New Friends

Resting Alone I rest with mixed emotions tonight. It's been an incredible two weeks. We spent the last two weeks serving with mission teams from Mississippi. We were literally all over the city serving and spreading God's influence. We saw over fifty people make first time professions of faith between the two weeks, baptized ten this week and thirteen last week. We gave away thousands of expressions of God's love, looked evil in the eye and triumphed in many ways. We packed up our church's belongings and prepared to move out of our Main Street location, we built walls at the Heffner building and did a dozen other construction projects there including an awesome sign out front. New Friends But here's what's hard. I met people I really like. When you meet new people you really like and then they leave you, it's really sad. I met people with a heart that beats with the same beat mine does. 

This seemed to be one of the constants the last two weeks. New Friends leaving Now it's over and we are praising God for all He did. Still, some of these people I will not see again until we are worshipping God together at the tree in heaven. We may cast our crowns down together. We will give Him praise and in some amazing way that begins now, fifteen hours apart, our praises are united because of the character of the one we praise. Just the same as I sometimes feel inadequate to praise Him and He helps me, I now feel inadequate to let them go, go back home to their families, to their sports teams, to their jobs, to their friends back in Mississippi, back home. New Friends lost to time... This hurt runs deep. In a way that I can not explain it makes me feel lonely. However, in my loneliness I always find comfort.

 I am comforted by my family that stands by/with me. I am comforted by my church which is small in number but powerful in God's power. I am comforted by the ache in my butt muscle that came back while I was running my home run in my last regular season at-bat in our last regular season game, which we lost, by the way. I am comforted by the thought of the rainbow that stretched across East Toledo seemingly from the Heffner area to the Northwood Baptist Church Building area where we will be meeting for a couple of months. It appeared in the sky just as we were finishing cleaning up the block party that was our last official event on Main Street. I am comforted by the thought of a future slightly more populated with professing Christians and Christians actually living for Christ as they should. 

Comforted Most of all, I am comforted that I am not alone at all. I know in whom I have believed and I know that He is able to keep until that day, that which I have entrusted to Him. Jesus is with me although it does not appear that He will do the miracle of freeing me from using the spell checker and who cares anyway. 

The spellchecker works fine. To the mission teams: To the mission teams that are leaving to go back to normal, if, I hope, changed lives, we will miss you more than you can imagine. God be with you every step of the way and reach for New Heights in Christ every day! Don't worry about me I'll be alright. See ya at the tree! Dan Stevenson newheightsfellowshipchurch.org Think Again (A book to buy...)

Strategy continued for Overcoming Evil (Life Station)

