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STEPS Ministries Newsletter: Third Quarter 2020

I hope you enjoy this STEPS Ministries newsletter for the third quarter of 2020: 

  1. Watch this video on Why, Who, What, and How plus Where we’re going.

  1. Click STEPS Ministries Overview page for videos and more on these plans.

  2. Read the “STEPS Ministries Overview” for an in-depth ministry update. 

As we move toward 2021, here is a view for where we want to go next year:

  • 100,000 – Serve over 100,000 people by offering free, helpful content.  

  • 10,000 – Equip 10,000 people via email, social media, and podcasts. 

  • 1,000 – Train 1,000 people through events, products, and courses.   

  • 100 – Grow from over 50 supporters to 100 and serve them well.  

  • 10 – Coach 10 people and work personally with many more.   

Your support and encouragement mean a lot to me and STEPS Ministries. I hope and pray that life is going well for you and your family. If it’s not, give me a call.

Steve Ward

STEPS Ministries Website and Content Portal

STEPS Ministries Newsletter: June 2020

STEPS Ministries is now 2 years old! Here’s an update of what we did in June:

  • “Real Life 101” – Built a new program to help college students handle issues with stress, depression, and substance abuse and develop an effective lifestyle.

    • This project positions us to reach a new audience with young people.

    • See the 90-second video below for an overview of the project:

  • “The Prevention Project” – Designed a new transformational  initiative for prevention. 

    • Project includes our 3 content and delivery methodologies for preventing addiction. 

    • Click here to see the complete plan for The Prevention Project.  

  • STEPS Ministries infographic – Click here to see the “STEPS Ministries Summary.”

  • Coaching – Continued 1-on-1 coaching with several people on Zoom and some in-person.

  • Parents discussion group – Held the final 4 virtual parents support group sessions with Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church with very positive feedback from parents and sponsor.

    • This pilot validated the format and content to use with future parenting groups. Here’s a sample of the parenting content from a session, which is followed by discussion.

  • Zoom meetings – Grew our skills for virtual support meetings and webinars.  

  • Media outreach – See us in the Village Living Mountain Brook newspaper. 

  • Influencers – See us on the show ”Let’s Talk Recovery Houston.” 

  • Life Improvement Tool Kits – Updated the tool kits for “Learning to Practice Proactive Parenting” and “Dealing with Stress More Effectively.”

  • STEPS Journey Blog – Published 5 blogs with video and podcast versions: 

  • Next Right STEPS Podcast – Developed our plan to launch the podcast in the coming weeks to reach people in a new way with a new channel.  

  • Social media – Utilized social channels to extend our reach to more people.

    • Facebook – Published 15 new posts and reached about 8000 people.

    • Instagram – Published 16 new posts and increased engagement. 

  • Google Ads – Expanded our use of the Google grant program for nonprofits with free advertising we can use to reach more people with our content. 

    • 7 Google ads going and growing our skills to track and optimize them.

  • Digital outreach – Continued using digital marketing to reach more people. 

    • 4 training sessions with Electromagnetic Marketing on  effectiveness. 

    • Using “Agile-lite” project management methodology with our team. 

    • Documented our outreach plan with planned campaigns for: (a) parents of teenagers; (b) parents of younger kids; (c) people in early-stage addiction or relapse; (d) those struggling with stress or depression; (e) young people in college; and (f) families and friends of people who are struggling.

  • Videos – Purchased Adobe Premiere Pro to enhance the quality of our videos. 

  • Foundations and grants – Revamped our approach for grants with consulting input from Nonprofit Navigators and created a new approach and content for future grant applications. 

    • Completed application for the John and Polly Sparks Foundation.   

  • Other fundraising – After pausing fundraising during COVID, we are recommencing activity and recently acquired a new Foundation Sponsor.  

  • STEPS team – Held weekly team meetings with staff and our 5 interns plus Zoom or phone meetings for planning, mentoring, and collaboration. 

