Hope & Care, December 2017 edition

December 2017

& Family Ministries providing hope & care

hope & care Quarterly Newsletter

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” - Matthew 25:40 highlights through October 2017

83

decisions for Christ

87

new foster families licensed groups across the state provided Christmas gifts to over

250

foster children and transitional program families

2,501

hours of counseling sessions provided

324

clients attended parenting classes

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

UPCOMING EVENTS

During this season of giving thanks and celebrating the gift of our Lord Jesus, we are especially grateful for ABCS supporters and the hope and care you provide. Whether you serve, pray for our ministries or give a financial gift, your support makes an impact on those we serve together.

Impact AZ Your tax dollars can go even further this year when you redirect them to New Life Pregnancy Center.

See inside for more.

We love sharing impact stories in our newsletters so you can see the fruit of your partnership with ABCS. We praise God for the work He has done through our ministry so far this year.

While there are still a few weeks left, through October there have been 83 decisions for Christ and an estimated 19,270 individuals served. We know that each of these numbers represents a unique story, whether it was a chance to pray with someone who is lost, encourage someone who is hurting or provide resources to a struggling family, ABCS is there to help because of your support.

An additional benefit of giving to ABCS is the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. You can reduce what you owe in state taxes by up to $1,000 when you give to ABCS or any of our seven ministries. You can make an even greater impact this year by designating your gift to New Life Pregnancy Center, giving us the opportunity to qualify for one of six grants totaling $100,000. Please see the enclosed response card for more information, or visit abcs.org/taxcredit for general information.

New Life Proverbs 19:17 says, Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. May God bless you for your faithfulness. I pray that you and your Mission family enjoy a Merry Christmas and Encounter 360 Happy New Year.

Your Change can Change a Life Host a Baby Bottle Campaign. Visit newlifepregnancy.com/bbc.

Pregnancy Centers

In Him,

Steve Hanna Executive Director

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Join churches nationwide in honoring the sanctity of human life on Sunday, January 21. Free promotional materials in English and Spanish are available at abcs.org/sohl.

New Life Counseling

Pursue Life Adult Ministry

& Family Ministries 7 Ministries | 1 Mission Providing hope and care to hurting children and families through Christ-centered ministries.

Foster Care & Parent Aide

New Life Transitional Program

Community Resource Centers

COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTERS Cycle of Service We are grateful for volunteer groups from churches, schools and organizations that regularly serve at Community Resource Centers across the state. These groups assemble food boxes, bundle diapers and organize clothing that meet needs in their community.

Volunteers also help run the centers by giving out items, building relationships and praying with clients.

A group of 13 high school freshmen recently served at Caring Ministries in Tucson to assemble holiday boxes. They completed 320 boxes for families in need. As the group was leaving, one student told a staff member, “I want to personally thank you all for doing this. I used to live in this neighborhood just a few blocks away, and this is where my family would get extra food that we needed.” The staff member was taken aback by the emotion and humility in the student’s voice. It was obvious how extremely grateful he was. How remarkable that God brought him back to serve with his high school years later.

We don’t always get to see the full impact of ministry, but we trust God is working through your support to meet needs and change lives. Visit azresourcecenters.com to help meet needs over the holidays and throughout the year.

ARMS OF LOVE FOSTER CARE & PARENT AIDE Toy Story A group of about a dozen men who live at Royal Oaks retirement community in Sun City have been making wooden toys for children in Arms of Love foster homes since 2014. It all started when one of the men had the idea to craft toys for children in need. What began as a small project with a couple of men has expanded to include a dedicated group of volunteers who are passionate about helping children.

The handcrafted toys are made without any nails or screws and finished with natural substances such as cooking oil and soy sauce to ensure they are safe. This is truly a labor of love as the group at Royal Oaks creates the toys with meticulous care. The toys are then distributed to several organizations serving children.

Each year hundreds of toy trucks and cars are delivered to ABCS. At the Arms of Love Foster Care Christmas event last year in Phoenix, the wooden toys were so popular in our Christmas workshop that every child wanted to either take one home or give one as a gift. ABCS also places the toys in our visitation rooms where biological families are able to spend time with their children who are in the state’s care.

In November, the group at Royal Oaks held an event to celebrate their 10,000th toy! What a great example of being fruitful and serving others in every season of life. ABCS is grateful for community partners who serve with us to provide hope and care. azresourcecenters.com

NEW LIFE LIFE NEW PREGNANCY CENTER COUNSELING A Change of Heart A young couple still in high school visited the New Life Pregnancy Center in Casa Grande for a free pregnancy test. They had only recently begun dating but suspected she might be pregnant. The pregnancy test indicated a positive result, and the peer counselor began to pray for this couple to choose life for their unborn child.

The peer counselor shared the result with the young woman first and spent several minutes talking with her to learn how she felt about being pregnant.

