InStep Ministries Newsletter

Stepping Up	June, 2007 Volume IV #6 Step Couples Intensive Jeff and Judi will be leading several weekend intensives this fall at a local bed- and-breakfast location. The weekend retreat begins Friday evening and continues all-day Saturday Call 1-888-5INSTEP for details. Online Forum Topics include: Stepfamilies, Single Adults, Single Parents, and more! Register Now at instepministries.com Developing Healthy Relationships Tucson and Phoenix area; coming this fall, locations TBA. Workshops will focus on understanding the impact of divorce and remarriage on children. Developing Healthy Relationships Jeff and Judi continue to teach this seminar based on the InStep book, Developing Healthy Relationships. We are looking for new venues in Tucson and Phoenix to teach this seminar. Call 1-888-5INSTEP for more information. Ministering to Today’ Families We provide hands-on training in key aspects of ministry development, including team building, needs assessment, goal setting and program development and evaluation. Workshop costs are by donation. For more information, call us toll free at 1-888-5INSTEP. Fund-Raising Campaign Please prayerfully consider becoming involved in reaching non-traditional families for Christ. (Your donations to InStep Ministries are tax deductible.) Prayer requests: Pray that God will provide InStep with ministry partners and volunteers. We ask that you also lift up our capital fund campaign, the InStep Board, as well as Jeff and Judi.
Welcome to InStep’s monthly E-Newsletter! Each month we feature practical information for singles, single parents and stepfamilies to help you achieve healthy, authentic relationships. This E-newsletter also provides articles and resources to assist those who are developing or are involved in a non-traditional family ministry. If this newsletter is helpful to you, please let us know. Contact us with feedback, questions or comments toll free at: 1-888-5INSTEP or email: InStepMin@aol.com.
Personal Communiqué Jeff & Judi Parziale
We recently returned from the Association for Marriage and Family Ministries (AMFM) National Conference in Charlotte, NC. We’ve previously noted that this conference is like a “great family reunion.” We enjoy fellowshipping with our partners in Single Parent and Stepfamily Ministry, and we meet new friends. Although the conference highlights are too numerous for this newsletter, we want to mention a couple. We were blessed by the courageous testimony of Gary and Carrie Oliver. The Olivers have experienced trials akin to Job, and their very presence demonstrated God’s incredible strength and faithfulness to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Olivers are this year’s recipients of the H. Norman and Joyce Wright Lifetime Achievement Award. (Please keep them in your prayers; read about their story at: www.carrieshealth.com – journal of hope.) Other highlights were great times with our friends from Puerto Rico (Las Familias Effectivos), our dear fiends and ministry partners from the Stepfamily focus group and a stirring keynote from Rob Rienow, Family Pastor of Wheaton Bible Church on the vital role of family in the faith formation of our children and in sharing the Good News. This year, we were to share our personal, stepfamily story titled, God Still Uses Broken People. After a great deal of preparation and prayer, Thursday morning arrived. Eric and Jennifer Garcia, Co-Founders of AMFM went to the stage to introduce us—at least we thought that was the plan. Imagine how surprised we were to have them present us with the AMFM John Trent Servant Leader Award! We were both honored and humbled. We want to thank Eric and Jennifer for their leadership and encouragement. AMFM has changed our lives and our ministry! Back to our presentation… once we began to tell our story (and Jeff had the crowd laughing), the time flew too quickly. In fact, we ran out of time and were not able to discuss how YOU and/or your Church can connect with non-traditional families. For those of you who are interested, we present them here. To read more…
New Feature!! The Single Parent Corner
“TAKE FIVE” By Jaime Trudel Hello! My name is Jaime Trudel and I have been a single parent for about 10 years. My two beautiful children are a blessing and a joy to have in my life. Time demands for single parents are intense, making it easy to miss the daily blessings that our children have to offer. Please join me as we Take Five to learn about fun ways to enjoy our greatest blessings. Take Five Take five minutes today to enjoy your children. Sounds simple, but for single parents, it is often hard to stop focusing on schedules and tasks long enough to enjoy our children. You can begin by setting aside five minutes in the morning, before you step out the door, to give your child five minutes of your time. Try reading a short book together, picking flowers from the garden, singing songs, blowing bubbles, and praying together for your day. You will find that just five minutes a day will help start your day, as well as your child's, on a positive note. I encourage you to "take five". Try it for a week and let me know how it works for you. I would love to hear about your "take five" moments. Send me stories and suggestions that we can use to help other single parents. Email Jamie at: InStepMin@aol.com and be sure to write “Take Five” in the subject line.
What’s New at Instep?
Coming Soon! Certification in Single Parent and Stepfamily Ministry We recently presented at the AMFM conference a Certification Course in Single-Parent/Stepfamily Ministry. Beginning this fall, the course will be available in DVD format. The course examines the characteristics of single parents and stepfamilies as well as key aspects of ministry development including team building, needs assessment, goal setting, program development and evaluation. For more information, call us toll free at 1-888-5INSTEP. Single Parent and Stepfamily Ministry Network One of our new strategic goals at InStep is to serve local stepfamily and single-parent family ministries throughout the U.S. by providing encouragement and awareness. InStep has therefore begun the process of identifying and collecting information on ministries all over the country. If you participate or know of a local ministry in your “neck of the woods” that would benefit from participating in this network, please email us the contact information. Stepcouple Intensives Jeff and Judi are currently scheduling several weekend intensives this fall at local (Tucson and Phoenix-metro) bed and breakfasts. The format will be Friday evening and all-day Saturday and will be limited to six couples per weekend. If you are looking to strengthen your relationship and understand the challenges of marriage in a stepfamily, then plan a weekend with us. Call 1-888-5INSTEP for details. Seminars and Workshop At conferences, we are often asked, “Are you available to teach at our church?” The answer is, YES! We are available to teach on all topics represented in our books, and Jeff is available for preaching engagements. To book your next workshop, call 1-88-5INSTEP. Developing Healthy Relationships One of our favorite presentations is Developing Healthy Relationships. We believe this is an essential topic for single adults and single parents. You simply cannot be in healthy relationships if you are not spiritually and emotionally healthy. This ongoing workshop is presented each month at the Equally Yoked offices in Tucson and Phoenix. Call 520-721-0800 or email us for details.
Stories Still Needed!
If you have a stepfamily or single parent ministry that you have started or participate in, we want to learn about what worked and/or did not work for you. Whether you have used others’ or our resources, we are interested in hearing about your experience. Please email your stories or comments to InStepMin@aol.com and label the subject line as *“Ministry Story”. We look forward to hearing from you!*

About Instep Ministries
We are a 501c3 faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serving singles, single parents and stepfamilies and those who minister to them. Our purpose is to influence our culture for Christ. Our passion is to equip people for life. Our vision is to see every single, single parent or stepfamily member connected to a faith community, where they can build authentic relationships, find healing and be equipped to serve. Our mission is to provide resources, counseling and other services that are practical, Biblical, and affordable. InStep is passionate about serving the local church and the millions of individuals in non-traditional families. To learn more about InStep, visit our website: www.Instepministries.com. For details, updates or resources call, toll free, 1-888-5INSTEP. We will answer your questions; just email us: Instepmin@aol.com If you enjoy this newsletter, please forward this newsletter to a friend. If you would like to start a support group or stepfamily ministry in your area, please contact us-- we can help! InStep is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit ministry. Donations are tax-deductible and always welcome. Thank you for your support. Please keep us in your prayers.