    • Each team member is a leader in one area with responsibility for strategy and process. 

    • In current discussion with Highlands College on partnering with their intern program.

  • Previous news – Check out other Recent STEPS Ministries Newsletters.

Thanks to all of you who are part of our mission to help people improve their lives, grow closer to God, and prevent addiction. We couldn’t do what we do without you!

Steve Ward

STEPS Ministries Website and Content Portal 

STEPS Ministries Newsletter: May 2020

May was a busy month for STEPS Ministries. I know you’re busy too, but please spend a few minutes scanning these highlights and checking out items of interest.  

  • Coaching – Continued 1-on-1 coaching with 7 people (mostly virtual).

    • See the short video from our “STEPS Ministries April Newsletter” about working with a man going through a life-changing recovery process.
    • Watch the short video below on what it’s like for parents facing the agonizing decision of telling their son or daughter to leave the home.

  • Parents discussion group – Held first 2 parents virtual support group sessions in partnership with Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church.

    • 2 in-person parenting seminars were postponed due to COVID-19.

  • Dealing with crisis – Continued featuring the “2020 Survival Kit” on Facebook and Instagram and reaching groups to encourage sharing of the kit via email.

  • Media outreach – An article on STEPS was in “280 Living” in print and online.

  • Team impact – 5 new summer interns will help us serve even more people.

    • Tim Majors – Digital outreach campaigns: ads, email, and online content.

    • Sofia Paglioni – Social media management to reach even more people.

    • Meredith Stone – Zoom groups/webinars; Google ads for more reach.

    • Caroline Wolfe – Grant applications and reaching people via the media.

    • Emily Parcell – Reach organizations and serve people through them.

    • Gunnar Sadowey – Launch podcast; new tools, eBooks, and webinars.

  • Team effectiveness – Team grew our skills in digital advertising, social media, podcasts, writing, speaking, fundraising, branding, and Zoom virtual meetings. 

  • Growth resources – Hired 3 agencies to move faster and reach more people.

    • Digital outreach – Built plan and held 2 consulting and training meetings.

    • Grant applications – Consulting on applications and finding foundations.

    • Audio content – Signed contract for audio book and podcast consulting.

  • Social media – Used social media channels to reach and serve more people.

    • Facebook – Published 10 new posts and reached about 12,000 people.

    • Instagram – Published 9 posts and Highlights of useful information. 

    • Google – Ran digital ads using Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits to offer content to thousands of people at no out-of-pocket cost.  

    • Next Right STEPS podcast – Planning re-launch to serve more people.

  • Blogs – Published 4 articles with podcast and introductory video versions. 

  • Youth outreach – Built plan for service program for Samford college students.

    • Adapt our content to be more relevant for college-age young people.

    • Help students with stress, depression, preventing addiction, developing a Biblical world view, finding purpose, and achieving excellence. 

    • Use content and digital marketing processes in an integrated program. 

  • Personal – Highlights included a weekend at Lake Martin and a haircut!

  • Previous news – Check out other Recent STEPS Ministries Newsletters.

Reply if you know people I should meet or if you can help. Thanks for supporting our efforts to help people improve their lives, grow closer to God, and prevent addiction. 

Steve Ward

STEPS Ministries Website and Content Portal

STEPS Ministries Newsletter: April 2020

During the coronavirus crisis, STEPS Ministries hasn’t slowed down—we’ve sped up!

Please watch this 2-minute video to hear an interesting, real-life story and a quick summary of what’s been going on with the ministry…

Below are some highlights of STEPS Ministries activities in April, and you can use the web links in blue to see more information in key areas:

  • STEPS Ministries adjusted positively to the coronavirus health crisis.

    • Kept working full-time from our homes and shifted from in-person activities to serving people over the internet. 

    • Utilized virtual meetings and built ahead content for coming months. 

    • Delivered material to help people deal with anxiety, cope well in a crisis, and help others. 

  • Created a new “2020 Survival Kit” and distributed it in multiple ways. 

