In 2014 we celebrated the 8th anniversary of ACTS Ministries. It has been an amazing year in so many ways.  We're sending this letter to remind you of all the good you have been a part of this year, and of course, to invite you into joining us for even more in 2015.

We feel God continuing to lead ACTS toward an even greater role in modeling God's love, building stronger Christian relationships, and promoting servant leadership in the communities we serve. ACTS would not exist without you, our partners! You, friends of ACTS, are the face of this organization! Because of this we think it's prudent to share what we've accomplished together and how we can continue to serve together.

2014 Key Goals:

Our key goal for 2014 was to continue to simplify our "service equation" to the following:

We executed that in a number of ways in 2014.  While we continued offering our weekly opportunities to serve, we also introduced a new format for the Service Surge events you've come to love.  This year was the 8th Service Surge event in the last six years.  For the second year the Service Surge was in multiple communities, simultaneously!  There were over 250 volunteers who served in Chariton, Newton, Oskaloosa, Pella and Tema, Ghana completing 35 projects. This year, for the first time ACTS went international by having local volunteers in Tema, Ghana hosting a Surge! We again used the process for signing up for these events, allowing volunteers to "pick their own adventure" prior to the day of the event and use the day of the event to focus on working hard, serving well, and building relationships with their community members.

ACTS wants to continue to be the "plus sign" in that equation, equipping you to connect relationships and service to show the love that is so badly needed in today's world.  That could be through connecting you with opportunities to serve, or providing you the tools or extra volunteers to serve those you are already walking with.  Please use us as a tool in your "toolbelt" to help you share God's love in your community.

So what's in store for 2015?

Our success with the multi-community Service Surge proved that type of event was possible, so we plan to invite multiple communities into the Surge process again in the coming year.  Over the years we have tried to improve the mix of volunteer opportunities we offer to allow more family friendly events.  At the same time, we also know there are plenty of folks who see us as a "construction group".  We're trying to change that perception by offering other ways people can assist in the community. Continue to look for more opportunities in the "softer" skills, assisting homeowners with physical limitations with basic cleaning or organizing, or household moves.

We hope you'll join us again in the New Year and be a part of what God's doing in our communities!

Please click the below link to see how you can partner with ACTS in 2015.....How Can I Help?
 

Thanks & God Bless, 

The Board & Staff of A Call To Serve (ACTS) Ministries of Iowa