FY2025
ANNUAL REPORT
From Silent Struggles to Gospel Strength
A NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Parakaleo Partner,
Church planting is often described with words like vision, growth, or mission. What’s less visible—but deeply felt—is the loneliness. Behind every new church are women and men who carry hidden burdens:
​
-
the ambiguity of expectations
-
the strain on marriages and families
-
the criticism that cuts deeply
-
the quiet ache of feeling unseen
​
At Parakaleo, we know this loneliness firsthand. This is why we exist: to create safe spaces where women in church planting are seen, valued, and equipped with a gospel perspective that brings resilience. Instead of withdrawing under the weight of ministry, women find strength, language, and community through Parakaleo.
​
This year, those stories multiplied. From Alongside Groups to Journey to Resilience learning experiences, women discovered they were not alone. They learned to root their identity in Christ, not in the shifting expectations of others. And as they were equipped, they turned and equipped others—building circles of care that ripple into church planting movements.
​
The silent struggle of planting is real. But so is the hope of the gospel, and the power of community.
​
Thank you for standing with us so that women and families worldwide don’t have to walk this road alone.
​
With gratitude,
​​​​
​
​
DENINE BLEVINS
Executive Director​
%20(1).png)
VISION, MISSION, & VALUES
Vision
To see women and men follow Christ to grow churches that bear lasting fruit.
Mission
To build gospel-based resilience and help women feel less alone in church planting.
Our Approach
As we live in light of Jesus’s finished and continuing work, the gospel transforms our sense of security, identity and mission.
Gospel Application
Cultivate Genuine Community
We come alongside each other through challenges and celebrations unique to the church planting journey.
Partner
With Women
We believe that it’s God’s design for men and women to co-labor together in church planting.
Embrace Diversity
We seek to become a diverse, global community where women experience belonging.
OUR TEAM
Parakaleo Leadership Community
In partnership with church planting networks and denominations around the world, we identify, recruit and train leaders to serve women in their own context and culture. We support them through the Parakaleo Leadership Community (PLC) where they receive fellowship and resources.
Staff
Our central office provides the infrastructure Parakaleo needs to accomplish our mission. We cultivate church planting partnerships, develop and support leaders, and offer virtual programming to women who lack access to a local Parakaleo movement.
STAFF
Denine Blevins
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Smita Donthamsetty
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Angie Woodall
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Sarah Kemp
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
FY2025 Board
_JPEG.png)
From left to right: Margaret Thompson & Jessica Hong (former members); Lauren Brown (Secretary), Denine Blevins (Executive Director), Shauna Froelich (Chairperson), Chris Torchia, Chris Zurbach (Treasurer), Chris McNerney
OUR PROGRAMS
Learning Experiences
Modules that address common church-planting challenges
Alongside Groups
Year-long peer groups that help women navigate specific issues
Network Partnership
A process that guides church planting networks to support women on their teams
FINANCIALS
Organizations & Churches:
$45,707.42
MISC:
$29.54
Individuals:
$192,215.19
Program:
$7,412.94
3%
FY2025 Income:
TOTAL: $245,365.09
Expense:
TOTAL: $308,303.40
The good you do through powering our mission through programs and resource development.
The good you do through sustaining our mission through operations
$72,303.76
$235,999.64
Assets and Liabilities
The Impact We've Made Together
Often in collaboration with church planting networks, Parakaleo Leaders provide support women in their local context, both virtually and in person. Our staff (Central Operations) offers virtual programs in English, available to women anywhere in the world.​
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Asia Pacific
United States
Latin America
Central Operations
The Leaders You Helped Us Grow
Parakaleo multiplies its care capacity by equipping and mobilizing leaders to serve women in their own context, culture, and language, in partnership with church planting organizations.
From Hidden Struggle to Gospel Resilience
When Jo and her husband planted their first church in Birmingham 18 years ago, she was young, energetic, and eager to serve. She opened her home, juggled part-time work and motherhood, and threw herself into every detail of ministry. But over time, the hidden weight of church planting took its toll. The ambiguity of expectations, the loneliness of leadership, and the pain of conflict left Jo weary and tempted to withdraw.
​
Sixteen years into her journey, Jo encountered Parakaleo. “So many things helped me frame and name my experience,” she recalls. “I learned to start with my true home — the Trinity. That community is untouched, and steadies me when I feel shaken by broken relationships.” Through training and Alongside Groups, she rediscovered curiosity, compassion, and the courage to lean into hard conversations rather than shutting down.​
Through training and Alongside Groups, she rediscovered curiosity, compassion, and the courage to lean into hard conversations rather than shutting down.​
That gospel resilience didn’t stop with her. Jo now helps lead the Birmingham Collective, connecting planters’ wives for prayer, support, and training. She helped launch an Alongside Group, where women can share honestly and point one another back to Jesus. “So much of what wears us down is the difficulty with people,” she says. “Being able to weather this through these precious tools is powerful.”
​
Jo’s story reminds us that healthy church plants require resilient leaders and spouses who know how to rest in Christ. Thanks to donor support, women like Jo are being equipped not only to endure but to multiply gospel resilience for others.
LOOKING AHEAD
As Jo’s story shows, Parakaleo’s impact multiplies when we launch communities within church planting networks. In the coming year, we have plans to:
Equip and mobilize women to facilitate peer support groups and learning experiences using our new leadership development approach.
Strengthen our visibility and presence in the church planting community so more women can discover Parakaleo, find support, and grow in gospel resilience—wherever they are, whenever they need it.
Refine our network partnership process to ensure Parakaleo is seamlessly incorporated into their leader care strategies.