Ministry Needs
August 29, 2022
We are honored when people ask us what Verity’s Village needs to carry out our mission. Since the question has come in several times in recent days, we thought we’d share some specific ministry needs in this post.
PRAYER
Please know that the BEST way to support our ministry is through prayer. Our God knows what we need, and He knows the best way to meet those needs. So He may choose to redirect us accordingly! Will you join us in praying for the following?
SYSTEMS & PLATFORMS
At this time, Verity’s Village has one unpaid volunteer – our founder! But as we grow, we pray God will provide expert help for us to lay a strong foundation for future growth and service that is not dependent on one person alone. This must be a team effort! Our founder has a passion for the families we serve. She loves to minister to parents through our online support group. However, she readily admits she does not have the passion or expertise to do some of the necessary work that must be in place going forward. This includes the following:
- Accounting – we use QuickBooks and would like to have an “in-house” accountant to accurately categorize our ministry expenses and reconcile our monthly bank statements.
- Data keeping – our ministry has grown much faster than hand logging information can keep up with! We are investigating Salesforce as a platform for this. Transitioning to an actual platform plus data entry will be critical needs in the coming months. This is so important if we are to maintain connections with the families we serve and would allow us to reach out in a more consistent and timely manner.
CASE MANAGEMENT
Our ideal ministry scenario involves hiring a full-time case manager who can guide families in our support network through the rest of their pregnancy. This would help each family feel educated, equipped, and empowered as they prepare for an uncertain birth experience. Two representatives from Verity’s Village are attending a Be Not Afraid Parent Coordinator training event next month in preparation for the time God will open the door for this to become part of our ministry model. Please pray for:
- The event itself–and for Be Not Afraid as an organization as they provide this much-needed training in various locations.
- Specific direction for Verity’s Village as we look at how feasible it is to hire our first staff person and make this big transition.
- Financial support to make this happen.
RAISING AWARENESS
Possibly one of our biggest (yet intangible) ministry needs is to bring education and awareness to larger communities. Many parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis feel all alone and helpless. Our desire is that they can be connected with us sooner rather than later (or with another ministry doing this kind of work) so that they can find hope and help.
Perhaps people reading this might be able to open a door for us to share about our ministry. Perhaps you are connected with a church or organization who would like to hear more. Do you know a group who has a heart for the unborn and for families caring for special needs babies/children/etc.? If so, please reach out! In locations where an in-person session isn’t practical, we can always do a virtual meeting!
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
We are grateful to be in a position to provide ongoing services for our members. Some things we are doing:
- We send welcome packets free of charge to families who receive a prenatal diagnosis.
- We provide free group counseling sessions in our private support group.
- Also, our members are encouraged to reach out for free individual counseling sessions as well.
- When babies are born, we send unique care packages to families.
Thankfully, our bank account allows us to purchase and provide unique products to families as well as to pay for the ongoing counseling services provided in our community.
However, we freely admit that to grow our ministry long-term, we will need even more financial stability. We would love to have monthly supporters join our mission and commit to regular giving! One-time gifts are certainly wonderful, and we appreciate each gift and giver. Yet consistent donations help us as we make projections for future ministry activities.
LONG-TERM VISION
We will keep this section brief. But we also love to share the big dreams God has laid on our hearts for Verity’s Village! And who knows? Perhaps you or someone you know can move us toward these long-term goals sooner than we might expect!
- We are praying someone may be in a position to donate an RV we can use for our family to travel for speaking engagements and work with churches and other local organizations. We’d also love to use it to bless other families with special-needs individuals who could perhaps rent it at a low cost to facilitate family time together they might not be able to take otherwise.
- And dreaming even bigger, in God’s timing we trust He will provide land for a retreat and conference center from which we can expand our ministry.
If you’d like to hear more details about our long-term vision, please reach out! We’d love to set up a time to dream big together.
FINAL WORDS
If you made it this far, THANK YOU! Thank you for caring about the ministry needs of Verity’s Village. And if something has touched your heart specifically, please reach out! We love to hear from you and perhaps partner with you as you use what God has given YOU to help reach our community.