Food The life Station will provide an emergency food supply to those requesting it. We will serve 43609 at a worship service. We will maintain scheduled hours in which referrals may come to receive help. These referral s will be accepted in written form from any government agency or faith-based organization. We will maintain policies to control the flow of resources and to ensure consistent service across demographics. • Food Service, • Emergency food bags • Food Bank Partnership • Referral letters • “Empuzzlement” Partnership • Records • Transportation of supplies • Lead Staff member • Donations Clothing Distribution Life Station will operate a clothing pantry. The clothing pantry will be available to persons coming by referral and to the neighborhood at a designated time. Policies will be put in place to ensure that persons coming to utilize the clothing pantry are not abusing it and that persons have equal opportunity to receive aid from the pantry across demographics. A devotion or short lesson will be presented at the beginning of open time for the pantry. • Clothing Donations • Lead Volunteer • Opening Devotions • Volunteers • Referrals • Sign-in sheet • Questionnaire Toiletries Distribution Life Station will distribute toiletries when they are available. Persons receiving referrals, persons expressing a need, and persons receiving a food supply will be eligible to receive toiletries. The toiletries will be limited in the case of recurring customers to every other month and will be limited by supplies on hand. • Toiletries bags • Records • Donations • Toothpaste, Shampoo, Soap, Toilet paper, deodorant, toothbrushes • Partnerships   Bible Teaching The Life Station will endeavor to make available, teach the meaning of, and live out the principles of God’s word. Volunteers and staff will demonstrate and when possible instill these principles in others. We will treat the truths of scripture as a reality that is not always accepted or understood but is always real regardless of ignorance or distrust. • Mail-in Bible Study (ARM) • Occasional Seminars • Facilities usage • Distribution of Bibles • Baptismal services • Local preachers for sermons • Lay Counseling • Bible memorization (monthly) • Testimonials • Tracks • Printed circulation • What’s your question? Worship The Life Station will host a worship service weekly. When possible, this worship will utilize live vocals and instruments. Volunteers and staff worship leaders will lead those attending the service to worship. Persons will be required to participate in a non-obtrusive way say that others may worship. When possible resources will be devoted to enhance this worship experience. • Vocalists • Instruments • Chairs • Clean sanctuary • Sound System • Bibles • Overhead/power point • Schedule of Speakers • Desk person/sign-in • Records • Reading Psalms Cleaning Life Station will maintain a clean work environment. The sanctuary will be maintained clean at all times in preparation for class, worship, or any meeting. Cleaning checklists and daily walk-thrus will be conducted by volunteers and staff to ensure that the building remains in a welcoming state. • Volunteers • Checklists • Walk-thrus • Organization • Labeling • Clear floors • Wet Floor signs Curb Appeal Life Station will maintain an attractive, outside the building presence in the community. The color scheme, signage, weeds, sidewalks, lawn, and overall condition of the building will be included in this initiative. • Maintenance checklist • Yard work Check list • Lawn Care equipment • Shed Maintained • Arrange for Lawn mowing Services • Professional Looking Signage • Regular walk around Building Maintenance Life Station will maintain and improve the facility located at 402 South as well as the houses owned by Life Station. Maintaining the Building will be seen as necessary to the ongoing function and the continuing existence of the Life Station. Maintaining improving the building will also serve to make persons using the Life Station have a successful experience, removing barriers to their willingness and ability to listen. • Maintenance Check list • Lead Staff Member • Walk-Thrus Scheduled • Repairs needed list • Improvements possible checklist • Tools • Supplies • Workbench • Volunteer profile Network Volunteers Life Station will research, enlist, and organize volunteers from all walks of life. Life station will maintain an active volunteer list which will include those who have offered to volunteer, who have volunteered successfully in the last sixty days, and inactive volunteers being those who volunteered previously and have not recently. The list will contain enough information about the volunteer to further their ability to volunteer and the staff’s ability to relate to them while doing so. • Recent Volunteer list • Master Volunteer list • Activities available list • Records • Lead Staff member • Possible sources of Volunteers list • Volunteer information packet • Volunteer sign-in sheet • Volunteer Registration packet • Volunteer Profile maintained • Volunteer appreciation plan/log Network Financial Partners Life Station will draw together and make best use of Financial partners. Life station will handle banking practices with integrity and honesty. Life Station will inform partners (see communication,) will continually solicit new partnerships (see research,) will flow finances to the ministry as efficiently as possible (see budgeting.) • Partnership Packet • Association reporting • Newsletter article • Secretary • Budget • Email Blasts • Mailings • On-line research • Telephone scripts • Monthly/Quarterly/Yearly Financial Review Budgeting Life Station will engage in Strategic planning of Finances. The budget will attempt to plan for Finances donated, take into account community needs, and redistribute resources as necessary to avoid any financial hurdles. • Budget • Monthly Statement • Food Funds account assessment • Secretary • Director Communications Life Station will accurately communicate details of the ministry. The communications will be scheduled, formatted, and maintained in order to inform partners, potential partners, clients, community members, staff, and volunteers of needs, current affairs, opportunities for involvement, and shifts in available resources, training opportunities, and more. • Monthly reports to SCBO/NAMB • Monthly reports to director • Monthly reports to Leadership Council • Monthly newsletter internal • Quarterly newsletter external • Quarterly newsletter association • Partnership packet-possible new • Partnership Packet-ongoing • Needs list-ongoing • Research-Who has interest • Recorded testimonies • Written testimonies • Updates to agencies • Appreciation efforts • Master partner list • Business Cards • Flyers-partnership • Appeal letter • Website Research community resources Life Station will maintain a database of available community resources. These will include resources that clients may have need of and resources that Life Station may have need of. This master list of resources will be updated frequently and made available to clients who have needs. The portion of the list addressing needs that may be used by Life Station will be accessed to gather resources to further this strategy. • Community Resource List- Separated by criteria of use • Research • Phone Calls • Contacts • Follow-up • Check back on every list on the resource bi-annually Research possible partnerships Life Station will be continually researching additional partnerships. Partners may include anyone who wishes to add resources to support the strategy. The Life Station will not forego any portion of this strategy (especially not preaching/teaching the gospel) in order to enlist a partner. The Life Station will promote its tax exempt status as a benefit to those considering donating. Life Station will break partner research down into several subcategories: Past Financial partner, Current Financial partner, Potential financial partner, Past Resource partner, Current resource partner, Potential Resource partner, Past Manpower partner, Current manpower partner, Potential manpower partner, Past Prayer partner, Current prayer partner, Potential prayer partner. A profile will be maintained on every partner to aid staff in relating to the partner and promoting life station to the partner. • Partnership agreement • Phone calls • Email blast • Website • Internet Research • Personal visits • Ask: Who do you know who? • Communications (as above) • Partnership Profile • Records • Master partnership list • Segmented Partnership list Future Direction and Possibilities We own a house that needs torn down. We own the land sufficient to build a community center. We would like to start a second food service. We would like to hire more staff, equip more volunteers, plant another church out of the Life Station (Meetings begun 11/2013), and win more souls to Jesus! We would like to expand our regular teaching opportunities to include more times, material, and people. Facebook.com/Lifestationtoledo Buy Think Again: Finding Wholeness and Happiness in a World of Brokenness Daniel Stevenson