From Surviving to Serving

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Tim Williams, Director of Church Relations grew up in the Victoria area and has been in Christian ministry since 1982 with 27 of those years serving as a senior pastor. As Director of Church Relations, Tim connects churches with STCH Ministries by helping identify ways to minister to their needs. He is also available for pulpit supply as he leads the Pastor Care ministry.

Occasionally, Tim will share stories from his ministry relating to how God heals hurts and shares hope using STCH Ministries. Here is one story, in his words:

My wife and I recently got to visit friends in Maryland, Pastor Dario and his wife Susie Agnolutto. Through our relationship with them over the years, Grace Brethren Church of Calvert County has made two trips to the Dominican Republic with STCH Ministries International. They are now planning their third trip. Since our visit included a Sunday, Pastor Dario allowed me to say a word of thanks to his church, share about our ministries as well as show one of our videos.

My wife, Judith, helped with the Ladies’ Retreat at Grace Brethren Church several times and after the service, a friend approached us. The woman shared she knew that she and her husband were, “going to make it – they were a family again,” after participating in the most recent mission trip as a family.

My wife later told me this woman showed up two years ago, at the Ladies Retreat broken and considering divorce after her husband’s affair. Through the grace of God, her church’s work with both of them as well as Christian counseling, this family has not just stayed together but now is being made whole.

It hit me that she was telling me the STCH Ministries mission trip made a difference in their lives and in her mind, changed their course from surviving to serving. We don’t always see the impact our International ministry has on people once they return home, but in this case, it was the healing of a family and the restoration of a marriage.  God works through us when we serve and that may be the most powerful way He works in us as well.

For more information about Pastor Care, please see: https://www.STCHM.org/pastor-care/

For more information about International Mission Trip opportunities, please see: https://www.STCHM.org/international/

2019 Golf Classic

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Participants at last month’s Golf Classic enjoyed ideal fall weather on the challenging course at the Hyatt Hill Country Golf Club in San Antonio. The tournament has played a prominent role on STCH Ministries’ calendar for nearly 20 years and has grown significantly since becoming an annual event in 2014. The Golf Classic serves as a fundraiser allowing STCH Ministries to continue healing hearts and sharing hope as the Lord leads. Effective events require collaboration and we are thankful to the following corporate and individual sponsorships. Strike, a leading pipeline and facilities solutions provider, and Pickett Systems, an oil field equipment supplier donated the title sponsorship. Lunch was provided by Highground Advisors and dinner was given by longtime friends Firmin and Leita LePori. Thank you for helping to make the Golf Classic a success. This year, over $69,000 was given to support the operational expenses of STCH Ministries.

The tournament draws individuals from longtime networks to new friends alike. One of the players discovered STCH Ministries when he fulfilled a service call on an air compressor at Homes for Children (HFC). Intrigued by his boss’s commitment not only to repair the machine but replenish supplies at no charge, he asked about the ministry and took a tour of the campus. Once he learned of the commitment and the ministry on Boothe Campus, he wanted to be a part of it.  During the dinner program, he and his wife learned about the nine separate ministries of the organization and committed to becoming more involved.

Students from HFC helped at the tournament – carrying clubs, serving lunch, hosting a dinner table and handing out awards. A sixth-grade table host shared “This feels more like a friend-raiser than a fundraiser,” while discovering he does not like bread and butter pickles with his barbecue. Earlier in the day, he passed out water bottles and reminded golfers their best chance at making a hole in one came from staying hydrated. His lively conversation and outgoing personality created smiles all day.

Mark your calendars for Monday, October 26, 2020, for next year’s Golf Classic. The tournament will take place at Hyatt Hill Country Golf Club in San Antonio. Registration begins at 11 AM followed by a shotgun start at 1 PM and finishes with an awards dinner at 6 PM.

If you have questions about the tournament or sponsorship information, please contact Jeff Brewer at 361.375.2417 or by email (jbrewer@stchm.org).

Forgetting the Shame

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Isaiah 54:4 – “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth.”

 A STCH Ministries Family Counseling client sought relief from crippling guilt and shame. The misplaced guilt the client struggled with stemmed from not wanting to be like his parents and feeling he had to hide his past. He helped raise his younger siblings due to a sexually abusive father and absent mother whose drug addiction led to frequent jail time. He believed himself guilty because he felt embarrassed by his family, he thought as a Christian, shouldn’t he love them unconditionally?

