In the season premiere, directed by executive producer Clement Virgo (“The Book of Negroes”), Grace and her teenage daughter Sophia (Desiree Ross, “Falling Skies”) are warmly welcomed home by Grace’s father, Bishop Greenleaf. Sparked by Grace’s return to Memphis, tensions quickly rise. At a family dinner in the Greenleaf mansion, Grace’s mother is cold and hostile. Her sister-in-law Kerissa (Kim Hawthorne, “Rake”) questions her about her faith and sister Charity (Deborah Joy Winans, “Whitney”) erupts with jealousy at the suggestion that Grace might start preaching at Calvary. Later, Grace’s Aunt Mavis (Oprah Winfrey, “Selma”) discusses with her the circumstances of Faith’s death and reveals some shocking information about Grace’s Uncle “Mac” (Gregory Alan Williams, “Terminator Genisys”). Mavis is still estranged from the Greenleaf family and it becomes evident that she intends to use Grace to sow the seeds of its destruction.

Grace moves back to Memphis under false pretenses in order to pursue the man she holds responsible for her sister’s death but finds the realities of working in her family’s church again harder to handle than she expected.

Grace finds herself on an uncomfortable date. Jacob and Kerissa see their marriage for what it has become. Meanwhile, Senator Banks turns up the heat in his inquiry into the church’s finances.

The mayor calls in a favor, asking Calvary to take a controversial stance and publicly support David Nelson, a cop who shot and killed an unarmed teenager, leaving the Bishop in a bind that could potentially split the church. Grace is blackmailed by someone with upsetting information about Faith's past while Sophia defies her mother's order and sneaks out to attend a protest in honor of Kenny Collins, David Nelson's victim. Jacob reluctantly attends couple's counseling and finds the therapy useful, though not in the way Kerissa had hoped. Charity, despite Kevin's warnings, can't keep her secret.

When members of the church reach out for prayers for their terminally ill child, Grace (Merle Dandridge, "The Night Shift") and the Bishop (Keith David, "Community") find themselves with opposing views on the value of hope and the responsibilities of a pastor. Lady Mae (Lynn Whitfield, "The Josephine Baker Story") devises a plan to mend fences between the Bishop and Deacon Sykes (Jen Harper, "Kill the Messenger") while Kerissa (Kim Hawthorne, "Rake"), pushed to her limit with Jacob's (Lamman Rucker, "Meet the Browns") infidelities, takes explosive action without a plan -- with unintended consequences for both she and Jacob's careers. Kevin (Tye White, "The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story") takes another step toward exploring his sexuality in the face of news about Charity's (Deborah Joy Winans, "Whitney") pregnancy.

The Bishop, despite protestations from both Grace and Lady Mae, appoints Grace to preach on Sunday in his absence, forcing Grace to deal with her conflicted feelings about returning to the pulpit and forcing Lady Mae to admit that the Bishop blames her for Faith's death. Jacob's plans to score a television deal to broadcast Calvary services in an attempt to get reinstated take an unexpected turn when the television executive takes a liking to Kerissa. Meanwhile, Kevin's flippant advice to Charity on how to hire a new music director backfires, bringing up Kevin's deep-seated issues.