Greetings Friends! We hope you made some fun adventures and memories during these last few weeks of summer. Every year, it blows my mind how fast the summer months zip past and then suddenly, it's time for school and leaves are falling! We were glad we got to get away for an extended weekend in August to rest and plan out our next year. We're especially looking forward to sharing that with you in this email- thank you for being here with us!
School Year Events
So what's happening this year with Half Step Ministries? There are a couple pretty big changes to our plans, but as we look forward, we feel peace and excitement to see what God will do.
Farewell, Half Step at Faith Church
With heavy hearts, the leaders at Faith Church and us agreed that it was best for their Half Step ministry to be put on hold this Fall. This ministry was our baby and we are naturally sad to see it end, but ultimately we felt it was not fulfilling its mission of creating spaces where students (believers and non-believers) can build authentic relationships and be connected to Jesus and the local church. The team was also struggling to find adequate support and leadership for the ministry to run effectively. Rather than continue a ministry that was taxing its volunteers and not quite landing as intended with students, we chose to put it to rest until those things can happen well. We are so, so grateful for the amazing 6 years we had at Faith Church and the almost 200 students that came through Half Step there!
The Impact
I received a message from a former Half Step student last week that was so encouraging... They said,
"I've been remembering the work that God has done in my life and it made me think of Half Step. The faith that you and Brayden had in starting Half Step has been so monumental to me. The love that you guys have for God shows in the love that you had for me. It was the love that you had for me and for the students there that made Half Step so impactful. So with this said, I just want to say thank you for all that you’ve done in my life through loving Jesus."
We will never know the full impact Half Step had in the last 6 years, even so, we know we have so many reasons to celebrate God's goodness! He is so good!
No Half Step @ DaySpring
The leaders that were planning on starting a Half Step at DaySpring Christian Church decided, due to life circumstances, that now was not the time to start this ministry. This means that this Fall, for the first time since we launched in 2016, there will be no semesterly Half Step programming.
This was discouraging for us, and sent us to our knees asking God, "Why?" Through the wrestling and praying, we've felt so much peace with these plans falling through and were reminded that God gave us this vision to create spaces for believers and non-believers to be in life-giving community together, and to empower the local church to partner with us in pursuit of those outside our community. We cannot (and should not) control the mission/vision of local churches. All we can do is humbly provide a means to reach the lost. Essentially, God brought us to the place of thinking and dreaming about what we can do!
To further our mission, we've decided to host 4 events in this next school year that specifically create space for youth to build authentic relationships through their passions and connect students to Jesus and the local church.
Half Step Ministries Events 2022-2023
Survival Day:
November 5th we will host a full day of Survival! Students will register as a team and then be assigned a Half Step trained leader to compete in "Amazing Race-like" challenges. This day has always been designed to build deeper relationships through shared challenges, as well as offer opportunities to go deeper in conversation in a prolonged time together.
Mini Master Camp:
January 13-15th we will host a
mini-camp specifically for experienced/ advanced student musicians. Students in workshops will learn from amazing musicians in Northern Colorado, as well as rehearse in a choir to perform a small concert after just 20 hours together!
Youth Leaders Retreat :
On a Saturday in April we will be inviting any and all leaders working in youth ministry to come together for a day of encouragement, rest, inspiration and tools for how to engage youth better in their spaces. We look forward to building a community among youth leaders in Northern Colorado at these events and especially at this retreat!
Summer Camp:
In June or July of next summer we will host Half Step Camp at Clearwater Church again! Where the Master Camp is focused on more experienced musicians, Summer Camp is for any students who have a passion for musical and creative things, and God willing, connects them to a local church hosting a semester Half Step program.
Our Mission
To connect youth to Jesus and the local church by creating spaces where youth can build authentic relationships through their passions.
Half Step started as a weekly ministry run by a single local church, and that worked really well for several years! We saw amazing community and authentic growth happen through deep relationships with people who love Jesus. We sincerely hope to see that kind of ministry happen again, but that is in the Lord's hands and we trust His faithfulness.
In the meantime, we know we have the skills and passion to organize events and teams of people, and we will use that to accomplish Half Step's mission. We are excited to put our heart, time and energy into creating events that are going to bring The Church together in NoCo in order to see youth connected to Jesus and Jesus-centered community. We would LOVE to have you praying for this ministry year with us!
Friends, it means so much to us that you have chosen to be involved in this journey of learning, serving, and growing with us. Whether you have supported us financially, in prayer, or by serving with us, we love you and are so blessed to have you with us!
If you are a monthly/yearly supporter, THANK YOU!! We truly could not do this work without your generosity. If not, would you consider joining our financial support team? Every dollar of support frees up more time for us to invest into planning and executing these events, discipling young leaders and connecting youth to Jesus.
We are humbled by the continued support and goodwill you've shown us over the years and we believe the best is yet to come!
