Our Mission
"We exist to serve and equip our neighbors in their god-given potential, for the good of our community."
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Our Strategy
Serving and equipping our neighbors to be community leaders.
We believe that God is renewing all things. The Gospel is the good news that darkness & despair won’t win the day, because Jesus defeated sin and death. He’s alive, and because of that we have a tangible hope for the future. We believe lives will be changed, and communities will be transformed, because we believe God is renewing ALL things (not some things).
So how is God doing that?
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Hope and renewal are spreading in the world, through people who have been filled with hope, and made knew in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We describe this as vertical formation (receiving the love of God) and horizontal formation (extending the love of God). Each of us is on a formation journey that will last a lifetime. We’re all continuing to plunge the depths of God’s love that we might be further changed by it. And we’re all continuing to learn how to love our neighbors as Jesus has loved us. That’s life… and that’s what we’re inviting students into. We summarize this journey with two words - Equip & Elevate. We are equipping students in their God-given potential, and elevating them into positions of leadership, to invest back into their community.
Our Team
GRACE BRIDGER
Program Director
Grace Bridger is a native of Greenville, SC! She is a graduate of North Greenville University. She was introduced to the non-profit world in 2017 through Mill Village Farms and became our Program Director in 2019.
Anyone who knows Grace knows that she loves to throw a party, so of course her favorite éleos memory comes from our annual Thanksgiving dinner - "In 2022 we had over 60 people attend including students, parents, mentors & staff. It felt like our éleos family had never been bigger! We wrapped up the night with dancing and it was so fun seeing our students just be themselves."
When Grace isn’t hanging out with our students, she loves spending as much time outdoors as possible, whether it is on a backpacking trip or gardening in her backyard!
Zoé Oliphant
Nicholtown Program Manager
Zoé Oliphant is a native of Greenville, SC! She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Upstate, with a bachelors in Communications Mass Media.
She became our Program Coordinator in 2021 and then our Program Manager in 2023!
Zoe is passionate about connecting community through production and the arts! She has been immersed in performing arts for 13 years and it has become a way of expression and remedy.
Zoé believes that a balance of education and enlightenment of one’s God-given potential can direct our students into a bright future!
When asked why she loves being a part of éleos she said, "We are impacting lives and the community one day at a time, one step at a time. Jesus did not ask us to save, he told us to serve. He told us to LOVE."
When Zoe is not with our students, she enjoys spending time with her family!
Joy Hill
Co-founder & Family Services Coordinator
Joy was born in Queens and raised in Reading, PA! She sprinted her way through college on the Cedarville University Track & Field team and graduated with an Exercise Science degree.
Joy and her husband Cam were married in 2013 and started their lives together in Nicholtown. In 2016 they founded Éleos Ministry!
Joy is an extrovert and spends her time going on adventures with Cam and their three kids, teaching group exercise classes at active living communities, gardening, playing sports, meeting new neighbors, encouraging others to live healthy, active lifestyles, and traveling to see her siblings.
For éleos, Joy will continue to connect our student families and neighbors with local organizations to improve their circumstances and provide opportunities to flourish. She's passionate about creating community and building relationships with neighbors and her hope is to reveal the need for Jesus in every aspect of life.
eleos IS A PART OF A COLLECTIVE
Essentially, that means Éleos has the opportunity to share resources and know-how with a ton of talented leaders. You can find our Board of Directors here.