His counselor, Peyton, set a goal to help the gentleman discover those feelings did not belong to him. Guilt, a deep feeling of regret for an act which may or may not have occurred in the past, led to shame, the feeling of failing to live up to an imagined ideal of oneself. After many sessions processing through these emotions and establishing healthy boundaries, Peyton established that the guilt and shame he was carrying belonged to his family.

Often in a dysfunctional family, the children feel shame for their parent’s problems. Children cannot understand that their family is not “normal” or healthy and may think they are the cause of the problems. This idea may make them believe that the problem has to do with themselves, rather than the family. Family secrets can produce shame. Keeping a parent’s drug habit or sexual abuse a secret makes the child feel like they have something to hide and gives them the message “Don’t let people see you as you are.”

Peyton selected an insightful workbook called Making Peace with Your Past: Help for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families by Tim Sledge to help her client. The lessons guided them through identifying the key characteristics of a dysfunctional family—how shame may transfer to others, defeating shame and understanding that spiritual cleansing is essential to win over shame. The client gave his shame and guilt to God and experienced God’s emotional renewal thus discovering his family was not his destiny. He learned to love his family with healthy boundaries in place.

Through faith and counseling, he surrendered guilt and shame to the Lord, developed a refreshed outlook on his life and experienced a great sense of relief. The client’s life reflected Psalm 3:3—“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” The client gave himself the grace and mercy he deserved, and his faith is stronger than ever.

If guilt or shame is a problem in your life, STCH Ministries Family Counseling offices are available in 16 locations around South Texas. Please visit: https://www.STCHM.org/family-counseling/

#GivingTuesday

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Is it possible to raise $80,000 in one day?

Yes, with your help, we can!

With your help, we will continue to heal hearts and share hope in the lives of hurting children and families throughout South Texas and beyond our borders.

#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving that occurs each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Following right on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it kicks off the holiday giving season and inspires people to give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support.

STCH Ministries’ mission is to honor God, reach hurting children and families with His love and truth and enable others to join us in this ministry. We are 100% supported by private donations and do not accept any state or federal funding. Beyond that, we offer all of our services to anyone in need, regardless of their ability to pay. By making a donation to STCH Ministries on #GivingTuesday, you can help:

  • Provide a loving, family environment for children in need.
  • Give a safe haven for mothers and their children during times of crisis.
  • Save marriages with biblically sound counseling.
  • Send the gospel and God’s love through international missions.
  • Teach job skills and money management.
  • Offer special resources to pastors and their families.

And so much more!

Go to: https://www.STCHM.org/givingtuesday/ on December 3rd for the #GivingTuesday donation form and other ways to get involved!

Tabitha’s Smile

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Tabitha, 55, reached the point where she entertained the idea of ending it all – believing there was no way out of the mess she had made of her life.  She came to counseling stricken with guilt, grief and hopelessness.

Her upbringing in an unstable home spilled over into her own marriage and family. She had traveled a long hard road suffering tremendous emotional and physical abuse throughout her life and also in her first marriage. She felt unworthy, unloved and unfit to be a mother to her 3 children.

These overwhelming feelings led her to make a decision that haunted her for years to come. Tabitha decided to leave her family believing she wasn’t enough for them, for God, for anyone.

God had a plan of redemption for Tabitha. God led her to STCH Ministries Family Counseling Corpus Christi, where she met someone who listened, who cared and believed that she was a worthy person. STCH Ministries counselor Leslee O’Neal became the representation of God’s grace for Tabitha. Through the course of counseling, Leslee helped Tabitha learn about her true identity in Christ.

Leslee stood firm in the truth of God’s good plan for Tabitha’s life. This helped her gain an understanding of God’s love, mercy and grace. Tabitha worked hard to battle the lies of her past and hold fast to the truth of God’s love, salvation and redemptive plan for her life. God and Tabitha won. She learned to accept herself, forgive others, and be led by a God of unconditional love and acceptance. As she healed, she reconnected with her grown children and enjoyed the blessing of being a part of her grandchildren’s lives.

Tabitha recently wrote a sweet note to Leslee staking her claim to the freedom and blessings she now gets to live in. Tabitha shares in her message “… I love my life…and I know that God and you did an amazing thing for me, you taught me to smile again.”

Leslee gives thanks to God for His unconditional love and peace. She is grateful to STCH Ministries donors, supporters and staff for providing the opportunity to help Tabitha find her smile again.