Hope & Care, March 2017 Edition

March 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

46 decisions

for Christ

41,700

food boxes distributed

431,000

total diapers given out

89

adoptions

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

UPCOMING EVENTS

We are intentional about looking back over the prior year to reflect on what God has done through this ministry. We praise him for his provision, enabling us to serve thousands of clients across the state, and we are grateful for the inevitable challenges that come along with ministry that refine us and make us better. Last year included both blessings and challenges.

Glow! Neon Night Run on March 18 at 6:30 PM to benefit the Yuma New Life Pregnancy Center.

Register at abcs.org/glow or call (928) 726-5568.

The expansion of our resource centers inspired us to launch a Community Resource Center ministry in 2016, which includes hub centers such as the Rio Vista Center, Casa de Amor and Caring Ministries, as well as smaller satellite resource centers located on campuses with our offices or other sites. ABCS distributed 41,700 food boxes, 11,586 clothing bags and 30,167 diapers through these centers.

We are grateful for other 2016 milestones including 89 adoptions, 2,042 families involved with the Department of Child Safety served by our staff, 26 decisions for life through New Life Pregnancy Center and 46 decisions for Christ across our ministries. We are always amazed at what God does through ABCS. This work meeting physical, emotional and spiritual needs was possible because of the 47,225 hours volunteers served with us in 2016.

As we strive to live out our Core Values, we continually refine ABCS. With that in mind, we have updated this newsletter format to make it more reader-friendly and to be a better steward with what we have been given.

We hope you enjoy the content. Thanks for joining us on mission!

Mission In Him,

1,710

volunteers served

47,225 hours

Steve Hanna Executive Director

Getting to Know Your ABCS Tour in Tucson on March 25 at 2411 E. Fort Lowell Rd. Interested in learning more about ABCS? Email sgleason@abcs.org or call (520) 795-7541 to sign up Getting to Know Your ABCS Tour in Phoenix on April 22 at 2632 W. Augusta Avenue.

Interested in learning more about ABCS? Email nshook@abcs.org or call (602) 346-2300 to sign up

Pursue Life Adult Ministry

New Life Pregnancy Centers

Encounter 360

New Life Counseling

& 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

NEW LIFE Transitional TRANSITIONAL PROGRAM A Fruitful Journey When Carmen Bell applied for the New Life Transitional Program, she was living without running water or refrigeration. She also had some health problems that had gotten in the way of her job and caused her to be unemployed. Carmen has eight children, including two still in school that are living with her.

Carmen was not content with her living conditions. She worked hard to find a job and meet the requirements to live in the transitional program’s housing. Her time in the program has helped her grow in her relationship with God. Carmen also worked her way up from part-time to full-time employement. She is glad to provide a more stable environment for her children, especially a safe place to live.

We are happy to announce that Carmen is now a successful graduate of the New Life Transitional Program. She is also the fourth graduate to enter our Mentor Program, where NLTP alumni can further their walk with the Lord and continue to take on and grow in leadership and evangelism responsibilities. Mentors work with new participants and facilitate classes. New participants are already looking up to Carmen as one who has journeyed before them. Carmen is also taking on more leadership roles at church. It is the greatest joy of the New Life Transitional Program to see participants make a positive impact on their community. newlifetransitional.com

ARMS OF LOVE FOSTER CARE & PARENT AIDE A Forever Family About a year ago, one Arms of Love Foster Care licensing worker was assigned to help a kinship family with their adoption certification. Kinship families foster and/or adopt members of their biological family, such as nieces and nephews, grandchildren, etc.

Over the months of meeting with this family, the conversations would turn at times to God and religion. The kinship parents were raised Catholic. When they mentioned they wanted to start going back to church, the licensing worker invited them to attend with her. Since their time working through the adoption, the licensing worker has continued to pray for this family.

Recently, the adoptive mother sent an update. Their adopted daughter has been reading the Bible that an Arms of Love supporter donated for the family. Many times, the family reads it together. The email the mother sent had a video attached of the daughter reciting John 3:16.

They shared their thankfulness that ABCS believed in and supported their family.

Your support of Arms of Love Foster Care makes it possible for foster families to be supported in their ministry to children in care. You also help spread the Gospel to foster children and their families. Simple gifts like Bibles and first night bags filled with needed items like pajamas and toiletries can go a long way in showing a foster child the love and care of Christ and supporting a foster family.

abcsfostercare.com | abcs.org/pa

NEW LIFE PREGNANCY CENTER Answer to Prayer The Wickenburg New Life Pregnancy Center staff has been praying with Diana* regularly since she chose life for her unborn child last year.

Diana has been trying to consistently work 40 hours a week at her job in order to transition to a full-time employee and be guaranteed consistent hours. Diana needed to maintain 40 hours a week for a certain number of weeks before this transition would take place. This has been her goal throughout her pregnancy in order to provide for herself and her baby who is due in just a few weeks.

