EMPOWERING
CHURCHES TO
SERVE COMMUNITIES
UNITED TO LOVE LOCALLY
This is Our Story.
What’s yours?
You have a story! It’s a story about the community needs that are on your heart, and the reasons you are passionate to address them. Whether it is housing, food insecurity, or something else, there are churches, non-profits, and other civil servants around you with a similar vision. We want Serve Nova Scotia to support your story by uniting you with those who share your passion. How can you work towards change, through collective impact, in your own community?
UNITED TO LOVE
“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”
— Colossians 3:14
MEET the
SERVE NS TEAM
This program is led by a passionate team with diverse backgrounds in ministry, non-profit, and government work.
Liz Strijf-Mandishora
Program Director
Tim Smith
Leadership Member
Rachel Habermehl
Assistant Director
Dwight Habermehl
Leadership Member
Daria Nardozza
Leadership Member
Chris Ivany
Leadership Member
Dr. Robert Strang
Leadership Member
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Serve Nova Scotia is a program uniting churches across diverse denominations to join other local change-makers to collaborate for our shared goal of serving and supporting Nova Scotian communities.
MANY TEAMS
Collective Action and Impact Teams (CAITs) exist regionally, across the province, representing a specific town or city. Each team is an independent group that works to identify and meet their community’s needs. A CAIT is made of representatives of local churches that are willing to collaborate to serve their region.
ONE PROGRAM
Serve Nova Scotia (SNS) is the program that establishes, equips, and connects CAITs across the province. We coach and resource teams to strategically meet the needs that they identify as most relevant to their community. We also facilitate networking between CAITs and existing community resources.
FAQs
What Serve NS is…
FREE: the program is supported by funding partners who believe in bringing stakeholders together to transform communities! Serve NS is a free resource to coach, equip, and connect those who wish to advance their community efforts through an independent CAIT.
A COACH: to help you start and/or continue a collective impact journey in your community! We offer support and training to help you overcome whatever barriers are relevant to your work, weather that is identifying partners, generating revenue, promoting your work, or something else.
A NETWORK: we learn and grow best in community! Serve NS is here to connect you with other CAITs around Nova Scotia who share similar visions, goals, and challenges in serving their local community. We want you to be encouraged and inspired by your neighbouring communities while likewise sharing your story with them!
AN ADVOCATE FOR UNITY: We already share a vision for community change, so let’s share goals… we go further together! We want to maximise impact by uniting congregations and denomenations to be active participants in community service. We want The Church to collaborate with other community stakeholders who share our vision for positive change!
What Serve NS is not…
A FUNDER: We do not provide finanical sponsorship to community work; rather, we have a team who can coach and equip you towards funding your own vision (e.g., helping you identify grants, strategize budgets and funding, promote your work, etc.).
ANOTHER COMMUNITY PROGRAM: Serve NS is not seeking to replace existing community work. Rather, we want to enhance and support what is already happening! Our goal is to help you identify the efforts and programs that exist in your community, and enhance these through unity and strategy.
A PASTOR’S PROBLEM: We know that most pastors are already overwhelemed with community responsibilities. Serve NS is designed to be a group effort, not a pastor’s problem. CAITs are made of delegates from local churches: that means that to participate, most churches will select a representative (e.g., a deacon, missions coordinator, trusted member) to attend CAIT meetings, acting as the bridge between their church and the wider CAIT efforts.
Unanswered questions…
If you cannot find an answer on this webpage, consider checking out aaronministries.com to learn more about the hosting organization! Still have questions? Then please email us at info@aaronministries.com because we would love to connect to answer all your questions.
FIND A LOCAL CAIT
Don’t see your region? Email info@aaronministries.com to launch a team in your community.
Financial Partnership
YOUR DONATION MAKES POSSIBLE . . .
Operations: maintaining Serve NS; program administration; essential tools; website maintence.
Coaching: sponsoring the team who equips and coaches regional CAITs.
Story telling: equipping the team to share impact stories through media, events, networking, or public-speaking.
A specific CAIT*: if you specify a regional CAIT you would like to support with your donation, we ensure that 100% of your funds go directly to advancing their work.
ABOUT OUR 2024 LAUNCH EVENT
The program was officially launched on May 14, 2024 during the Serve Nova Scotia Breakfast Launch Event. Our leadership team was joined by 100 Nova Scotian leaders who represent churches, local goverment, buisnesses, and impact organizations who care about the wellbeing of communites. We heard from inspiring change-makers about the barriers, solutions, and collaborative opportunities for community impact, as we each considered how to uniquely contribute to sustainable change!
This event was made possible by the generosity of
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