WINTER ❄ 2021
Newsletter
Breaking the poverty cycle through relationship, resources, and education.
ProjectConnectNashville.org
Dear Faithful Friends and Supporters, It is an honor and a privilege to write this letter to you as our new interim Executive Director. I have spent the last three years on staff at PCN leading programs and operations across our sites, and now I am pleased to write to you directly about this important work we do together. Even as our city prospers economically, there are so many individuals still struggling to make ends meet. Concrete challenges like lack of affordable housing, work opportunities, transportation, and finances are compounded by broken families, trauma, addiction, and mental illness. It’s overwhelming! And you or I on our own would find it difficult to even begin to help. The road out of poverty is complicated and often takes years to accomplish, and that is why our program is holistic and long-term. What makes Project Connect Nashville unique is our emphasis on joyful relationships and transformative education that equips individuals to not only break the cycle of poverty in their lives, but to truly flourish as citizens in the Kingdom of God. Our classes in workforce development, financial education, and trauma healing provide practical and useful insights that are informed by God’s good design.
What does it look like to flourish at work as God’s image-bearer?
How do I use my money responsibly as a tool in the Kingdom?
How can I understand the painful things I’ve experienced in light of a good, good God?
These are important questions that many of us ask in life, and they are all the more important for those who are struggling to find hope because of their difficult circumstances. As students find hope and stability, we also assist in the process through providing material resources. Providing a portion of our clients’ rent and assisting with additional short-term needs is an important part of the much larger life-change that we facilitate. Leadership has changed, but our mission has not. In fact, I am excited to use this season as an opportunity to re-focus. Our board and staff are seeking God’s guidance to ensure that we live out this mission to its fullest, and we are relying on Him and on His people to provide all that we need to continue to break the poverty cycle through the transformative power of Jesus Christ. We can’t do any of this alone--we aren’t supposed to. God is relational, and so is this ministry. Over the past couple months, I have heard from many of you who let me know that you are praying for Project Connect, and for me personally. You are a mighty encouragement! PCN needs your continued prayers, involvement, and financial support.
We have a goal to raise $300,000 through the end of this year to ensure that the hurting in our community can continue to find hope and transformation at Project Connect Nashville. This is a BIG goal, but we serve a God who provides all that we need, and we know that this mission is close to His heart. In what new ways will you consider joining us in this Kingdombuilding work? Grateful to God for you,
Zach Bevill
Interim Executive Director
“PCN was my lifeline. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without it.”
Michelle | by Angela Pyrz
Imagine watching the person you married turn into someone that you no longer recognize. Mental illness has transformed them, you try to work with them, encourage them to find help, give them time, forgiveness, and so much more until you realize that you and your children are in danger, and you need to get out of a marriage of over 20 yrs. The only thing is—your relatives are miles away, you don’t have much work experience and lies about money have left you with poor credit. How do you support yourself and children in Nashville when you’ve been a stay-at-home mom for so long? Beyond the financial needs, how do you manage to keep it all together when you have been through such a traumatic season of life? As a long-time member of Brentwood Baptist Church, Michelle turned to them to for help, and as sponsors of our Woodbine location, they referred her to Project Connect Nashville in spring of 2020. Now a 2nd year participant, she remembers being nervous as she entered her first class at PCN, but everyone was welcoming. “I’ve never been down and out before,” she said, recalling how it was all a new experience for her. She felt PCN staff and volunteers being “the hands and feet of Christ.” Since then, she has taken Faith & Finances, Boundaries, Trauma Healing, New Hope, and Work Life classes. Michelle is working 3 jobs to make ends meet and took advantage of our evening offering of Work Life, a 6-week workforce development class, in Woodbine earlier this year. She says, “It was taxing and hard, but phenomenal.” She made what she affectionately calls “forever
friends” and felt like she benefitted greatly from having fellow students that were “real” and willing to start over. The class gave them the feeling of being part of a team where they gave each other pep-talks as they struggled together. She says, “It felt like we were grabbing each other’s hand and walking up the hill together.” Seeing work from a Biblical worldview, as taught in Work Life, and as a ministry is not new Michelle. She is a preschool teacher and loves serving the children in her care, but she was also able to see that long-term it will be necessary for her to find work that better meets the needs of her family so that she is not spreading herself too thin and getting burned out. She says that taking the Boundaries class has been a turning point in her communication with her now ex-husband, and Trauma Healing really encouraged her to process the grief that comes with losing a marriage relationship and the hopes and dreams that come with it. She was looking forward to the “empty nest” years ahead. Michelle loves to encourage those around her. It’s a natural tendency of hers that has been a major blessing to our Woodbine community. PCN participants come from many different places in life, and to anyone in need of help, Michelle gives this encouragement, “Don’t think you’re a failure to reach out for help. Just because you have trauma and tragedy in your life doesn’t mean that it defines you. You can move forward. We are renewed by faith and not broken forever.”
