December 2021 Newsletter
Dear 431 family,
It’s hard to believe that the end of 2021 is upon us. The last part of the year always seems to fly by, and this year was no exception. We are so excited to share this year’s impact report and next year’s vision!
This fall, we sat down with our full team of staff and board members to fully identify our vision, our values and our guiding principles to compliment the mission we already have. We put down on paper that our vision is to provide a place where any woman can find authentic community, compassion, dignity, and full restoration in Christ so that she has no doubt she is known, seen, and loved. With this written vision in mind, our biggest goal for 2022 is to continue to offer opportunities for even more women in our community to be known, seen, and loved.
One of the areas we will continue to expand into is serving ladies who have lost spouses, either through death or divorce. This year, we hosted our first Hope in Healing retreat as a safe place for women to grieve. With minimal options in the area, we will be expanding this to provide a grief Bible Study, so if you or someone you know would benefit from this topic and study, please reach out for additional information.
Another goal we are prayerfully moving towards is the expansion of our staff. We are actively praying and preparing for the addition of a Case Manager to handle the everyday follow up and goal setting for everyone in our Side- by-Side and Connections program. We know the addition of this person to our staff will allow us to more fully serve the women. Many of the women we work with have never been pursued in Godly love, and that would be the Case Manager’s job. Our prayer is that we are able to raise the majority of her salary during our end of year campaign to be able to bring someone on in January.
Finally, another large goal in 2022 will be to get our new building up and going. This will be broken into several stages, with the first one being to replace the very broken current roof. This project will cost us about $100,000, and we will begin fundraising in the new year for this specifically after finding out what grants we have won. Please be praying for the Lord’s timing on this. We feel very confident that it is crucial to prepare for the clients and their immediate needs first, before we tackle the construction project. The purchase of the building took three years, so we would not be surprised to have another three year wait, but we need the patience to do so if that’s the case!
As we finish the year, we know things are very different than in years prior, and that also means that we will continue to see and work with additional needs. As you consider giving this holiday season, we ask you to prayerfully consider making a monthly commitment to the work of 431 Ministries. We included a commitment card for you to fill out and send back, or simply scan the QR code and sign up online.
For parents and grandparents, we ask you to consider setting aside a small amount to give to your children or grandchildren specifically to give away and offering a list of options for them to choose from. We’d love to be on that list, and other places you should consider are ReRoute Ministries, The Well, COTC’s Wraparound Closet, the Refuge Center for Counseling, and Freedom’s Reigns Ranch. We work with all of these locations to provide a full wraparound of care for our women and their children.
If you are not in a place to give this season, please consider adding us to your Amazon Smile and Kroger giving. We get a portion of all purchases you make from both locations and you don’t have to do anything except sign up!
Thank you so much for supporting us. We are so blessed to have you be part of our community and we are grateful that you are along on the journey with us! May the rest of your year be filled with peace and joy as we celebrate the great gifts the Lord has provided for us.
In Him,
The 431 Ministries team