Promise Club

Promise Clubs are a welcoming place for older teens and adults with special needs to build friendships, have fun, and grow in their faith. We’ll play games, sing songs, learn about the Bible, and enjoy time together. Our hope is to create a joyful and caring community where everyone feels loved, included, and valued.   We welcome those with both physical and intellectual challenges and we provide "Buddies" to assist where needed.  

Promise Clubs are structured as a place for adults of any age with physical or intellectual challenges to build peer friendships.  Caregivers or siblings that wish to join with the participants are generally welcome.  Older teens are also welcome if they function well in an adult environment.  

If you wish to come as a volunteer to help with the clubs please see the FAQ on how to become a "Buddy". 

Note: at this time we do NOT provide medical assistance, if a participant needs ongoing monitoring for medical needs, needs to have medications given during the club, or needs special attention beyond what a non-medical volunteer can give, we would welcome a trained caregiver to attend the club with the participant.  

If you have questions about participating, You can discuss your specific situation with Pastor Mark at mbickel@gracebfc.org

Currently the Promise Club at Grace meets once a month, normally on the Second Tuesday of the month.

Currently the Promise Clubmeet on the Second Tuesday of the month from 6:30 - 8:00 pm.  People are welcome to come anytime after 6pm to hangout.  Snacks are provided from 6:00 - 6:30, and participants are also welcome to bring their own food during this time.  Clubs will wrap up at 8pm and participants needing rides should generally be picked up betw

We meet in the gym at Grace Church in Wallingford.  723 South Providence Road, Wallingford, PA 19086

At this time we do NOT provide medical assistance, if a participant needs ongoing monitoring for medical needs, needs to have medications given during the club, or needs special attention beyond what a non-medical volunteer can give, we would welcome a trained caregiver to attend the club with the participant.  

The church building does have a covered ramp entrance with automatic door openers.  Promise Club activities normally take place on the ground floor.  If anyone would ever need access to other floors, we do have a handicap accessible lift.  Currently our ground floor mens and women's restroom have a larger stall with handrails.  We are in the midst of construction on a fully ADA compliant family restroom with adult changing table, we are hopeful that will be available in early 2027.

If you have questions about participating, You can discuss your specific situation with Pastor Mark at mbickel@gracebfc.org

We do ask people to register in advance so we can assure we have an appropriate number of Buddies available to assist.  We also ask participants and/or their caregiver to provide some basic information prior to your first visit so we have a better idea how to properly accommodate all participants.

In general caregivers / relatives are not required to attend, but are always welcome.  If the participant needs ongoing medical monitoring, medication to be administered during the club, or other oversight beyond what a non-medical volunteers could provide, then we do require a caregiver to attend with the participant.

The church building does have a covered ramp entrance with automatic door openers.  Promise Club activities normally take place on the ground floor.  If anyone would ever need access to other floors, we do have a handicap accessible lift.  

Currently our ground floor mens and women's restroom have a larger stall with handrails.  We are in the midst of construction on a fully ADA compliant family restroom with adult changing table, we are hopeful that will be available in early 2027.

We do have a room down the hall from the gym that will be quiet that you can go to if you want to get away from the main room.  There will be some fidgets as well as coloring options in the quiet room.  

We will have noise canceling headphones available in the gym, along with some figits.  You are welcome to move around in the gym to move farther from the speakers / any larger groups. 

We would ask that if you leave the gym that you let the person at the door know so we know where people are.  We do ask that a buddy be with those who leave the gym area.

Buddies are cleared and trained volunteers that are there to aid participants in any way needed.  Each participant will be paired with some of our Buddies.  Usually one Buddy to every one or two participants.  

All Buddies will have a name tag lanyard saying they are a Buddy.  If you have any needs at all feel free to reach out to any Buddy, or to the person my the entrance.  

If you desire to volunteer as a Buddy at Promise Clubs you need to fill out the Buddy Application.  As part of the approval process we require a PA Child Protection Clearance along with a PA or  FBI Criminal Background Check. We also require Buddy Training, a 1 hour training offered throughout the year.  A video training course can be done in place of the in person class.

You can get the Buddy Application and Training Video link from Pastor Mark, email: mbickel@gracebfc.org.  You can find instructions for Clearances HERE.  

No, you do not need any religious background to attend.  Everyone is welcome!

The leaders of the Promise Club are Christians and the lesson each meeting will be from the Bible (the Christian Scriptures).  But we welcome everyone to attend, regardless of religious belief.

Promise clubs originated in Montana through Camp Promise Ministries.  Recently a few other clubs have been started throughout the US.  The Grace Church Promise Club is the only one currently meeting in the greater Philly area.

You can find out more about the Promise Club Movement HERE

Yes, we have a variety of events and support systems for those with physical or intellectual challenges.  These include a number of things on Sunday morning, including ASL Translation and a class for those with intellectual disabilities during the Sunday service.  

You can find out about all of these and more on our "Image Bearers" web page HERE

If you have any questions about the clubs or your ability to participate, You can can contact Pastor Mark Bickel at mbickel@gracebfc.org.

If you need to reach someone at the church during the club meeting you can contact Pastor Mark by cell phone at (484) 788-9026