“At the end of the day, Project Connect Nashville is all about God, and all about a loving, supportive community.”
Stephanie | by Stephanie Law Stephanie first connected with Project Connect Nashville right after the tornado struck North Nashville last year. “I wanted to find my faith again. I wanted to help and just be a good person.” After doing meal deliveries for a few months and learning about PCN’s mission, Stephanie took the Volunteer Equipping session at our Madison site. It was during the training when Stephanie really felt a desire spark within her heart to give back to her community. She began to take steps towards becoming a Faith & Finances facilitator and now serves at our Woodbine location on Sunday evenings. Reflecting on her service at PCN, she says that sharing God’s love with the world contributes to the person she is becoming and wants to be—a “selfless servant” who shares her gifts and talents with Project Connect Nashville. Serving in the US Army for eight years, living in multiple parts of the country growing up, and having a M.S. in Information Technology, Stephanie has diverse experiences with finance and spending. She says, “Instead of looking at money as a root of all evil, I look at it as a tool, and I can either use the tool for good or bad.” She thoroughly enjoys teaching Faith & Finances to PCN students on Sunday nights. The curriculum guides them as they walk through the steps of budgeting that will ultimately empower students with a positive mindset and the skills to work towards financial stability.
Faith & Finances facilitator is only a small portion of Stephanie’s favorite day of the week. “Sunday is God’s Day for me, it’s my favorite day in the entire world. I want to help be the light at the end of the tunnel.” Aside from teaching Faith & Finances, Stephanie attends church on Sunday mornings and teaches Sunday School. Having worked her way up the ladder at her current job, Stephanie has executed and held many interviews, and has taken that skill set over to PCN as well. You can find her on the panel at mock interviews during Work Life. “They say you want to help people because you’ve been there, done that, or because you need healing yourself, and I believe that was me.” Stephanie is excited about “giving part of herself” to PCN and actually “contributing to the solution. It’s easy to throw money at a problem. You also need to have people who are willing to reach out and create that community for individuals.” Loving on people is embraced here at PCN; and we are so very grateful to have volunteers like Stephanie on our team, giving their time and talents to this journey that we are all sharing together with God.
Project Connect Nashville’s North Nashville campus hosted a Health & Education Fair on Friday, October 29th. Though the weather was a bit daunting, heavy rain held off and about 50 area residents were able to learn about and interact with visiting health-related Nashville-area organizations.
North Nashville Health & Education Fair
The goal of the event was to increase community health awareness and participation through advocating healthy eating and living. Residents had the opportunity to learn about a variety of important health issues, get a COVID vaccine, find out where to go for health screenings, chat with police officers from the North Nashville precinct, and interact with healthcare professionals. Health topics ranged from pre- & post-natal care to cancer to mental health. Because health issues rarely just affect the patient, some of the groups like STARS offer services and training for caregivers and parents while other groups focus more on patient support and care. Residents visiting the booths were met with friendly faces and helpful advice. Ella Clay, North Nashville program manager, said that the many participating organizations made the Health & Education Fair “a major success!” PCN is grateful for the community effort in providing useful information and personal connections to the residents of North Nashville.
We were excited to welcome these great organizations: Meharry/Vanderbilt Alliance Meharry Medical College-Sisters Diabetes TN CEAL Belmont University Nursing School Sherrell Soothing Hands Alive Hospice STARS Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
CHEN Chi Eta Phi Metropolitan Nashville Police Department West Nashville Dream Center Metropolitan Public Health Department Covid Strike Team Born Again Church/Love Thy Neighbor Campaign and others!
Ribbon Cutting & Dedication of Project Connect Nashville’s Murdock Center For years, PCN rented a shared space in Madison. The space met many of our ministry needs but as renters, we were limited in our ability to tailor it to fit needs as growth required. Earlier this year, PCN had the opportunity to buy the Madison building, and with the generosity of PCN donors, the opportunity became reality in August! On Friday, October 22, we celebrated with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the Madison offices. The newly purchased building has been officially named The Murdock Center to honor outgoing founders and directors, Alan and Michelle Murdock. The ceremony started with a welcome and introductions from PCN’s Board President Leilani Boulware. Second year program participant Chris Freeze led the opening prayer after which Casundra Porter sang “God Is Good.” Zach Bevill, the Interim Executive Director, then gave his thoughts on what owning the building means for the ministry of PCN.
