Grace’s 10th anniversary and the birthday of the migrant and savior followed by Christians, here are 10 amazing accomplishments from Shades of Grace’s first decade.
1. Baptized 120 persons on profession of faith. Among the many needs Shades of Grace meets on a daily basis, the church offers weekly worship (currently on Saturday morning) and Bible study (on Wednesday). Of the 75 persons in average worship attendance, about half are people without shelter. Shewey tells many stories of neighbors who asked to be baptized within the last decade and who have since died from suicide, homicide or other hardships of addiction and living on the streets.
2. Performed 129 funerals. Shades of Grace has not only hosted numerous memorial services, the church has inurned more than 130 deceased persons whose bodies were never claimed. The church partners with a local funeral home. Nearby Immanuel Lutheran Church donated a cemetery plot. Each year near All Saints Day, Shades of Grace has a special community service to provide a place of rest for persons who were almost forgotten. “It’s often been said that Shades of Grace is the last stop before heaven,” Shewey says.
Lunch bags
Volunteers offer bagged meals and Christmas cupcakes on Dec. 9 at Shades of Grace. (Courtesy Photo)
3. Provided 500,000+ meals. The church currently serves about 100 to-go meals five mornings each week, prepared by groups from various churches, businesses and organizations. Shewey estimates that more than 500,000 meals have been served over the last 10 years. Men and women’s showers and a clothing closet were built into the ministry when the need became obvious. On a recent cold and rainy morning at Shades of Grace, persons showed up at the door to request hot showers and dry clothing.
4. Purchased more than 1,500 birth certificates. People need birth certificates, photo identifications, and Social Security cards to get jobs, housing or assistance. These legal documents are often lost and regaining them requires money, transportation and navigating red tape. Shades of Grace pays and paves the way to help neighbors acquire crucial documents. The church also offers its own address and a mailbox for unhoused persons to receive mail.
5. Paid more than $25,000 in medical expenses. Hospitals sometimes call Shades of Grace, looking for a place to send discharged patients with nowhere to go. Neighbors show up with gaping wounds, mental-illness crises, a dire need for insulin or colostomy bags. The church tries to help, reaching out to individuals with expertise or resources, paying for prescriptions or other medical needs when necessary. “They all need a calm, safe place to go,” says Rogers.
6. Created a music ministry. Shades of Grace invested in a music director, Landon Bellamy, by providing housing and utilities. In addition to leading weekly worship music, Bellamy led a group of 30 Shades of Grace members as they sang praise music on the Holston Annual Conference stage this past June in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. According to Shewey, the trip to Annual Conference was a high moment in his congregation’s life. “We would love to do it again.”
7. Helped start a namesake ministry in Nigeria. Four years ago, a woman named Uzoma Alu, who works in Kingsport, talked to Shewey about a ministry idea she had for her homeland. The pastor committed $2,000 a month to begin Shades of Grace International, a ministry that digs wells and provides food. The ministry also supports a school with 180 students and eight teachers and an orphanage. Shewey estimates that $100,000 has been invested so far.
Podcasters
Rev. Will Shewey (left) and Jimmy Rogers go live in their weekly online show. (Courtesy Photo)
8. Produced books and a weekly show. In 2023, Shewey published a book called “Shades of Grace: Reflections from God’s Living Room.” A second book, “Legion: Faces from God’s Living Room,” is planned for 2025. In addition, Shewey and Rogers host a weekly video show on YouTube and Facebook called “The Will and Jimmy Show.” The show, which goes live Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST, recently logged 19,000 views. Shades of Grace’s weekly worship, which posts Sundays on Facebook, recently logged 48,000 views.
9. Acquired ownership of four buildings. Shades of Grace started with its flagship building, a former grocery store and then flooring business, located at 313 East Sullivan Street. The main property has been renovated and improved over the years. Other nearby buildings have been donated or bought by Shades of Grace. Currently, the church owns three properties. One building is soon to be sold, and the former grocery store leased by Shades of Grace for the last 10 years will soon be donated to the church by the owner.
10. Built a ministry on faith. When Shewey left his last appointment in a local church, he was appointed as a United Methodist pastor to start a new church in Kingsport. Named after a double rainbow he witnessed following a storm, Shades of Grace received a $12,000 start-up offering at its first worship service. Since then, support has poured in from believers. “Shades was established on the understanding that nothing will ever be sold, and all our ministry will be strictly by faith from tithes and gifts,” Shewey said. “We base that on Jesus’ words, ‘Freely you have received. Freely give.’”
Shades of Grace, a United Methodist congregation, was also established as a church for all people, Shewey said. “No exceptions allowed. All people are of sacred value.”
Annette Spence is editor of The Call, the Holston Conference source of news and stories. Holston Conference includes United Methodist churches in East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and North Georgia, with main offices in Alcoa, Tennessee. Sign up for a free email subscription to The Call.