“Before God calls us to a place, he calls us to himself.”

Blake Petteway’s story is one of gradual obedience, taking steps of faith, and trusting the Lord. Petteway’s path was shaped by an intentional effort to raise the next generation of ministry leaders and missionaries in South Carolina. Educated and called at North Greenville University, trained through the Palmetto Collective, and put into practice through GenSend, Petteway is taking that foundation to serve a church plant in Los Angeles, California.

Petteway’s calling to Los Angeles came from an unlikely source. As a freshman, he played volleyball for North Greenville University. The team traveled to Los Angeles for the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship. Spending time in the city, Petteway first began to sense the Lord calling him to Los Angeles. “That was the first time God really put an impression on my heart for the people of LA,” he said. “People are searching for meaning, but they’re missing something. A lot of people are just moving aimlessly through life—chasing materialism or just chasing meaning.”

Spiritual Formation

Petteway credits North Greenville University with providing intentional discipleship and community during his four years at the school. “North Greenville has been the focal point of spiritual development for me,” he said. Whether through short-term mission trips, athletics, or intentional community building, “North Greenville was what kept me on track.”

In addition to his education, Petteway participated in Palmetto Collective (PC), a two-year leadership and missions development program for college students. “Palmetto Collective gave me real opportunities and real connections with real people to go on mission,” he said. He also emphasized PC’s emphasis on church planting, sharing that he typically viewed church planting and missions as two separate ideas. “But Palmetto Collective does a really good job of fusing those ideas together under the same missional heart of God,” he said. “It’s all about getting the character of God displayed to the most people possible.”

A Summer in Los Angeles

Although Petteway had already felt the Lord calling him to Los Angeles, it wasn’t until he spent six weeks on a GenSend trip to the city that the Lord confirmed his calling. GenSend is a missions opportunity through the North American Mission Board to serve alongside church planters in strategic locations. “It was while I was there seeing what God is doing in the lives of these faithful church planters to reach the ends of the earth, that I think God really put it on my heart,” Petteway said.

He realized that he had a unique opportunity, where his age, stage of life, and flexibility allowed him to pick up his life and move it across the United States. Rather than choosing familiarity, he chose faith. “Los Angeles is not a place I ever thought I would live,” he said, “but God has been teasing this obedience and trust out of me for a long time that compelled my heart to say yes once I got there.”

Living Missionally

All of these factors culminated in Petteway agreeing to serve alongside The Abiding, a Southern Baptist church plant in Los Angeles. He accepted a role as the Community Engagement Coordinator. His job will involve getting people plugged into the church so that they can be a witness in the community. The church plant’s community engagement is one of the reasons Petteway was excited about serving with them. “There’s just a great emphasis on outreach. I can put myself around lost people,” he said.

Another aspect of the church he is excited about is their commitment to the vulnerable. “We serve on Skid Row every week,” he said. “Whether or not we have a mission team, we go and serve the homeless in our city in one of the most concentrated areas of drug abuse and homelessness in the world.” The church believes it is uniquely positioned to serving their community. “We’re committed to serving the people that get passed over,” Petteway said.

Looking Ahead

As Petteway makes the move to Los Angeles, The Abiding is already thinking ahead. Their prayer is for increased financial partnerships for the church, especially as they move to a new location after they grew out of the one they were in. In the next two years, they plan to host evangelism conferences for youth and college-aged groups to train students to share the Gospel.

They are even looking as far ahead as 2028, when Los Angeles is set to host the Olympics. “God is bringing the nations to Los Angeles,” Petteway said. “If there’s any time to reach the nations and to invest in the strategic work that God is doing, it’s now.”