She was insistent that she did not want to be pregnant and wanted to get an abortion. She said to the peer counselor, “You can talk all you want, but you won’t change my mind.” With her permission, the peer counselor invited her boyfriend into the room to hear the test result. He began to cry as he explained he didn’t want to go through with an abortion, but he would stand by his girlfriend’s decision. The three of them talked for a while longer about their options, but the couple soon left and the peer counselor simply had to pray that God would work in their hearts.

A few days later, the peer counselor called the young woman to follow up and see how she was doing. The young woman was so excited to hear from the peer counselor and was eager to tell her they had decided to keep their baby! She thanked the peer counselor for talking to her and was so happy she took the time to share information about her options with her. She handed the phone to her boyfriend who also expressed how grateful he was for all the peer counselor had shared with them.

In awe of what God had done in their lives, the peer counselor rejoiced with them and invited them to return to the center for parenting classes. They agreed and began attending the following week. Praise the Lord! He changes hearts and lives and in His grace allows us to be a part of His lifesaving work.

Impact a Life this Christmas Sofia (name changed) had recently left an abusive relationship and was struggling to manage her life and care for her four children when she learned she might be pregnant.

She visited New Life Pregnancy Center for a free pregnancy test, which turned out to be positive. She told the pregnancy center director that she felt an abortion was wrong, but she couldn’t fathom having another child. Thanks to the support of generous donors like you, Sofia received loving counseling and support from the center. When she later returned to the center, she let the director know that she had decided to carry her new baby to term. After talking more with the director during her second visit, Sofia accepted Christ! Visit newlifepregnancy.com/Christmas to read Sofia’s full story.

You can provide hope and care to families in need like Sofia’s at no additional cost to you by redirecting your state tax dollars to ministry. As a ministry of Arizona Baptist Children’s Services & Family Ministries (ABCS), gifts to New Life Pregnancy Center qualify for a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples.

This year, your giving can have an even greater impact. New Life Pregnancy Center is one of 20 organizations chosen to participate in the Impact AZ grant program. Your tax credit gift can help NLPC qualify for one of six grants totaling $100,000. While gifts to any of the seven Christ-centered ministries of ABCS qualify for the tax credit, gifts must be designated to New Life Pregnancy Center to be considered for the Impact AZ grant. Find more information about the tax credit and the Impact AZ grant at newlifepregnancy.com/impact. Thank you for partnering with NLPC to make an impact in your community. newlifepregnancy.com | (800) 678-0648 |

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PURSUE LIFE ADULT MINISTRY A Story of Grace Approximately 10,000 people will turn 65 each day for the next 15 years. Individuals 65 and older will make up 20 percent of the population by 2030. Many of these older adults have financial insecurities related to housing, utilities, meals, medication and healthcare. In addition, among the top reasons for older adult emergency room visits is falls. More than one in three people age 65 and older fall each year (National Institute on Aging). For these reasons, elder care has been central to the heart and vision of Pursue Life Adult Ministry (PLM) since the ministry was created in 2015. Our desire is to establish a practical ministry that meets real physical, emotional and spiritual needs for older adults by bridging the gap between adults in need and those willing to help.

Through a local church, Central Phoenix Community Church, PLM learned of one older adult in need of doorway ramps. Because of severe osteoporosis, Grace was finding it very difficult to get in and out of her home. It was challenging to do simple chores, like tending her garden and doing laundry, with her washer and dryer located outside her back door.

Two generous donors were inspired to help. Caring for their older family members, they realized the needs facing older adults. The two women had long given to organizations helping children and now felt called to support those helping adults as well. They sought out a way to give to the cause of elder care and were connected to PLM. Other members of Grace’s community came together, from volunteers to local nonprofits. We are grateful for the individuals and organizations that facilitated the start-to-finish process of installing doorway ramps at Grace’s home at no cost to Grace.

Pam Baldwin, Joni & Friends Paul Pearson, Ability360 Independence Remodel, Inc. Jonathan Roe, Mission Increase Foundation Today Grace is able to enter and exit her home without having to step down. Not only can she perform her household chores, she now also sits outside to enjoy the Arizona sunsets, and watches the hummingbirds come to feed. Grace is grateful. “I am blessed by such a wonderful gift, I just can’t believe it. I am so blessed.”

Pursue Life Adult Ministry provides hope and care to aging adults by guiding them to live in the fullness of God’s promises in every season of life through support, community, purpose and personal legacy. One of the ways our elder care program supports older adults is to help them remain safely in their homes longer. Together with donors, volunteers and partner agencies, we can meet practical needs of older adults and provide opportunities to those seeking to give. When we all come together, we can do great things to provide hope and care to the aging population. Contact us to learn more about meeting needs of older adults.

And don’t forget to do good and share what you have with others, because sacrifices like these are pleasing to God. -Hebrews 13:16 pursuelifeaz.com | (602) 346-2300

1779 N. Alvernon Way | Tucson, AZ 85712 | (800) 678-0648 | abcs.org |

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