Selah Ep. 17: Meeting People Where They Are

Foreign.

Hello and welcome to the Selah Podcast. My name is Jacob and I am joined today by Rob and Leanne Stevenson. Over the course of this Selah, we are really focusing in on what it looks like for the Lord to give you dreams and how he plays those out in your life and what type of faith it takes to actually see them through. So thank you so much for joining us today. And we can jump right in to tell our listeners who maybe aren't a part of the Refuge a little bit of who you are, where you came from.

How did you end up in this seat right now? Okay. Yeah. So we're Robin Leanne Stevenson and we've been at the Refuge nearly five years. We've got four children and two grandchildren.

Our oldest daughter also attends church with her husband here and we have two children at home. And then we have a daughter who lives in Tennessee who's got our grand twins. Where in Tennessee? Chattanooga. Awesome.

I did all my school in Tennessee. So we have been business owners or had been business owners for nearly 25 years. Started online before online was big. We were the little guys and rode a roller coaster for nearly 20 years. Ended up in brick and mortar.

We opened up a retail store of children's clothing and did that the last, would you say five? Yeah, we had our brick and mortar last five years in addition to our online. Right. And like I said, it was a roller coaster ride. Anyone who's had a small business knows what it's like to own a business.

Had some very great years. Had some very tough years. I think as we were moving more into where we are now, the tougher years got a little more closer together. You know, the Lord sought us through everything, but still, it's been some difficult years. I mean, we made it through Covid after Covid, there was like, would you call it an economic tough period.

And it just, in retail, it was just like we started to feel like maybe we weren't going to be doing this anymore. So. And it was a long process. I mean, it wasn't something, it wasn't a decision we came to immediately. It was a long, probably two year thought process that maybe we needed to start looking at other avenues.

So we. Well, I think it was a combination of the length of time we were in small business ownership and operations. 20 plus years for a husband and wife to do that together as a really long time. Yeah, I've seen Kitchen Nightmares. It doesn't seem to last very long.

But like Leanne said, we had some really prosperous years and we had some really lean years during those 20. I think it was 22 years for me and 24 for you that we had the business going. But the Lord saw us through every season, even the difficult ones. But we were also thinking that he was kind of telling us maybe it's time for something different. Yeah.

Yeah. So it sounds like you guys have been entrepreneurs for a long time, which, if you are around many young people, pretty much every Gen Z person I know thinks they're an entrepreneur. No offense to you listening. So I have a lot of respect for it, personally. My parents were built homes and had that business.

And during the, like, housing crisis of 2008, all that went not so well because it didn't go well for really any building builders. So I was always like, I won't be an entrepreneur. Because, like, that I saw how hard it was on my parents, and it really, like, stressed me out as a teenager. So then when I went to school, I was just like, that's probably not for me. But it is interesting how the kind of the entrepreneur thing or having this desire to go out and start something on your own takes a very specific type of person.

I think there's a lot of us, because I'm gonna include myself in this, who are like, I just don't think I could do it. And while I probably could, I think in the back of my head, I'm just like, I don't know. I think if you look back to our start, we've both been entrepreneurial in spirit ever since we were in college, where we met and probably even before that. But I can remember when Leanne was starting our business, and it literally started at her kitchen table with a. Basically a $2,000 personal loan, which she paid off in six months.

And that was only the only debt we ever had on our business, with the exception. With the exception of a commercial mortgage that was provided for by the revenues. And then we ended up selling that commercial property and did well on that, too. But our business operations, we always operated in what I called God's economy. And no debt on our business, no operating debt.

But I think we made the decision early on. It was really the Lord's business, and he gave it to us to manage. And I think it's those principles that carried us through even those difficult times. Yeah. So obviously that business, many years ago, was a dream, and you got to live out that for.

Sounds like quite a while. Nearly as long as I've been alive. But at some point, there came other dreams. So tell us a little bit about kind of when did some new dreams start to pop up? So I would say the last few years of our business, we ended up in Carolina Mall.

