March 2021 Newsletter
Dear friends and family,
We are so excited to send out this update. We delayed a month in order to be able to share what the Lord did through the Known Seen Loved Celebration. It was clear from the beginning that this was His event and for His glory, and it was evident in every moment.
In exactly 40 days, (isn’t that exactly like Him?!) He put together an amazing eight-person event team, 80+ volunteers, connected us with Nicole C. Mullen to be the keynote speaker, pulled support from over 50 local businesses, and covered every single expense through donations to within $100 of the final cost. To God be all the glory!!
Our overall goal for the evening was that not a single woman could walk in and out of the event without truly knowing that she was known, seen and loved by someone.
To make sure we accomplished this, we asked ladies to be table hosts, serving as a personal connection to 6 or 7 ladies at her table. We hand-selected godly, mature women— many of whom had been single mothers themselves — who we knew would be the hands and feet of Jesus to broken, hurting women. This made a huge difference to the attendees, who were thrilled that they would not be left to themselves. They craved relationships, and we wanted to provide the best that we could.
Beyond our own team, however, we wanted to make sure that every single detail would show those in attendance that they are known, seen and loved by their Creator. We had bouquets lovingly crafted so that each lady had a living reminder of His love for her. We had a local young lady who spent hours hand-writing every individual name tag in beautiful calligraphy, demonstrating that the Lord knows each of their names. And finally, each place setting featured a a handwritten Bible verse on every napkin — more than 200 of them. What amazing acts of love! We heard story after story how the verses that had been randomly — by human standards — placed at each seat were the exact verse that the lady who had chosen to sit there needed to hear. Truly, His Word does not return void!
Beyond all that, however, our favorite part of the evening (besides giving away the 40 LARGE gifts provided by businesses in the community) was our guest speaker, Nicole C. Mullen.
Nicole had been a single mother herself and had escaped not one but two abusive marriages — the first physical, the second emotional through infidelity. Her story resonated with the ladies, and the truth that she was able to share about the God that saw her, knew her, heard her and loved her through every moment of her story hit home in the hearts of the ladies attending. There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience by the end of it, and she received a standing ovation.
Because of the Celebration, many businesses and individuals have reached out to continue serving with 431 Ministries. New partnerships are beginning to form, and we are praying for wisdom and discernment for every step along the way. One of those new opportunities came from one of our table sponsors — the Concordia Arts Academy. The Academy's owner, Kate Bulter, was a single mother herself and is passionate about the work that God has called us to do. With her help, we will be hosting our first-ever fundraising benefit on April 10. We hope that you will be able to join us.
Please continue to pray with us for our entire board as we examine the paths that appear to be in front of us. Pray for the additional staff members that we still need and the building that we continue to move forward toward. Pray for the fundraising benefit and the additional support we will need to make those purchases/additions. Above all, pray for the ladies that we serve, that “they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3, NIV)
It’s in Him that we remain and Him we praise, The 431 Ministries team.
