Founded in September of 2019 and based in Greer South Carolina, The Village was formed in response to a call from God to create a network of people learning to center their lives on God’s Presence. Beginning with focused times of worship, prayer and fasting, we felt God inviting us to resist the urge to build something and simply learn to be content with him and him alone.
As we have continued sharing meals, worshiping, praying, fasting, and engaging the Word individually and collectively, we have sensed God renew our hearts, awaken our souls, and move us to action. As The Village continues to grow and form, our prayer is God’s Kingdom would come here on earth as it is in heaven…and that it would come through us.
Village Ministry Team
As Pastor of Vision/Teaching Ben oversees the culture of The Village, helping guide the formation of the community, cast vision for where God is leading in the days and years to come, and lead the ministry team. Having served in pastoral ministry since 2005, he and his family planted Ebenezer Church of the Nazarene in Aiken South Carolina in 2009. Ben was ordained as an Elder in the Church of the Nazarene in 2007.
Ben LaPlace | pastor of Vision/Teaching
As Worship Director Angela works to create opportunities for The Village to encounter the Presence of God in worship collectively and learn to cultivate the Presence of God through everyday moments of worship individually. Angela has served as a Worship Pastor in churches in Michigan and South Carolina since 2006. She has also served as South Carolina Getaway Director and is a member of the District Advisory Board.
Angela LaPlace | Worship director
As Village Youth Directors, Duncan & Rebeca work to partner with parents in the spiritual formation of Village Students. They do this through creating mid-week student gatherings, periodic student focused activities, and engaging in District events. Duncan and Rebeca have been participating in youth ministry for over ten years. Duncan has served teens through camps, small groups, and mentorship in South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, New York, and Germany. Rebeca has led small groups, administered Bible Quizzing, overseen youth activities, and organized missions projects in South Carolina.
Duncan & Rebeca Michel | village youth directors
Church of the Nazarene
The Village is a part of a global network of churches known as The Church of the Nazarene. With roots reaching back to ministry on Skid Rowe, the Church of the Nazarene was birthed out of a conviction that beliefs cannot just be thoughts, they must translate into tangible actions. Additionally, our founders believed we were stronger together than we were on our own. As a result, in Pilot Point Texas in 1908 a merger of Nazarenes with several other independent Holiness movements signaled the official start of The Church of the Nazarene as a denomination. The name “Church of the Nazarene” was chosen because it identified the ministry with the toiling masses of common people for whom Jesus lived and died.
Today, the Church of the Nazarene is home to about 2.5 million members worshiping in more than 30,000 congregations in 162 world areas. 65 percent of Nazarenes and over 80 percent of the church's 439 districts are outside the United States.
Locally, The Village is one of 70+ churches on the South Carolina District. Click here to learn more.
For more information on The Global Church of the Nazarene including history, beliefs, and missions visit nazarene.org