And that was right across from the hospital. And just in meeting people who came in to shop, we learned a lot about dynamics, needs in the community. Right. We'd have a mom or a grandmother come over and say, you know, a mom just gave birth two months prematurely and they had nothing and they weren't prepared. We had people coming in shopping for adopted kids.

We had people. I mean, we just saw, you know, you get to talking with people as they come in the store and you find out there's a lot of needs out there. Yeah. Which for the listeners, that mall and the hospital essentially share a parking lot like this. I had my kids there, and I would go over to the mall to pick up the Chick Fil A.

Go back. Yeah. So as we were thinking about getting out of the business and looking at what we had as remaining inventory and the fact that we were already part of a pro life ministry, it just kind of seemed to tie together here. We had a lot of things that we could provide to moms. Moms who were in need, Moms may have chosen life for their baby, moms who had economic need, any situation like that.

So we thought, well, let's come up with an idea on how we can donate that stuff, kind of incorporate it into our current ministry. And I think in the beginning, I kind of put God in a box. I mean, I kind of thought how I wanted it to go. We thought we were gonna open a, you know, little storefront. Not a store, but like a little location, A resource center, if you will, for moms, where clients could come and receive some of the tangible items they needed.

Right. And I was like, well, it's gotta be on a bus line. Cause we gotta be able to have moms get to us. And it's gotta have this stipulation and the stipulation. And I think I had.

Had put it all in how I wanted it to look. And we even went and looked at a place which met every criteria, But God shut that door really fast. And I think in hindsight, you go back. And I'm so glad he did, because starting a ministry financially is not easy. And I don't think we would have ever been able to swing a mortgage a monthly.

I think on almost every episode we've done of Selah, at some point, something's mentioned about and God shut that door. And so it's like the human experience when you're a Believer to desire this thing that you're like, God's opening this door for me. It's gonna be awesome. And then the door shuts, and then you deal with like, who do I resent? Do I resent God on this, or do I just resent fate?

You know, and then in hindsight, often you can be like, okay, the Lord protected me. He's so good to me. Yes. Right. I think it was really.

We had. We had the idea. He had given us the idea, given Leanne the idea. We had been working it out, and then we came up with what we thought was the direction he wanted us to go, and we started moving in that direction. And like Leanne said, thankfully, that door was closed, which opened up a different direction.

Yeah, right. And you can take on the different direction because that was your. So. Well, yeah. So the Blessing Place is what we call our local missions ministry, and we basically give tangible items away free of charge to moms and families in need for whatever the need.

But tell them how we got mobile. Yeah. So our initial thought was a location, a visible location where people could come to us, and that was the door God shut. And then he gave us the idea of more of a mobile ministry or a channel where we could be more out in the public. And really that idea came about by going down to Love Life and seeing the mobile ultrasound unit that's many times down there outside the abortion clinic.

So we've been involved in pro life ministry for quite some time through a book that Leanne wrote many years ago. So we've been active in that community, and we witnessed the mobile ultrasound unit going to meet the people at the place of need, and we said, well, why couldn't we do that with what we wanted to do? Yeah. So we decided we would try to take a more mobile route, if you will. And that's where that developed.

So we located. I started looking at what would be the best type of mobile vehicle to use. You know, would it be an rv, Would it be a trailer? Would it be a. A box truck or.

So ultimately, we found a old Lance cracker truck in Albemarle, and I went and looked at it and drove it. Ultimately, we purchased it, and then we upfitted the inside and the outside to be our mobile ministry vehicles. What we call it the Blessing Place mobile ministry vehicle or the tbp. Mmv. Wow, that's good.

So that's kind of. That kind of acts as our warehouse on wheels, if you will. Yeah. So we can utilize it for different community events is one way we can help people in need in our community. I think it's awesome that whether you desired it or not, it didn't become a mobile idea.

Because, like, I know in doing youth ministry, our kind of battle always was like, well, if we just have Youth Wednesday, they'll come. And that was kind of true. Like, students did come, but there's always this whole other group of students who would never come. Right. And so way before my time, they started a school ministry where we would get to go in there every week.

