Haiti Overview
One leadership conference canceled due to personal health issue which turned out to be a false positive on a treadmill stress test. The conference would have been taking place during the time Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti. Praise God for His divine intervention!
Assisted 350 kids receive an education by raising teacher salaries for educators. You can help with teacher salaries by purchasing items from Smile Amazon rather than the usual Amazon Page. Register to support Stepstones and a percentage of every purchase goes to support teachers at the Spirit of Truth School in Drouin, Haiti.
Haiti Disaster Relief Needs
We would like to do our part in helping Haiti rebuild following Hurricane Matthew in October. We would like to assist 15 families build a new house at $5,000.00 per house. Please join us in praying and giving toward this $75,000.00 goal.
Each time we hit $25,000.00, enough to build five houses, a team with the necessary skills will be assembled and sent to help build the houses.
We would like to ship a container with building supplies, tools and food. The container rental, shipping cost and customs fees will run around $10,000.00. Once we have these fees secured, a list of specific items will be shared, gathered and a date for loading the container will be announced. Much prayer, packing help and sacrifice will be required to see this accomplished.
Domestic Overview
High school coaches bible study 5 attending
Baseball team building Saturday.
Began working with two churches in mobilizing them to serve in local community.
Middle school coaches bible study 5 attending.
Sharing weekly devotion with varsity football, basketball and baseball teams.
Sharing weekly devotion with eighth grade football team.
Began Uncommon, a mentoring program for high school students — averaging 29 students and 10 mentors each Monday evening. There are 6 churches represented by the mentors and there are 8 cook teams from churches and businesses providing the meals.
Guatemala Overview
22 people representing 9 churches.
A third trip was postponed to further develop the team for 2017.
4 houses were built.
Children’s bible storying program each afternoon.
Hosted first youth leadership forum. A one day event during each trip and had an average of 40 students participate. Representing 11 villages.
Ministry in men’s drug and alcohol rehab center.
Assisted 74 students in their education through raised sponsorships.
When was the last time you were a part of something that only God could do?
I’m longing for the day when a group of Jesus followers would join together and approach the throne of grace with boldness for the welfare of others and ask Him to do something that only He can do. In 2009, God moved and Stepstones was birthed. As a nonprofit we have to adopt a budget every year with total reliance on God to provide the resources for ministry. As we approach 2017, the Board of Directors has the daunting task of setting a budget then watching God’s provision throughout the year and fulfilling the task before us. As we look back over 2016 and look forward to 2017 we see areas where God has given us relationships and favor. Our responsibility is to assess the opportunities to make an impact with the gospel among the many needs and abundance of hurting people. They are in our local community, in our schools, in Guatemala and Haiti. Some amazing things are happening locally AND IF we had the human and financial resources, an impact could take place in our community that could change the culture.
In Guatemala,
There are women who need houses. Children who need education scholarships. Men who need encouragement and job training.
In Haiti,
Teachers need to be paid so 350 kids can receive an education. Church Leaders need consistent Biblical Training. Land owners need to be trained in growing cash crops so they can feed their families. Following Hurricane Matthew thousands are without houses, food, clean water and clothes.
A conservative budget approach to the needs is around $220,000.00. A budget to really make an impact in 2017, especially considering the number of churches, schools and homes of communities and people where we have relationships could easily run $1,075,000.00. Now THAT’S something only God can do! Our job is to continue seeking God and responding when provisions are available. It is heart breaking to see so many hurts, needs and opportunities and knowing that we as Americans support a multi-billion dollar industry called storage units by storing material possessions we have not seen or used in years. What if we followed the leadership of the new born church in Acts, sold stuff and gave it in support of others? Would people take notice? Would they see us getting free of things that bind us? Would they see needs being met and begin asking why? When the why is asked, it would give an open door to share the gospel and declare the EXCELLENCIES OF GOD! Now, back to trying to see the what, when, how, and where of God’s activity and provision! Would you consider having a Jesus Garage Sale and getting rid of items and supporting Stepstones Ministry International? What needs could be met with the money being spent on rental space alone?
MAJOR NEEDS FOR 2017
Increase in General Budget Donations. As a nonprofit this is the hardest line item for which to raise money. It is not glamorous. There are no fun pictures or exciting stories, but, this is a very necessary item that keeps the ministry moving forward and the doors open. Please pray for an increase of $600.00 in monthly donations.
We have a new Domestic Line Item this year for local ministry to students, student athletes and coaches. A minimum of $4000.00 is needed to sustain this ministry.
We will be building six houses in Guatemala requiring a total of $14,400.00.
We are in need of $4100.00 in scholarship funds for students in Guatemala.
We are in need of teacher sponsorships to help pay our teachers in the Spirit of Truth School in Drouin, Haiti. We need to increase our sponsorships by $600.00 per month. Any one time gifts or monthly commitments would be greatly appreciated!.
A church or corporate sponsor for the Leadership Training Conference in Drouin, Haiti totaling $4200.00.