When only two weeks were left before she had reached her goal, she asked the center director to pray that she would be given 40 hours at work when the schedule was made later that day. Later Diana updated the director that she had only received 36 hours. The director encouraged her to trust God and wait to see what He would do even while wondering, “Lord, what are you doing?”

The next day, Diana sent the director a text message saying she had been offered an extra 4 hour shift on her day off in a different department bringing her total to 40 hours that week! She would only need one more week to be transitioned to full-time status. The director and Diana praised the Lord for how He provided in such an unexpected way.

He is good all the time, whether He does things as we hope or in a way that we could never ask or imagine. What a testimony to Diana that God is worthy of her trust. She “risked” her reputation and livelihood in order to carry her baby to term, and the Lord has provided for her when she knew she couldn’t provide on her own. She has many more needs as the baby’s due date draws near, but we see God’s hand working and we know He is faithful!

Clients at New Life Pregnancy Centers across the state visit for a number of needs that can be met thanks to your support, including emotional and spiritual needs. It is our hope that no matter why a client visits a center that they will encounter the love of God.

newlifepregnancy.com |

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PURSUE LIFE ADULT MINISTRY Life Insurace Basics: Where Do I Start?

By David Trenbeath Ministry Outreach & Giving Coordinator

As the father of a newborn baby, I was faced with the daunting task of trying to figure out the overwhelming world of life insurance policies.

Thankfully when I broke it down into smaller pieces it helped make it more manageable and not so scary.

If you are just starting to think about life insurance, or looking to add an additional policy, here are a couple of things that helped me get started: Start with this basic equation to determine how much insurance is needed: All monthly and one time expenses - current assets = amount of life insurance to purchase.

Make sure to include expenses such as outstanding debt, funeral expenses and college for your children.

Then look at the assets you already have like savings accounts, income from current investments and other life insurance policies. The difference between the two should be your baseline insurance amount.

Be ready to provide all of your medical history and take a physical for the insurance company. The best rule of thumb is to be open and honest on your application because life insurance companies will double check everything. If you don’t include something your policy could be denied.

Take some time to research different companies, their ratings and pricing. But don’t take too long deciding. Most insurance companies offer very similar products, so the most important thing is that you do something sooner rather than later to care for your family.

pursuelifeaz.com

NEW LIFE COUNSELING The Solitary Shepherd

By Roger Daniels, MA, MDiv, DMin Vice President, New Life Counseling

“How can someone who is surrounded by people all the time be so lonely?” That was the question asked by someone in the audience after I gave a presentation on how to care for your pastor. The answer is less complex than one might think. Loneliness has nothing to do with the number of people around a person. It has to do with the depth of the relationship one has with others.

Pastors and church ministry staff generally find joy in the work of shepherding the local flock.

Their sense of calling energizes and directs their ministry from day to day. But this calling carries with it a great burden.

I find it interesting how the Apostle Paul expressed himself as he penned his second letter to the church at Corinth. He listed a number personal experiences which included threats of death, beatings and floggings, shipwrecks, being adrift in the open sea and sleep deprivation, just to name a few. He finally adds, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (2 Cor. 11:28) Local church ministers are people too. Like the rest of us, their energy is spent on raising a family and cultivating a deeper relationship with their spouse. They spend time balancing the family budget, helping their kids with homework and learning how to do their own home repairs. Some of them care for aging parents and ponder quietly what their own advanced years will bring. In addition to all of this, they face daily the concern for the spiritual well-being of the people in the church and community they are called to serve.

It’s not for the faint of heart, and one needs to be called to this work. Unfortunately, the pastor or church staff member does not always believe it’s safe to share their stresses or struggles with those to whom they minister, and a sense of loneliness can set in. This circumstance can lead to feeling much like what David felt when he exclaimed, “Look to the right and see, there is no one who regards me, there is no escape for me, no one cares for my soul” (Psalm 142:4).

Leader Care is a service of New Life Counseling, a ministry of Arizona Baptist Children’s Services. Its mission is to provide hope and care to church staff members and their families through Christ-centered support. Six Leader Care Facilitators, located in each region of the state, are busy providing personal and confidential support and friendship to church staff members. Each facilitator has many years’ experience in local church ministry and understands what it’s like to serve there.

Their person-to-person ministry has literally helped hundreds of church staff members stem the tide of loneliness. Ask your pastor if he has had contact with one of our facilitators – chances are he has. If not, encourage him to visit leadercareaz.org for helpful resources and more information.

LEADER CARE FACILITATORS

DR. ROGER DANIELS

DR. RIK DANIELSON

BYRON REINER

DON VICKERS

DR. JIM MARTIN

MATT GASTON

newlifeaz.org | leadercareaz.org

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

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