2021 Annual Report
MISSION & VISION
Our vision is to see that every woman in church planting is trained, supported and valued.
We train her
to apply the gospel to everyday challenges using visual, practical, and memorable tools
We support her
through relational communities led by women who understand her context
We value her
as a co-laborer in kingdom ministry
We do this in partnership with leaders around the world, including:
a community of Parakaleo-trained women
church planting networks and denominations
mission-driven investors and prayer partners
A NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
New and vibrant churches are essential to the movement of the gospel. Women are vital co-laborers in the planting journey, yet are often unprepared for the twists and turns in this stage of ministry. Expectations from others, ambiguity, and sustained levels of stress are just a few challenges. Long-term resilience rooted in the gospel is essential for women to not only survive church planting, but to thrive.
Since 2005, Parakaleo has come alongside women in church planting to sustain and strengthen them in their unique roles. In 2021, your prayers and partnership made it possible for women around the world to regain and maintain their footing in the gospel. We invite you to:
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Rejoice with us as we look back at some of the women impacted last year.
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Look ahead with us toward the next phase of our journey.
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Consider how you might deepen your commitment to these women through Parakaleo in 2022 and beyond.
By His Grace,
DENINE BLEVINS
executive director
OUR TEAM
Global Leadership Community
Parakaleo trains women to walk alongside other women in their own context, culture and language. We equip these leaders with practical, visual, memorable resources called “tools,’ helping women apply the gospel to everyday challenges in church planting. Leaders create online and in-person experiences for women to receive encouragement and support. We do this in partnership with church planting networks and denominations around the world.
Staff
The central office of Parakaleo, known as “HQ”, provides the strategy and infrastructure for its worldwide reach. HQ also offers virtual training events to women across the globe, particularly for those who don’t yet have local access to Parakaleo.
This team coordinates the Parakaleo Leadership Community (PLC), which provides fellowship and resources to our leaders as they come alongside others.
2021 HQ Program Offerings
Staff
Denine Blevins
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Smita Donthamsetty
PROGRAM MANAGER
Angie Woodall
ADMINISTRATIVE & DIGITAL MARKETING COORDINATOR
2021 Board
Traci Barrett, Board Chair
Patterson Hicks, Treasurer
Margaret Thompson, Secretary
Reyn Cabinte
Jessica Hong
Jessica Rice
“God has used Basic training to wake me up from my personal neglect and subtle savior mentality. I have found words to name the hardships of church planting. It has given an alternative perspective which I believe will contribute to my longevity in ministry. I feel that I now have a better framework in the form of Parakaleo tools to shepherd and lead my own heart.”
–Confidence Mokgatle, South Africa
Global Growth
We partner with church planting networks and denominations around the world to raise up women to lead movements of Parakaleo in their own context, culture, and language.
Stories of Impact by Region
We feel like everything
is up to us.
Asia Pacific
When women are unable to untangle who they are from what they do, this can lead to a performance-based mentality that eventually crumbles under the never-ending demands of church planting. Those who rest in their adoption in Christ experience greater freedom and joy in church planting. The training that Asia Pacific leaders Dar Mirawaty, Utako Grateley, and Wendy Mugridge provide (along with two others in sensitive countries) encourages women to live out of the love of God in the gospel.
“The Basic Training…equipped me with tools that I could use primarily for my own heart and then draw out whenever I needed to remind others of the truth of the Gospel…we are constantly reminded that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is over and above all of our stories, journeys, and identities. Now, I notice that in my conversations with ladies, I more quickly default to the Gospel.”
–Kali Holifeña, Philippines
Parakaleo reminds women to rest in what Christ has already performed for us on the cross.
2021 Asia Pacific Program Offerings
6 Intensives
117 Women
13 Cohorts
58 Women
7 Groups
41 Women
We lack safe spaces to process our struggles.
Latin America
Planting a church requires leaving a supportive community behind to start something new. While men in leadership typically have spaces to connect with one another, women usually lack access to such groups.
Church planting wives in Latin America are no exception. Founding catalysts Ruth Garza and Olga Sanchez coordinate the rapidly growing movement known as “LATAM.” With a team of trainers, they offer virtual training for women across 10 countries, with the goal of multiplying group leaders to serve even more women.
