12 | December 2025
What a Difference a Year Makes! It has been said that you will overestimate what you can accomplish in a day and underestimate what you can accomplish in a year. If we apply that to God and what he is capable of, he can do so much! And while there are many stories of life and church change in 2025, one of the most exciting in our Southwest Region is seeing the two side-by-side pic- tures of Grace Church, Harrison, from a year ago to now. Austin and Amy Mathis, along with their son Easton, planted Grace Church three years ago, and their church has changed significantly in the past year! In April, Harrison Avenue Baptist Church (HABC) voted to be adopted by Grace. After months of renovations, Grace Church moved into the newly renovated space on October 6. Grace Church honored the 68-year legacy of HABC by having an Honor Sunday. Grace Church has since baptized 11 already this year, with more scheduled, and given over $9,000 to missions in their Firstfruits Missions Offering. In the past year, they have also doubled in attendance, launched GRC YTH for 6th-12th grade, and have recent- ly been hosting “Fill the Truck” to offer food and assis - tance to those impacted by the government shutdown and the pause of SNAP benefits. Their congregation also put in the work! As Austin shared, “I cannot thank the people of Grace Church enough. They would work all day, then show up and work here until 10 pm. They didn’t have to be asked. They weren’t guilted into it. They just showed up, and it wasn’t because of me. It’s because they love Jesus and his church.” By Reagan Wagoner, Southwest Region catalyst
Pastor Austin Mathis, Amy Mathis, and son, Easton.
Austin also acknowledges that there is no way God would be working in their church without the power of prayer. He shared his routine during the renovations. “Several times a week, I sit here. Alone. In a half-finished auditorium, praying. Praying in gratitude for everything we’ve seen God do in the young life of Grace Church Harrison. Praying expectantly for what’s ahead. It’s wild to think about the long history in these walls, the people who have worshiped here, the lives changed, the faith that’s been passed down. Decades of Sunday services. And now we get to step into that story and carry it for- ward. There is nowhere else I’d rather be.” So grateful for what God is doing through Grace Church Harrison, and other churches that are planting, merging, and revitalizing, that Jesus may continue to be known more in Cincinnati!
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