Dear Pastors and Church Leaders,

Wings has a program called Change N’ Lives where we are asking YOU and YOUR congregation to help Wings Ministry change lives. We are requesting to be put in your church’s mission budget, or asking for monthly or annual offerings of change to help supplement our ministry to families of prisoners.

Wings Ministry prison and community parties receive no outside funding except from churches and individuals because it is a ministry and we proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Wings Ministry budget in 2010 was less than $77,000 and almost 8,400 people attended a Wings sponsored event! (And that doesn’t count attendees in the Roswell or Tennessee programs.) Our 2011 attendance seems to be increasing, yet our budget still remains small. Wings cannot continue to minister to these large numbers of people without additional staff and increased salaries. The current Wings for L.I.F.E. staff make $125 or less/month! They are gifted, dedicated people, but we need to increase their salary in order to keep them and we also need to find other qualified and called staff.

In 2011 we have at least 4 more Wings Parties planned than last year, and prison parties will be in 5 states – Oregon, Tennessee, Ohio, Colorado and New Mexico.

Wings for L.I.F.E. – Life-skills Imparted to Families through Education, (WFL) has received some grant funding, and in 2009 won the prestigious American Probation and Parole’s national Award of Excellence in Crime Prevention, recognizing it as a national best-practice model. Grant funding has allowed Wings for L.I.F.E. to meet four times a month in Albuquerque with an average weekly attendance of 54 people. The New Mexico Women’s Recovery Academy sends 10 residents from each program weekly, and other halfway houses send residents to our program too. We feed dinner to everyone, and although we have generous restaurants and individuals that supply some of the food, we always need to buy more.

In August 2011 Wings for L.I.F.E. started in the Cleveland, OH area, and Wings for L.I.F.E. programs meet in Roswell, NM and Tennessee also. As we continue to grow and minister to more people, additional funding will be needed for all of these programs.

Please become a Change N’ Lives church. Your mission dollars will help us change lives right here in America! All donations are most appreciated and I promise we will spend every penny wisely.

Please contact me with any questions or if you would like me to meet with you or your church governing body. I’d also be happy to give a mission talk during your services, talk to Sunday School classes, and I can travel on airline passes to cut costs outside of New Mexico. Thanks in advance for your consideration and THANKS for your support and prayers for Wings Ministry.

In His love and service,

Ann Edenfield Sweet, Wings Ministry Founder and Executive Director