The Madison Rivergate Area Chamber of Commerce led the ribbon cutting then Joel and Patty Anderson blessed the building and the ministry. The Murdocks were grateful to have had the chance to see a very specific PCN-related dream come to fruition as well as being pleasantly surprised at the building’s name. Alan best sums up their feelings, “Our family is still reeling from this generous gift of having our name on this building. Seven years ago, I stood in front of this building with Joel Anderson, and we dreamed about purchasing this building one day even though it wasn’t for sale. But for God. Our prayer is that PCN continues to be a beacon of hope and stability for the Madison community and beyond.” While the building is not new to PCN, ownership of the Madison building does have a significant impact on its staff, volunteers, and most importantly, clients. Chris Freeze says that this is great for
Help us continue our mission to connect the disconnected through education and relationships at all 3 sites!
| by Jennifer Smithfield clients like him who are choosing “life over death—a new way to live life. Owning the building will allow PCN to persistently work helping others on their continuing journeys through classes and in building relationships.” During the ceremony, Zach Bevill echoed Chris’s thoughts, “We can continue this important work of financial education, workforce development classes, trauma healing, discipleship, 12-step recovery groups, and so much more. These walls in which we’ve celebrated new jobs found, promotions earned, sobriety milestones achieved, and where we’ve seen the power and hope of Jesus Christ at work are now dedicated to this purpose for the long haul. Owning this building now ensures that we will be able to engage in this process for years to come.” May God continue to bless the hard work on the Madison campus and in North Nashville and in Woodbine!
GIVE TODAY!
ProjectConnectNashville.org
A Growing Family
Emma and her fiancé Chris joined the PCN community over a year ago. They were living in a hotel and began Work Life class in search of ways to find stability and welcome change and growth in their lives.
Prayer of Dedication Joel and Patty Anderson have been a part of Project Connect since the very beginning and were blessed to pray a prayer of dedication over the building for continued ministry in the years to come.
“May the Murdock Center be a beacon of light in the darkness. May it be a place where souls bless your name, where forgiveness is found, where healing takes place, where righteousness and justice are honored, where youth is renewed. May it be a place where disciples of Jesus grow in faith and where your steadfast love abounds in the lives of all who enter into this place. We bless you Lord, and we thank you for the hope we have in Jesus. Amen!”
| by Angel Pyrz
made me a better person, and He has got me this far. I know He is going to continue to be with me on my journey.”
Emma came to know Christ at a young age, but years of pain surrounding a difficult childhood and the loss of her parents to cancer propelled her into addiction, homelessness, and time in jail. “I’m surprised I’m alive sometimes. I don’t ever want to live like that again,” she said. “My parents wouldn’t want me to live like that and neither would Jesus.” Recently, they welcomed Emorie, their baby girl, into the world. “My baby has really made me open my eyes up more,” Emma said. She sees that she needs to keep working on self-care in all areas of her life and not become complacent—especially spiritually. “PCN has been a step in my journey. They have really helped me,” she said. They have both found good jobs. Since being at PCN, Emma has paid off her car, and they are working on creating good financial habits. Faith & Finances was one of Emma’s favorite classes at PCN because she dreams that they will own their own home one day, and they are using the things they learned to make that dream a reality. Right now, Emma is taking ID Recovery—a recovery class that points us all to our identity in Christ. She has the Serenity Prayer tattooed on her arm where it covers scars from her years of deep trauma and pain. She said, “God has really done all of this for me. I know He has healed me, He has
“A baby shower at PCN became the perfect opportunity for volunteers to serve in a unique way. It was beautiful seeing volunteers come together and use their different talents, interests, and skills to bring love, encouragement and support to a special couple in our PCN community! Lots of laughs and even some happy tears were shared, and everyone enjoyed the time of fellowship and celebration.” — Hannah Keen, Volunteer Coordinator “What a joy to shower our own Chris and Emma with love as they prepared for Baby Emorie! The refreshments were delicious. The gifts were both needed and fun. But the real blessing was the heartfelt gratitude expressed by the parents to be. So thankful to be a part of this celebration.” A glad heart makes a cheerful face. Proverbs 15:13 — Debi Tompson, Volunteer Facilitator
— Joel and Patty Anderson Thank you to our contributing photographers: Rick Murray, Robert Price, & Jessica McIntosh!
Project Connect Nashville PO Box 295 Madison, TN 37116
SHARE THE HOPE, GIVE TODAY! Read JOY-FILLED stories inside. GET CONNECTED or GIVE at ProjectConnectNashville.org!
The holidays are often thought of as a season of celebration and happiness, but for different reasons, many of our program participants find the holiday season to be extremely lonely and difficult, especially as the weather gets colder. That is why we offer a short session of Sunday evening classes called Hope in the Holidays! In these classes we point each other to the JOY that can only be found in Christ.
Cover our clients in love this holiday season! Visit our website to find volunteer opportunities or to donate towards our year-end goal of $300,000 to ensure that the hurting in our community can continue to find hope and transformation at Project Connect Nashville!