“In 2007, Gabriel, my husband, and I moved to the north of the country, in Coahuila, Mexico, to start planting a new church. We faced discouragement, loneliness, and a hard fight against infertility. Gabriel had a mentor, but for a long time I was alone. My first experience in Parakaleo was a gift! The gospel became the filter to process each of my situations. God showed me his love through the women of Parakaleo, allowing me to speak openly about my situation without judgment or shame. Now I serve as a Parakaleo trainer and create this kind of support for other women like me.”
–Olga Lida Sanchez Cruz, LATAM trainer
Parakaleo provides a judgment-free community of “gospel singers.”
2021 Latin America Program Offerings
1 Intensive
55 Women
6 Cohorts
22 Women
We are often overwhelmed by the expectations of others.
United States
A woman in church planting often drowns under the expectations of others. To counteract this, a common gospel refrain in Parakaleo is: “The verdict is in!” When she recognizes and believes that she has God’s approval, she no longer needs to live for the approval of others.
In the United States, five church planting networks partnered with Parakaleo to ensure that women hear lyrics like these on a regular basis. Marianna Shaw is one such woman.
A church planting wife in the Southeast US, Marianna did not think she had the margin to attend a Parakaleo event, or feel that she deserved to participate. When she finally attended Basic Training, God used gospel tools to gently reveal how much she was living under the weight of the verdicts of others and herself. Marianna now comes alongside other church planting wives as she continues applying that truth to her own heart.
“God has used these tools to take me by the hand and pull me back to the truth of who I am and whose I am, again and again”
– Marianna Breazeale Shaw, Shreveport, LA
Because of Christ, women don’t have to live under the verdict of others–or even themselves!
2021 U.S. Program Offerings
2 Intensives
10 Women
14 Groups
71 Women
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
Why We Give
Lukeythia and Anthony Bastardi are founding members of Northside Church, a justice-pursuing cross-cultural church in Richmond, VA. Lukeythia remembers the early years of planting as being particularly lonely for her as one of the only women of color. She knows firsthand the importance of having safe spaces with women who share similar stories and struggles.
Parakaleo is thankful to have partners like the Bastardis in our giving community.
"We invest in and pray for Parakaleo because we know that it fills a ministry need for women in church planting that was unmet before. As Parakaleo expands to equip and serve more women from increasingly diverse communities, we are thankful for how the ministry has blessed women in our local community and for the impact it is having among women in church planting across the country. Parakaleo has been part of God's answer to my early prayers to encounter and be encouraged by other women of color in church planting. We are excited to now have the opportunity to aid in equipping and encouraging other women in this ministry."
– Lukeythia Bastardi, Richmond, VA
FINANCIALS
2021 Revenue:
Individuals- $121,361
Organizations- $95,660
Ind thru corp Foundations- $33,546
Program- $14,370
Mis- $55,194
TOTAL: $320,131
2021 Expenses:
Program- $177,307
Operations- $146,029
TOTAL: $386,242
LOOKING AHEAD
Parakaleo longs to see men and women from diverse communities following Christ to grow healthy churches that impact the world. Here are two initiatives that support that vision.
Planting Partnerships
In 2021, three planting organizations hired or appointed Parakaleo leaders to coordinate programs for women (such as monthly groups or training events). Our staff provides consultation in curriculum implementation and leadership development. This approach of mobilizing a leader to serve women in her context results in exponential growth in a way that’s locally-managed. Most importantly, the network’s investment communicates to women that they are valued as essential co-laborers worthy of support.
Rooted / Arraigadas
Rooted (“Arraigadas” in Spanish) serves U.S.-based women of color in culturally-supportive environments. Through monthly virtual groups, we provide gospel tools to help women process their unique struggles. We equip women from within to start new groups so that it remains accessible and self-sustaining. One group member shared that being with women from similar backgrounds gave her the freedom to talk through painful situations with vulnerability and transparency. This gave her the strength to continue serving in the faith community to which God had called her.
The past two years have been fraught with relational conflict, division, and isolation. As church planting communities, we live every day in front of people who will know that we are Christians by how we love one another (John 13:35). What a beautiful opportunity we have to show the unifying power of the gospel through how we engage across differences, care for the hurting, and proclaim truth with grace. Parakaleo offers a space for women to wrestle with how to do that.
Thank you for your partnership through your financial generosity, prayers and advocacy. Your role in our community is an essential one–we can’t do this without you.