Friends and family we have some important and exciting news! First, we have everything filed and submitted to the IRS to be a legal 501(c)3 with Tax Exempt status! Now it’s just waiting for the government to process it all and approve it. And second…
Donations Are Now In-House!
Over the past few weeks, we have been working with Stewardship Technologies to set up our OWN account to receive donations. Fortunately for you, that means almost nothing changes!! It is the same back of house receipting system we were using while under Faith & Learning and they ported over all of your recurring donations to our platform.
What does this mean for partnership moving forward?
All of your current recurring gifts will continue as you set them up. However, if you would like to manage your support, you will need to create a new profile with us. Link is below.
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If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. We feel confident in the team at Stewardship Technologies and are confident they (and we) are handling your support with integrity and care.
Working with Faith in Learning was a HUGE deal as it helped us get off the ground and allowed us to work out some kinks in how we operate and for that we are deeply grateful! We are now striking out on our own as an organization, which will come with new challenges and new freedoms. I (Brayden) am personally looking forward to this next season of the ministry God has given us, and your financial partnership is so important and dear to us.
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Check It Out:
You can see our new giving link on our website here:
https://www.halfstepministries.com/give-now
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Discipleship Group
In the last couple months, I (Abby) felt a growing burden to step into a disciple-maker role. I felt the pull to invite others into a place where they could discover who (and why) God made them to be, how to use that in the Kingdom, and to inspire them to do that for others. A small simple goal, right? ;)
Turns out the Spirit was moving though, because He put 3 busy young adults on my heart and they were all available and eager to meet at the same time each Thursday afternoon! I've already felt really encouraged that this is where God wants me investing right now and I know it will be a really good experience for these young women.
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What To Pray For:
Pray for courage to be vulnerable in our discussions
Pray for compelling community to be built
Pray for Jesus to bring healing in these meetings
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Director at Half Step @ Faith
Kennedie started directing at HS at Faith this Fall with a brand new team of leaders. She has been a part of HS since nearly the beginning and has loved the impact the ministry has had at her church and on the students. While we stepped back in big ways to give the new team breathing room to establish themselves, I (Abby) have been meeting consistently with Kennedie to offer advice, resources and encouragement.
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This photo was taken in January 2017, our second semester of Half Step. Kennedie (center, tan shirt) joined our Core Team around this time. She has always had a heart to walk with young people in their faith journey and has been a crucial part of student ministries at Faith Church where she's been on staff for the last 6+ years. While she's been serving in youth ministry for a long time now, Directing Half Step this year has been her first time leading a team and ministry.
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We also were invited to stop by this last Tuesday and I got to help with their first band practice! It felt so good to be around students and leaders at HS again! We have missed both meeting new students and encouraging leaders in person.
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What To Pray For:
Pray for Kennedie as she leads her team at Half Step
Pray for their preparations for their upcoming concert
Pray for a compelling, Jesus like community to be established at this HS
Pray for non-believers to be brought to HS
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Mill City Church
At the end of October, we had the privilege of meeting with the Senior Pastor and Youth Pastor at Mill City Church. We wanted to talk with them about if this church would be a good place for us to put down our roots, and also about the potential, if any, for a Half Step to start at this church. We walked away from that meeting feeling seen, welcomed, and encouraged to keep on keeping on! After praying much about the decision and attending for a few months, we have decided to make MCC our home church.
We're not positive on if or when a HS might start at Mill City, but we do know our hearts are aligned and they will support us in our mission to create environments in Northern Colorado where youth are connected to Jesus and the local church!
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What To Pray For:
Pray for opportunities to get connected at MCC.
Pray for the right relationships to be established for Half Step
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Anniversary Get Away
We were really grateful for the opportunity to get away from work and kids for just a few days to celebrate our 5th Anniversary at the end of October! It's been fun to remember that we were still engaged when we started putting Half Step together. There were so many things going on in our lives and reasons to not invest so much into a weird, new ministry, yet there was no denying the pull to make it happen.
Our trip gave us a good opportunity to reflect that even though we haven't "multiplied" as we hoped we would 5 years down the road, there has been so much growth and cultivating that has happened in us. We are not the same people we were 5 years ago, but we are more the people God needs us to be for this vision to move forward. And for that we are humbled and thankful.
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What To Pray For:
We would deeply appreciate your continued prayers for our marriage as we live on mission together with our sons.
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Thank You
Friends, thank you so much for praying with us and supporting us financially! Thank you for praying for our marriage, for our family and for our roles in the kingdom. Thank you for supporting us through successes and low points! We appreciate and love you guys so much.
Love, Abby & Brayden
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