by Aarron Pina | Feb 3, 2017 | Uncategorized
Here’s a quick note on two special needs for Seasons of Life that are pressing and promising:
Bring That Day to the Kineo Leader’s Conference:
This is a conference for church leaders where I will have opportunity to bring That Day directly to our target market – pastors who want to see their people more engaged in living everyday with eternity in mind.
They represent churches from 7 states including IN, LA, VA, and GA. This could be very big for the kingdom and for Seasons of Life. Funding this will allow me the bandwidth to bring my A game to pastors really dedicated to kingdom building. In order to provide this special P/R performance for them at no additional burden to their respective churches, we’re inviting you, our key supporters to contribute to bringing That Day to their day.
Could we do it for free as a “marketing write off”? Sure, under normal circumstances, but right now it’s just not financially feasible to do much pro bono work until things really stabilize later in the quarter. So, we’re praying a few people might band together to help “prime the pump” with us. Would you be one of them?
GTD Training, Atlanta
I’ve been practicing a lot of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” (GTD) methodology for a little over 10 years now and teaching key pieces of it for a few years through Clean Slate.
GTD is the gold standard for personal productivity training and in 2017 will be in cities including Mumbai, Edinborough, Dublin, Tokyo, and… Atlanta. They will sell out and I only get one chance to get their certification before they’re off to another city.
Their blessing (and branding) could open a ton of new doors for us with our Clean Slate workshop, not only in churches, but also in businesses. Your help in getting me there in part or in full would be greatly appreciated.
The training is $600 and will (always does) sell out.
I’d love for you to pray about helping us with these two specific opportunities as urgent and important needs. To give, use our online portal
here.
by Aarron Pina | Oct 11, 2016 | Uncategorized
A few years back, it seemed the importance of Black Friday had eclipsed the importance of Christmas and Thanksgiving. People camping out at retail stores to buy “doorbuster” deals? Then, Cyber Monday came on the scene, giving us a chance to take down our pup tents mounted in the Best Buy parking lots and shop in our jammies online. But, was that a good thing?
In 2012, the idea of “Giving Tuesday” was born. According to their website, last year over 700,000 people in 70 countries raised over $116,000,000 for charities, non-profits, and other NGO’s worldwide! Maybe the spirit of giving hasn’t been destroyed by the spirit of getting…
This November 29th, #GivingTuesday will see over a million people giving time, talent, and treasure to support the causes they’re most passionate about. This year, it’s quite likely that over a quarter billion dollars will be raised for worthy causes because of Giving Tuesday. At Seasons of Life Ministries, where we help churches, organizations, and marriages get obstacles out of the way of what God has designed them to do, and we only need to see God raise about $30,000 of that… Side note: it’ll take less than $3,000 of that to bring That Day to dozens of churches and organizations throughout the Southeast, exposing hundreds of non-believers to the gospel and refocusing thousands of believers on eternity in the most tangible way possible!
In the coming weeks, we’ll invite you to put your prayer knee pads on, your thinking caps on your heads, and consider giving to Seasons of Life Ministries to help us bring the message of “Why Does God Have Me Here? What Do I Do Next? and How Do I Do It?” or “Vision, Strategy, and Execution… God’s Way” to people all over the metro-Atlanta area and beyond.
Next Thursday will be our first “That Day Leader’s Lunch” where we give away lunch to a bunch of beleaguered pastors and ministry leaders, along with a preview performance of “That Day”. This event will give That Day some much needed exposure to influencers who can bring the message to their churches, organizations, and/or retreats, unleashing greater kingdom impact. If you know someone who ought to be there and deserves a free lunch, send them our video invite card.
If you’d like to jump start our Giving Tuesday matching fund, email us or give online today using either Paypal (to “giving@seasonsoflifeministries.org”) or clicking here to use our secure online giving platform.
by Aarron Pina | Jun 17, 2016 | Uncategorized
Sox are doing fine. This is a different kind of slump.