    • Making it available to over 15,000 people by boosting Facebook posts.

    • Delivered it via email to our blog audience, recovery organizations, churches, and other groups. 

    • Kit includes the “STEPS for a Crisis” video, ideas for stress, the STEPS “How You Can Help” page, our Facebook Live video, and other useful content. 

  • Took a step of faith and ramped up our resources to serve more people.  

    • More Facebook boosted posts and ads to reach more people.

    • Hired firms for digital outreach and foundation applications.  

    • Developed plan to increase contractor and intern work hours. 

    • Sent newsletter on “STEPS Ministries Resources” to seek more help.

  • Published 4 blogs including short overview videos and podcast versions.

  • Finished building blog videos, podcasts, and emails for use through September 7.

  • Continued to grow the reach and effectiveness of the STEPS Ministries Facebook page.

    • Total people reached during the month was over 20,500.

    • Created 18 posts and actively engaged with followers. 

    • Held our first Facebook Live session on April 9.

  • Continued to grow the reach and effectiveness of the STEPS Ministries Instagram page.

    • Continued to enhance our outreach strategy with this new social media channel. 

    • Worked on 13 posts plus stories, graphics, hashtags, engagement, and influencers. 

    • Highlighted content for Prevention, How to Help, Daily STEPS, and Who We Are. 

  • Worked with other groups to share STEPS content more widely.  

    • Including a number of churches, coalitions, and organizations. 

  • Used Zoom for 1-on-1 virtual coaching and multi-person meetings.  

    • Developing plans for a virtual parents support group and webinars.

  • Managed a semester-end transition of our Samford interns.

    • William Marlowe and Abby Brooks are graduating and both did a fantastic job.

    • Sofia Paglioni and Emily Parcell will join us soon for the summer semester.

  • Used the time to validate and hone aspects of our strategy moving forward.

    • Updated plans for content, programs, virtual meetings, social media, digital advertising, podcasts, the next book, fundraising, grants, and delivery partners. 

  • Steve was asked to do a photo shoot for a May article on STEPS in a local magazine.

  • Created a Missions video for Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church ministries.

    • Designed to offer help to them and the people they know and serve.  

  • As reference, you can see Recent STEPS Ministries Newsletters for 2020 here.

Please let me know if you have questions, and I am always open to your ideas about ways we can better help people improve their lives, grow closer to God, and prevent addiction. Thank you for your encouragement and support, I really appreciate it.

Steve Ward

STEPS Ministries Website and Content Portal

STEPS Ministries Newsletter: March 2020

  • You can help our ministry help more people during the COVID-19 health crisis.

    • Answer our request for help identifying interns, volunteers, and contractors  

    • Support our new GoFundMe campaign, even with a small or medium donation. 

    • During the crisis, the STEPS team is working full-time “virtually” from our homes. 

    • We acquired Zoom video conferencing software to continue ministry activities. 

    • Published a special newsletter on dealing with stress from the coronavirus.

  • Check out recent STEPS Ministries newsletters for January, February, and 2019. 

  • Created a “STEPS Overview Montage” video to communicate our key messages.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during these exciting times.

Steve Ward
STEPS Ministries Website and Content Portal

P.S. We also testing a new logo design—tell us what you think!

STEPS Ministries Newsletter: Feb. 2020

This is a special edition of our newsletter, so please look it over carefully. Click on the blue links to see more. These are highlights of STEPS Ministries activities in February:

  • Served as a sponsor of the End Heroin Bham Walk. (See a 1-minute video below.) 

    • Developed resource pages and distributed them to 160 people at the Walk.

    • 11 members of the STEPS team (with volunteers) met with over 200 people.

    • 97 people gave us their email address which means they will get STEPS Journey Blog articles each week and have access to useful material when they need i

Delivered a new presentation on “Living Out a Culture of Love, Grace, and Transformation” to Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church. (See a 45-second video below.)

