Ministry Partners

We are blessed to link arms, hearts and minds with some incredibly talented, Christ-led, mission-hearted people and organizations. Together we are better. Together, we can change the world one precious life at a time.

BASICS in Milwaukee – (Brothers And Sisters in Christ Serving) is a Christian, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization started in 1996, to strengthen churches and Christian outreach ministries throughout the metropolitan Milwaukee area. BASICS supports dozens of city ministries such as prison and re-entry ministries, community outreach events, recovery programs, youth activities and more.

From the beginning, BASICS has focused on forming partnerships between city and suburban churches, assisting more than 200 church pastors and 100 outreach ministry leaders, by equipping them through training, support, and access to needed resources.

BASICS currently supports over 30 smaller ministries that are unable to be financially independent. Hundreds of volunteers are actively involved, donating their time, talents, treasure, touch and tears for the work of God in Milwaukee.

Called to Watch – For the family members, friends, spouses, neighbors and co-workers of individuals with chronic illness. There is nothing easy about watching others struggle with chronic illness. In watching, we suffer too. There are two answers, one is community, the other is God. This blog points watchers to both

Critically Loved – Critically Loved provides education and resources to families of critically and chronically ill children.  One way Critically Loved achieves this goal is by providing Medical Binders at the onset of a child’s diagnosis.  This helps organize the child’s healthcare and provides steps to getting started. Critically Loved provides comfort and direction by being an online resource to help navigate a difficult road. We partner with pediatric health providers and specialty charities to reach parents who need practical, financial and spiritual support.

God Living with Chronic Illness – This site is the result of a deep desire in founder, Laurie Shoquist Miller’s heart to help and encourage others with chronic illness. Laurie was diagnosed with fibromyalgia when her kids were two and four. At that time, there were not a lot of resources for anyone with chronic illness. She searched for websites, books, ANYTHING to tell her how to be a Godly wife and parent with chronic pain. After several years, she finally began to find information about “good” living with fibromyalgia (in terms of physical wellness) but nothing for “God” living—nothing to tell her how to manage a life that included chronic illness with God’s wisdom, grace and strength. So she decided to start a blog to help others with chronic illness find the things she was desperately seeking and God-Living with Chronic Illness was born. Living well with chronic illness is a daily process of relying on God for the grace and strength to keep going. Laurie has found that we find the most peace as we let God meet our needs one day at a time. May His peace and presence be your constant companion and guide.

Just Between Us Magazine (JBU) – magazine was launched over 25 years ago by founder Jill Briscoe as a resource to encourage and equip women for a life of faith. At the time, the publishing experts told Jill the magazine could never be sustained with a handful of part-time staff and volunteers—but she went forward with her vision and God has been faithful. Primarily reader-written…JBU cover topics on family life, marriage, your relationship with Christ, and life’s struggles, as well as providing resources for doing ministry and everything in between. Regular content includes topics like dealing with difficult people, handling stress, battling depression and suicide, dealing with pornography, and understanding cultural issues like homosexuality.

Key Ministry promotes meaningful connection between churches and families of kids with disabilities for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Founded to help churches minister to families of children with hidden disabilities. Serving churches seeking to become more intentional and effective in ministry with children, teens and adults impacted by mental illness, trauma, and developmental disabilities and their families.

Krista Streuly Creative – Experienced Graphic Designer with a demonstrated history of working in the graphic design industry. Strong arts and design professional skilled in Print Design, Art Direction, Brand Development, Visual Brand Management and Design for Digital Mediums.

Kyle Re Creative – At Kyle Re Creative, our focus is capturing the moments that mean the most to you. Preserving memories through photography and creating designs that breathe life into your brand is our passion and commitment. Kyle has had a passion for telling stories through the arts since he was very young. Whether it was on a sketchpad, a laptop, through songwriting or the lens of a camera, he’s always been in love with the creative process. After earning his degree in Graphic Design, he realized he wanted more than a typical 9-5 job, so he shifted his focus towards starting his own business in photography and graphic design. Kyle currently specializes in Wedding, Lifestyle, Fashion, Corporate & Fine Art Photography. In the Graphics Department, he specializes in Logos, Apparel Design, Infographics & Company Branding.

Emerson Mertens is a graphic designer, photographer, and artist with over twenty years of experience in the arts. She began her artistic training in classical ballet and the performing arts, which led to a career as a professional dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Emerson is inspired by her life-long love of the arts to create unique digital media and photo art, and she combines her years of experience with the skills gained from her college studies. She now works with HeatherMertens.org building websites and creating graphic media and digital art for clients. In 2019, Emerson graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Religion: Biblical and Theological Studies with an emphasis in Photography and Graphic Design.