Who Said “Slump”?!
For some, the term “summer slump” is that painful period when their baseball team goes on a long losing streak. The Red Sox are only a game out of 1st place right now, so that’s definitely not what I’m writing about.
While many people get the beach, travel, and vacation bug this time of year, ministries and other non-profits often experience a very painful drop in support. With all that God has potentially put on our to do list right now, it would be a terrible time to bottom out financially. Fortunately, we have some good plans in the works – a paid That Day performance coming up in August (with the possibility of a second booking), plus some matching funds available in the meantime. You would help us accomplish the work if you help us capture the match.
They’re Overwhelmed, We Can Help
Even smart people, Christ following people, deeply committed people get overwhelmed. Jesus warned us it would happen.
If you’ve ever felt like there’s just too much to do and not enough time to do it, been over committed, or just felt outright overwhelmed by all you have on your plate, you’ve lived a life of “inbox full”. Helping people connect the dots between “why am I here/where am I going” (vision), “what do I do about it?” (strategy) and “how do I do THAT?!” (execution) is key to minimizing their stress and frustration.
That Day provides vision, Clean Slate develops strategy, and Discipleship and coaching clarify execution. Simple enough? My professional goal this year is to help “defrustrate” at least 5 individuals plus 3 organizations or groups, bring them to “zero inbox”, and help them stay there.
How We Plan to Help Them
To make that happen we need help, but we’ve done, are doing, or plan to do the following:
- we’ve unified some of our branding (free)
- have been approved by Google Apps for integration of our zeroinbox.org division [you can now email aarron@zeroinbox.org, etc., seamlessly] (free)
- plan to migrate our entire site to a new, cleaner WordPress template ($400)
- are editing and developing our Clean Slate Workshop and Webinar materials ($unknown/time)
- we’re brainstorming about a pastor/leader’s lunch that gives pastors a preview of That Day and an opportunity to pray for the lost, the saved, and the confused. (For more on that, email me.)
Can you help? If so, there are 3 ways:
- Be a Summer Slugger: need about 8 supporters at $25-50 a month and 6 at $75-150 for the summer.
- Swing for the Fence: Give a one time gift to help us capture a $500 matching gift this week and meet our $2,500 June need.
- Pick Your Spot: Make a planned donation for July or August to help us meet those upcoming needs.
To give online, click here.
To give via mobile, download the “PushPay” app for IOS or Android or
Text to give by texting “seasons” to 77977 (they’ll send you a reply text, you tap the link, and set up from there – just remember, normal texting rates apply, but most people already have unlimited text).
Hey, thanks for reading, praying, and supporting this work!
by Aarron Pina | Oct 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
Every Year
This time every year, our church, (NPCC) runs a massive giving campaign, raising millions to benefit really worthy causes. And, I love to see what happens to the charities they support; unfortunately, we’re just not one of them.* Not a complaint. Just an observation… and a challenge.
The Consequences…
Every year after it happens one or two people tell me – “I wish I could have given Seasons of Life more, but I just gave North Point a bizillion dollars…”? Um… yeah, we only needed a few thousand…
My reply to them has to be “It’s not your fault North Point asks before I do!” My bad. I need to plan further ahead. Again.
So here’s me, asking you: before you consider the big guys (who actually do take care of a lot of really important little guys), would you set something aside for the cause of discipleship?
Would you consider Seasons of Life Ministries, the men, women, and couples we’re caring for, marriages we’re partnering to restore, the Clean Slate and That Day projects we’re nurturing to maturity, and our very family in your year end or even monthly giving? We don’t need millions of dollars to finish the year. Maybe only a few thousand.
In 2016, Seasons of Life may look very different – already scaling back, it may:
- Scale back even further to very part time while I seek a traditional job to keep the lights on. No problem. Whatever God wants.
Or,
- That Day and Clean Slate may transform into an engine that funds the non-profit side of people-care and biblical counseling.