  • This featured a comprehensive new “How You Can Help” portal with resources for helping our kids, spouses, friends, coworkers, and others. 
  • Future parenting actions planned with the church include starting a support group, sharing more resources, and holding another seminar in the summer.
  • This material was designed for use with other churches in the future. 

  • Delivered a new presentation on “How to Improve Your Life and Help Other People” to management and employees at DDS Solutions.  

    • This presentation can help people adjust how they think, live day to day, avoid issues and addictions, and help others. 

    • This material is designed to use with other companies and organizations also.   

  • Published 4 blog articles, each with video and podcast versions.

  • Ramped up our ministry Facebook ministry with 3-to-5 posts per week.

    • Delivered parenting material to over 1300 people by boosting Facebook posts targeting parents who are likely interested in the topics featured.  

    • Expanded our Facebook followers by 72 people.  

  • Became a charter member of the ULECx Market which is made up of Birmingham business leaders and nonprofits who have a shared love for God and all people.

    • This will provide more vehicles and contacts to serve organizations and people.

  • Participated in community events to aid collaboration and service opportunities.

    • Shelby County Chamber of Commerce – Talked to speaker Clay Hammac of Compact 2020 and his team and media and community leaders at the event. 

Attended the Courage to Lead conference with great speakers and collaboration.

  • Met with Martin and Kayla Briggs of ULECx Marketplace & nonprofit leaders. 
  • Other community events we attended to enhance collaboration included:
    • Truth at Work Roundtable
    • Young Business Leaders breakfast 
    • Center for Executive Leadership breakfast

  • Held 3 team meetings and other individual planning calls with team members.

  • Continued several coaching engagements with individuals and held many one-on-one meetings for informal help sessions, collaboration, and fundraising.   

  • Planned the blogs through June. These assets will help us build Life Improvement Tool Kits for parenting young kids, dealing with stress, and helping others.

  • Distributed 2019 tax notices and thank you letters to people who donated to the ministry last year (see 2019 newsletters here). 

    • Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to them for being the lifeblood of our ministry.  

Thank you for your encouragement and support. It means a lot, and I appreciate it.

Steve Ward
STEPS Ministries Website and Content Portal

STEPS Ministries Newsletter: January 2020

Check out the STEPS Ministries Fourth Quarter Newsletter sent in December.

Here are some highlights from STEPS Ministries activities during January:

  •  Published 5 blogs with articles, introductory videos, and podcast versions:
  • Participated in the “Celebrate the Family EXPO” event at the Hoover Met and distributed useful parenting material to attendees.
  • Created 2 Parenting Tool Kits for use at the EXPO and with parents anywhere. One is on “Learning to Practice Proactive Parenting” and the other is on “Helping Teenagers Avoid Substance Abuse.”
  • Published an article in the January Birmingham Christian Family magazine on “Setting Goals and Boundaries When Your Teenager is Struggling.”
  • Held a STEPS Ministries team meeting to plan activities. Our team grew this month with the hiring of Tim Majors part-time. This semester, we also have 3 Samford interns who are William Marlow, Abby Brooks, and Abigail Fink.
  • Established processes and built content to use in our STEPS Proactive Parenting initiative to reach out to tens of thousands of parents.
  • Participated in many one-on-one meetings for formal coaching, informal help sessions, collaboration, meetings with supporters, and other reasons.
  • Developed and documented a methodology for one-on-one coaching.
  • Visited Bradford Health Services with a local AA group and shared insights and experience with 20 men going through recovery.
  • Worked with Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church to plan future activities we will work on together with parents.
  • Prepared for February 2 STEPS Ministries Info Luncheon at Oak Mountain.
  • Attended fundraising workshop and documented our 2020 fundraising plan.
  • Closed out the 2019 Year-End Fundraising Campaign with great success! This was our best fundraising period since we launched STEPS Ministries.

Thanks for your encouragement and support. It means a lot, and I appreciate it.

Steve Ward
STEPS Ministries Website and Content Portal