And there were students that I would meet at the school ministry that I never saw in the church building. And I think it used to. We used to, like, view that as defeat for some reason. And then one year going into doing the ministry, we were like, guys, we gotta, like, change our perspective there. Because, like, we are blessed to have the opportunity to go.

And we get to go in there and we get to minister to these students where they are, and that, like, isn't that just a victory in itself, no matter if they show up to this church building or not? You know? And I feel like when we made that, like, mental switch, we just had such a better sense of, like, appreciation for what we gotta do. Cause we're like. We're blessed to get to, like, go there.

And thinking of even the ministry that you're doing, I think anything that involves some amount of benevolence for the person, like, receiving, there's always. I would assume there's a certain level of. Like, there could be a certain level of awkwardness about it. So, like, let's say if you had a store, like, I would wonder if the people would feel awkward about wanting to go in. Because it says, like, oh, I'm there to receive.

You know? And I think by even going to them, you're, like, already cutting out some of that dilemma in someone's head. Because you're like, no, I'm right here. So just come up to this truck. Which is purple or pink?

Purple. Purple. It's kind of purple. Purple patchouli. I don't know what the exact color is.

It's kind of lavender. It's good. It's a statement piece. I like it. Yeah, it's bright.

Well, it's noticeable. It offers a lot of visibility when you're on the roads. Hey, I've seen that truck before, which is kind of what we're going for. But so tell us a little bit about. So you got the truck.

It's the dream. Went from dream to it's a real thing. Right. And you mentioned how you were able to take some of the inventory of the clothing. Right.

And utilize that so it wasn't wasted. So what did it look like to start actually using the Blessing Place truck? So we got the truck officially finished and launched it Mother's day weekend of 2023. And we got the inside outfitted. So we have double hanging racks for infant clothing, maternity clothing, and then we have shelving for diapers and wipes and baby's accessories and things like that.

So how we operate is really twofold. We'll use the truck if we do a community event or some type of event in partnership with a church or some other organization, and we can take that to the event. Also, we receive a lot of referrals through other agencies in Cabarrus county that we're networked with, and those referrals will come directly into us, at which point leann handles it more on a one on one situation. Right. So I guess the majority of the referrals we get from Department of Social Services from Cabarrus county, which is interesting because they know we're a Christian organization and they network with us and they refer us maybe one to two moms a week.

They won't all follow up, but at least that gives us a start. So I'll initiate a dialogue with them, kind of find out what their needs are. We have them fill out a little form so we know what they're looking for. Then I will. I would say 95% don't have vehicles, so I have to typically go to them, to their location.

I will pack up everything they need and I will go out and visit with them. I. I mean, I can meet with them. Sometimes it's a one and done. And then there's some moms that I've been seeing for over a year on a semi regular basis. So I will bring them the things that they need, and then we leave with them an envelope that's got like the Gospel of John, it's got a Bible tract in it.

It's got our information, it's got this church's information, and then anything else that we get from the community will stick in there. So that's kind of how the one on one works. So it just depends. Some will recontact us, some it's just the one time. And some might need one thing and some might need 50 things.

And I think God popped every bubble I had on how people live going to some of these residences and situations that moms are in. And there's just a lot out there that I Think we live in bubbles sometimes, and we don't. We don't realize it till we actually see it. There's a lot of poverty in Cabarrus county and a lot of scenarios where, I don't know, it was just new for me. I mean, you hear about it, but when you actually get in it, it's kind of crazy.

We help a lot of single moms, and it's largely economic need.

And like Leanne said, some of the. Some of their conditions are not great, but they're managing the best they can, and they've chosen life for their baby, so that's important. Yeah, they've chosen. They've chosen life in many situations. A lot of the women already have other children, and they've chosen, Chosen life for this particular baby.

