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January 2021 Newsletter

From the Executive Director's Desk

I was just sitting in my office, with a sense of peace in my heart, thinking of how blessed we are at Next Step Ministries to have such faithful people supporting us. Through YOUR prayers, volunteer hours, encouragement, and financial support, YOU have enabled us to expand over the last year and see many more women touched by the love of God through our four programs. THANK YOU for making that possible!

For the first newsletter of 2021, we want to highlight our Social Enterprise under Next Step Ministries that focuses on empowering women exiting sexual exploitation through fulfilling employment and workplace experiences as it has continued to grow and have a positive impact on our participants.

In the current book I'm reading, "Becoming a Leader of Impact," by Braden Douglas there is an excerpt that speaks to the purpose of our Social Enterprise:

'"There are many people who use 'helping' interchangeably with 'impact.' Helping and impact are not the same. For example, we all know the old saying, Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. Giving the fish is helping, teaching them to fish is impact. Impact is therefore influence that inspires others toward perpetual positive behaviour."

This is the underlying spirit and intent of what Next Step Ministries is trying to achieve through teaching the women how to roast coffee. Below you can read more about our partnership with Kingdom Coffee, updates on coffee pricing, a recent participant's story, and some prayer requests for this month.

Finally, as our team works on planning the year ahead, I kindly ask you take a moment to fill out this brief survey. Thanks in advance and God Bless.

Community Partner Spotlight

For over a year, Kingdom Coffee has generously allowed our participants to gain hands-on experience of roasting coffee at their location, through the generous support and mentorship of Founder Jesse Singleton. Next Step Ministries now offers employment opportunities there and has further plans to expand this social enterprise. To learn more about Kingdom Coffee, click here.

Empowerment Through Employment

In January, one of the first participants to be employed roasting coffee, graduated from our day program after almost a year of hard work. As such, she has recently moved out of NSM's second-stage housing and is pursuing post-secondary education with a renewed passion in life.

We are pleased to share that the amount she earned last year while roasting coffee under the social enterprise, was enough to directly cover the costs of her textbooks for the year. This is what she had to say about the experience,

"It was really neat to have an opportunity like that - learning a skill that I would have never had learned anywhere else. I'm grateful for the support I had."

10% of YOUR purchase of Sparrow Blend Coffee will go directly into a scholarship fund for school tuition or rent for another woman when she is ready to take her next step.

Sparrow Coffee Updates

Purchasing 'Sparrow Coffee' is an opportunity for you to empower survivors of sexual exploitation through employment. Your act of buying coffee may seem simple, but it makes a lasting impact.

Purchase a bag for $12.00 while you still can, as the price will increase to $14.00 on Feb 8th, to better reflect current markets.

Also, stay tuned for details later this month on a NEW coffee subscription program in the works!

SHOP HERE

Prayer Requests

I want to ask that you join me in praying for two new groups that have recently been started this month by our counsellor, Natasha. I must add how excited I am to see what God will do in both groups:

Grief Care: As you can imagine, the women we serve have been through so much loss, death, and trauma. To help address their needs in these areas, we have partnered with Centre Street Church to offer a Grief Care group for our women in program and alumni.
Alpha: Please pray for the volunteers and the participants that God’s love and His gospel of grace would be received, that God would bring healing, dignity, and freedom to all that attend, and that the participants would find their true identity in the family of God.

Tax Receipts for 2020

Official donation receipts for 2020 income tax purposes will be mailed the first week of February, for gifts made in cash.

All other contributions made online, through Canada Helps, should have already been received. If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact Sharon, Director of Development by email.

Upcoming Events

February 7th: Last day to purchase Coffee at $12 / bag to buy click here.

February 8th: Volunteer Training @ 7:00 p.m. Training will be held via Zoom. If you would like to attend, please e-mail denise@nextstepministries.ca

February 10th: Prayer Meeting @ 7:00 p.m. If you wish to join our justice focused prayer team, please e-mail phil@nextstepministries.ca

February 17th: Valentine's Outreach with HER Victory

#200 317-37 Ave, NE | 403.520.8080
info@nextstepministries.ca | www.nextstepministries.ca
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