But, those outcomes are in God’s hands, your knees, and your response to this appeal. My job is just to get the information out in a timely manner. So, here we are… Before you write a huge check to any huge church, would you cut a small one to Seasons of Life Ministries?
Our current giving need is always listed on the website, (just look for the menu tab in the top right corner under “Give Online”) or, you can give by clicking here. We hope to have your prayers and support however God chooses to move us forward. Thanks!
AP
* We are registered with the program for the first time ever this year, but have no way of knowing if we’ll “make the cut”. If we do – we’ll not only make a big, public deal of it, we’ll even refund everything we raised in affiliation with this post!
By the way, we have a friend who works for another ministry that is very bible based counseling, too. She’s undergoing chemotherapy right now and can’t work as much as she used to. If not Seasons of Life Ministries, would you consider supporting Anne’s work at www.woundedheartministry.org?
by Aarron Pina | Apr 10, 2014 | Uncategorized
Eyes on the Numbers
In our household, I’m the numbers guy – “Guardian of the Financial Spreadsheet”. So, when change comes along, I tend to be the most emotionally impacted by the ramifications: need new tires, classroom supplies, low on peas and coffee, torn dress shirt – you get the point. I’m responsible to calculate the need, lead in prayer for provision, and trust God with His reply and timing.
What’s More Important, Time or Money?
After over 6 years in “ministry as usual”, shifting the balance of what the ministry does on a day to day basis doesn’t only impact my financial spreadsheet – it impacts my calendar, dramatically. Most often, change requires both time and money. When the ministry has most often run “short” financially, it’s hard for me to decide if I’m more “nervous” about the investment of time or the investment of money. Ever been there?
What’s Different?
Seasons of Life has almost always been a “free service” ministry – there’s only a few things we’ve ever charged money for, and discipleship has never been one of them. It’s always been (and will probably always be) foreign to us to sit down with someone(s), listen to them, point them to scriptural truth, pray for and with them, and then say “Ok, that’ll be x dollars.” However, four wise men in my life have recently (in the same 10 to 14 days, wow!) counseled me, without my asking them, to amp up two existing programs that we do charge for, and focus attention on them: That Day and “Clean Slate“.
The “Now”:
I’m freshly encouraged by the registration numbers in for our April 18th “Clean Slate” workshop. But, this is a small, “pilot episode” and it will be a while before the ministry begins to see a sustainable financial impact from this emphasis on bible-based productivity coaching. I have opened up for promotion 8 dates in this year’s calendar for potential “That Day” performances and will begin marketing this more actively this month. Again, this leaves a gap between the ministry’s current financial situation and a more sustainable future. Including first quarter shortfall and current April needs, we’re less than $11K away from everything being “current” come April 30. This includes staff salary, replacement printer drum & toner, email marketing fees, and support for a couple of local “Speak Life” families in immediate need.
The Match
We currently have a $4,000 pledge in the mix. If we receive donations and pledges meeting that by Tuesday, 4/15, we’ll receive all of that match. That means, to move April forward, I’ve got to ask any and everyone to help us bridge the gap with donations or pledges by then. Please, help out in any way – individually, as families, businesses, or small groups – to make this happen. We’re super grateful for the work God has put before us and very grateful for everyone who continues to support discipleship, Speak Life, Clean Slate, and That Day. Equally, help us connect people with programs by sharing the links for “That Day” and “Clean Slate” with people you know who could benefit from either.
To Help Directly
Please consider using your online banking service’s automatic bill pay to support – it’s usually free for you and for us. See our support page for details on that and consult your bank’s online banking page to set it up as either one time or regular monthly or quarterly giving. Otherwise, you can also use our online support page to give securely via debit/credit card. If you’d like to pledge toward our matching gift, simply email us at support@seasonsoflifeministries.org and let us know your intent. Thanks, SO much for your support!!!
in Christ,
AP