That's usually when we're meeting them. But, you know, you see the continual theme of the degradation of the family and the lack of a male figure. We see that's common. Yeah. So the economic need is a lot of our client base.

But that's not only our client base. We've worked with domestic violence, we've worked with adoptions, foster. Foster care, grandparents becoming parents again. It's been a lot of that because they're taking on a grandchild where the parents themselves are not in the picture anymore. So.

So it's kind of really whatever the need. We. There's haven't been a need. We've been. We've turned down.

That's kind of the. The majority of it. The. The fostering thing is kind of unique. You know, we.

We had someone, you know, they receive an immediate foster placement right from the hospital. Oh, wow. And there was a woman who we knew. It was an acquaintance, if you will, from a. From another church we knew in the area.

And somehow she got our name and reached out. And I remember her coming by our house, and Leanne had pulled together a box of items for her because she had just got this baby that was born five days earlier and immediately into foster care. And the great thing is we just saw him last week here at the refuge, at the Orphan in Foster Care Christmas event. That's awesome. And the baby's like a year and a half now.

I would commend you guys. Cause I think what you're describing is the example of. I think often what believers are attacked about, because the narrative is often like, well, you believe that the baby should be spared, but you don't want to do anything to help throughout the rest of their life. And while I'm sure some believers are guilty of never doing anything to support that. I think there are many people like you who have it on their heart to like make that their mission.

And it's. I don't. Unfortunately, it's probably not a need that's going away. So it's even that much more important that it continues. Could you share a little bit about how if someone's thinking like, well I'd like to support that, like how can they support what it is that you guys are doing?

Sure. Obviously monetary. Monetary gifts are always useful. We are a 501C3 so you know, all financial donations are tax deductible. We're all legitimate in that area.

So we do have supporters that donate monthly or one time gifts. Those are always helpful because an individual may not know how to best utilize or what we might best need for items. Also, through our previous business network, we're able to maybe snowball a financial gift into greater things than you would be able to. Jacob. Just for some discounts and things we get through some companies we're associated with.

But financial gifts are always good. The new items that we go through the fastest are diapers and wipes, definitely. And then like baby shampoo, lotion, bathwash, that kind of stuff. That's really the only things we need to take. New diaper cream, that kind of thing.

Anything else we take gently used. And we. I was going to say we equipment like cribs. Last year I think or this year as we're wrapping up 20, 24, I think we've donated like 58 cribs. That's awesome.

So a majority of those have been donated to our ministry. And then when Leanne will assess a need from a client, we're able to deliver them a crib. Yeah. Right. So, you know, as.

As families are having kids and their kids are getting older and they're thinking, well, the child's not in a crib anymore. What do I do with it? We'd be more than willing to accept that donation and get it in the hands of a family that needs it. Right. Well, I have three little kids who are all coming out of cribs.

So I. There were three cribs. Here we go.

So that's awesome. Yeah. But things like that and with clothing, we've always tried to take the mentality. Of course, when we started, as Leanne mentioned, we had some remaining inventory that was from our business and we just kind of donated it to our ministry. It was all brand new, obviously.

But our mentality with really anything we give is kind of a first Fruits mentality, where we want to try to give the absolute best we can. If it's not brand new, pretty close to new. So, I mean, she's meticulous about anything that comes through our ministry and is given to a client that it's near perfect because we just believe they deserve the best.

So tell us a little bit about how we talked a good bit about how it came to be what it looks like. Tell us a little bit to kind of backtrack some about the wrestle you had in prayer about it. Cause I'm sure as you're kind of like dealing with your actual business and what's to come of that and making this decision, there's a lot of that, like, lord, what does this mean? What about this building? And there's the opinions of those around you, kind of.

What did that look like to actually see it come to be? Well, I think for me, my personal wrestle with the prayer is that I don't want this to be just a give and go, you know, like a neat. I want there to be meat to it.

I don't want it to be my thing. I want it to be God's thing. And I mean, I. I want to be able to reach as many moms as I can. And it's a tough terrain. Cause a lot of them, I'd say the majority of them are unchurched.