North Shore Congregational Church – At North Shore Congregational Church, “Our purpose is to grow and deepen Christian Discipleship in a faith community guided by the Holy Spirit.”  Through worship, study and prayer we seek to know God, Scripture, and one another in a way that helps us pursue, together, that deepened relationship with God in Jesus Christ.  In the spirit of the welcome of Christ, we invite all to join us in the journey of growing closer to God in heart, soul, mind, and strength.  

Mark Mallwitz – Servant to Leaders – Mark equips others leaders in both BASICS Milwaukee and in the community at large through through encouragement, prayer, listening, and guidance.

Smile.Amazon.com – AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice.  *Amazon and Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Thrivent Financial Choice Dollars – Thrivent Financial is a membership organization of Christians, whose purpose is to serve members and society by guiding both to be wise with money and to live generously. Thrivent believes that all we have is a gift from God and that generosity is an expression of faith. Thrivent succeeds when it’s members, their families and their communities thrive.

PARTNERSHIPS OF HOPE

Chronic Joy® recognizes individuals or organizations who exemplify one or more of our ministry foundations:

• Hope
• Purpose
• Worth
• Encouragement
• Community-Building
• Joy

It is an opportunity for individuals or organizations to donate their skills, time, gifts or talents to further the work of the ministry.

PARTNERSHIP OF COMMUNITY

Our Partners are recognized for their vital place in this ministry, introduced on our website, and given our sincere gratitude and appreciation.

Chronic Joy® Partners are a partnership of hope, purpose and worth. A partnership between artisan, servant, donor, or organization and Chronic Joy Ministry. A partnership of generosity and joy. And it is the vital and remarkable partnership of community.

For more information about becoming a ministry partner contact us at: care@chronic-joy.org.

ADOBE – Creative Cloud for non-profits is an affordable licensing option available for small workgroups, departments, classrooms and labs – or even entire institutions.

APLOS – Nonprofit leaders aren’t always professional accountants, fundraisers, or tax preparers, but with the right software and guidance they can do the tasks correctly and confidently. We offer support to help you do just that. Anything it takes to make it simple.

CONSTANT CONTACT – When we talk about our Promise, we’re talking about our commitment to helping small businesses and nonprofits succeed. How? Our customers get real results through email newsletters, surveys, events, Facebook promotions, online listings, and more. But it’s not just about the product: we knew our customers wanted to talk to real people when they had a question. And they needed help figuring out the right marketing strategy for their organization. So we made sure it was always just a phone call away, or with network of expert-taught classes and training, their neighborhood. It’s how we smooth our customers’ path to success.

CoSCHEDULE – All Your Blog + Email + Social Promotion in ONE Place – Eliminate the endless email threads, sticky notes, and the dozen and half open tabs. Focus on the real work of writing top-notch content AND growing your audience.

FISTBUMP Media – Everyone has a story. Whether it’s a personal story, a business story, or one focused on a cause. We all have ’em, but often struggle with being heard. Your story matters, and we’re here to help you amplify your voice: website development and maintenance, email marketing and subscriber management, social media Analysis and content management, and publishing services for writers and businesses.

FLICKR at its best is a place to connect, to discover, and to evolve as photographers and lovers of photography. This is the world’s largest photographer-focused community. Here, together, this newly-independent community can shape the future of photography itself. Apply for flickr’s non-profit discount here.

Additional images to encourage and inspire hope, purpose, worth and joy can be found at Chronic Joy’s flickr site. These beautiful, high-resolution images are licensed non-commercial creative commons. Perfect to share with your group, on social media or to brighten someone’s day.

Google FOR NON PROFITS – The Google for Nonprofits Program offers eligible organizations access to Google products and tools that can help nonprofits find new donors and volunteers, work more efficiently, and get supporters to take action.

MICROSOFT FOR NON PROFITS – We are committed to providing donated or discounted technology to nonprofits doing good in communities around the world.

TECHSOUP  – Explore Our Nonprofit Tech Marketplace! Incredible offers for nonprofits from leading brands. Low administrative fees. Join our global community!

UNSPLASH – Beautiful, free photos. Gifted by the world’s most generous community of photographers.

All photos published on Unsplash can be used for free. You can use them for commercial and noncommercial purposes. You do not need to ask permission from or provide credit to the photographer or Unsplash, although it is appreciated when possible.

More precisely, Unsplash grants you an irrevocable, nonexclusive, worldwide copyright license to download, copy, modify, distribute, perform, and use photos from Unsplash for free, including for commercial purposes, without permission from or attributing the photographer or Unsplash. This license does not include the right to compile photos from Unsplash to replicate a similar or competing service.