I mean, I'd say almost all of them are unchurched, have no relationship with the Lord at all. Probably don't even know where to start with that. But then I also have very little time with some moms. You know, I meet in a parking lot or something like that. And it's just like always, like, Lord, how can I, you know, best get across you in the shortest amount of time?

So that's always. That's been my wrestle, because I just want it to be his and not mine. And I don't want it to be just something that people just keep coming back, coming back, coming back. You know, because there's that fine line when you do that type of ministry that you don't want it to just be that kind of thing. So, yeah, I mean, Leanne's done a really good job about putting together a plan when she meets with a client.

Like she said, she'll give them information, resources. But she always offers prayer too, which is important because like she said, we may see a client only one time, but I think we've been fortunate enough to see many repeatedly. So it's just kind of planting the seeds and trying to maybe develop some sort of a relationship, if you will, and see where it leads. That's awesome. So, yeah.

All right. So for the many people who are hopefully praying or fasting during this 21 day fast and maybe have been considering a dream that the Lord put on their heart or taking action steps or, or maybe even similar to your story, are actually in the midst of coming to the end of a dream. And now they're kind of like thinking about those next steps. Like, what would you tell to encourage them? Like, how to pray during these 21 days, what posture to have anything like that.

One thing that's always resonated with me is, and Pastor Jay reinforces it every week when we make our declarations. And, you know, from God's word, it says, you know, be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. And I think we've tried to apply that.

And there's a certain amount of risk. I guess we took risks when we started our business 25 years ago, and then we've taken a different risk when we kind of went all in on our ministry. Became unemployed. Yeah, we essentially became unemployed on purpose. But you have to take a risk.

But I don't know if it's really risky with God behind you. Other people may view it as risk, but to me, it's like if you're earnestly hearing or he's giving you ideas, he's giving you a dream, take the step. Just. Just do something.

And in our case, we did something. We were going down a path that he thought we thought was the path. And we were so close to actually signing a lease on this building we thought was going to be the home of the Blessing place. And then the door immediately closed. But we took a step.

Ultimately, he redirected us.

But if you want the miraculous to happen, and the miraculous is only something God can do, if you want the miraculous to happen, you have to take a step. It's never going to happen if you're sitting still. Yep.

And he'll redirect you if you're going down the wrong way. Yeah. You said just do something. And that was the school ministry I mentioned, Club Vertical. That was one of the lessons I wrote, was called just do something.

Kind of a riff off of Nike, obviously. But that was kind of the premise is like, you probably won't know what to do, but if you're so struck by the what that you do nothing, then nothing will happen, you know, so you do often have to do something. And then sometimes you find out, oh, that Wasn't the something God was looking for. But now I get redirected to the thing and you gotta take the steps. Right?

Yeah. Is there anything you want to add to that? No, I mean, just, I guess moving forward, we probably will need a location at some point. Yeah. Not, not maybe physically, like, like we thought like for a presence reason, but we're gonna need it for a storage reason because right now it's all over my house too many.

So we, yeah, we currently, like I said, we have the mobile ministry vehicle which serves as a mini warehouse. We have a storage unit and then we have a large majority of our home. Yes. So. But yeah, I think ultimately, and I believe God will provide for the next step as we grow.

And it may look like some type of a more physical location, whether that be just a location that we can store, sort, organize and operate out of. Or maybe it is a location eventually that we could do all that and see clients. Right, right. But we'll leave that up to him. That's right.

I think that's how. How the dreams work. I can vaguely see it. And Lord, you're going to have to move or it won't happen. According to him, more sooner than later because our house is a chaotic mess.

I really appreciate you guys sharing your story. I'm believing that it's going to be something encouraging to just listeners who are just on the verge of taking the leap of faith in an area, especially maybe an area of like starting a ministry that just seems terrifying to them. So I'm believing that this is going to be encouraging to them. So we just want to encourage our listeners to tune into the next episode and to really press on in your fast as we go about these 21 days.