Steps Ministries

Tonight, the Lord taught us about true righteousness, not a righteousness of behavior modification, outward appearances, or religious decorum, but a righteousness found in proximity to Jesus Christ. A righteousness that transforms the heart. Because when the heart is truly changed, real fruit follows. We were challenged to go beyond surface level Christianity and allow God to deal with our motives, our attitudes, and the deepest places of our hearts. The call was higher, deeper, and more intimate fellowship with Christ. We also celebrate what God did at the end of the service. A mother and her daughter, who had recently moved into the neighborhood, heard the worship and commotion coming from the church and decided to walk in during the middle of service. They were touched by the presence of God, blessed by the message, and at the end of the night both surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. What an incredible reminder that God is still drawing people to Himself. Lord, we thank You for these new additions to Your Kingdom. We pray that You would bless them, strengthen them, and establish them in their faith. Surround them with godly community, help them grow as disciples, and empower them to fulfill everything You have called them to do. Jesus, thank You for another powerful night. All glory belongs to You.
Amen. 🙌

Last night at Steps Youth was powerful.

My wife had the idea to switch things up a little and have the students watch a video on Lazarus and the Rich Man from Luke 16, and honestly, it was one of the best decisions we could have made. That message hit hard. The students got to see that eternity is real, that our choices matter, and that following Jesus isn't something we put off for another day. One of the biggest lessons from the story is that you can have everything this world offers and still miss what matters most. God isn't looking at our status, popularity, or possessions. He's looking at our hearts.

Afterward we took everyone outside for games and activities. It was the perfect balance of discipleship, fellowship, and fun. I love seeing our young people learn that Christianity is more than religion. It's a real relationship with Jesus that impacts how we live today and where we spend eternity tomorrow. I'm so thankful for my wife and her heart for these students. I'm thankful for our leaders who faithfully show up week after week. Most of all, I'm thankful for what God is doing in the lives of these young people within seneca Babcock.

What an incredible day at our 2026 Deeper Event!

Yesterday was nothing short of excellent. God did exactly what He wanted to do, and we are overwhelmed with gratitude for all that He accomplished in the lives of our students.

Throughout both preaching sessions, the presence of God was evident. Students shared how the Lord spoke directly to their hearts, challenged them, encouraged them, and revealed areas where He is calling them deeper. It was powerful to watch young people engage with the Word of God and respond to His voice.

We are so thankful for the churches that joined us this year: Grace Community Church and The Potter's Field Church. Your partnership, prayers, and support helped make this day possible. The body of Christ is stronger when we work together, and today was a beautiful picture of that unity.

During our final session, many students responded to the altar call. They received prayer, prophetic encouragement, and Gods divine direction. We truly believe lives were impacted and that many of these young people left different than they came. Seeds were planted, faith was strengthened, and hearts were stirred for Jesus.

Even during our activity game God to moved in the midst of that. We believe Deeper 2026 was more than just an event it was a divine appointment.

Thank you to every volunteer, leader, church partner, parent, and student who made this day possible. Most importantly, thank You, Jesus, for changing lives and drawing young people closer to You.

We would also like to thank Broadway Hope for faithfully partnering with us each year to make Deeper possible. A special thank you to Scott, an incredible man of God, who consistently opens the doors of his property and supports the vision so that students can encounter Jesus in a deeper way. We are truly grateful for his generosity, partnership, and heart for the next generation.

We are already looking forward to Deeper 2027!

If you are a church that has a passion to see young people set ablaze for Jesus Christ, we would love for you to join us next year. Together, we can continue raising up the next generation of disciples who know God, love His Word, and boldly live out their faith.

For more information about Steps Ministries and future events, visit our website or contact us directly here on Facebook

Stepsministries.org

What an incredible message tonight at Family Table! Jeremy Mccool brought a powerful reminder that our salvation is not built on our works, our performance, or our ability, it is entirely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Our Monday night Bible study was nothing short of excellent. Hearts were encouraged, faith was strengthened, and the gospel was proclaimed with clarity and power. In a world constantly telling us to earn our worth, tonight we were reminded that Jesus already paid the price. The cross still saves. The blood still cleanses.

God is so good!

Youth group service tonight was nothing short of powerful. The atmosphere was filled with joy, truth, and the presence of God from beginning to end. Today the kids learned the true meaning behind John 3:16, why Jesus came, why He was given for our sins, and what salvation truly means. There was a strong emphasis on salvation and what it takes to receive eternal life through faith in Christ, brought beautifully and powerfully by our sister in Christ and faithful leader, Sister Susan.
Sister Susan absolutely dropped a bomb on the kids tonight. This was not surface-level teaching. The kids didn’t just hear a message, they received a real Bible study that challenged them to think deeper about Jesus, the cross, and the love of God. Seeds were planted tonight that we believe will produce fruit for years to come. Revival doesn’t always begin on a stage. Afterwards, we transitioned into activities and fellowship. The boys went outside and played basketball and football with myself, but even in the middle of the games, ministry never stopped. Between every laugh, every conversation, and every moment of fun, there were opportunities to encourage them, pray with them, and pour into them what we believe the Lord wanted to speak over their lives. The greatest ministry moments are often found in the simplest moments of presence. Tonight, only boys showed up. No girls came out, just the boys, and honestly, we believe the Lord ordained it that way intentionally. Tonight felt tailored specifically for these young men. Heaven knew exactly who needed to be in that room. God has a way of gathering who He wants when He wants, because purpose is never accidental in the Kingdom. These boys were impacted, challenged, covered, and protected tonight, and we are believing that God is raising up strong young men of faith right here in this neighborhood.

Jesus, we thank You for continuing to entrust us with the children of this community. Thank You for allowing us to be vessels that point young people toward truth, love, healing, and purpose. Ministry is not just preached from a pulpit, it is lived out through relationship, consistency, discipleship, and presence. God is moving among the youth, and we are beyond honored to witness it.

Tonight was absolutely powerful. From our Essential Pantry all the way into Monday night Bible study, the Holy Spirit was moving heavy. Not emotional hype. Not manufactured moments. Real movement. Real encounters. Real freedom.
During our Essential Pantry, the Holy Spirit was literally highlighting people for us to pray for one by one. You could feel Holy spirit walking through the room. One woman began sharing the testimony of her husband who passed away after sacrificing his own life to save somebody else. Instantly, John 15:13 came alive in the room: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Hearing her tell the story of her husband’s final heroic act brought many of us to tears. That wasn’t just a testimony. That was a reflection of Christlike love in real time. We prayed for her, but then the Holy Spirit shifted the atmosphere. The Lord revealed that the friend standing beside her was secretly carrying unforgiveness toward her abuser. Nobody told us. Nobody whispered it. The Holy Spirit exposed the hidden wounds of her heart exactly the way Scripture says He would. “He reveals deep and hidden things” Daniel 2:22. The moment it was spoken, she immediately broke down crying. Right there on the spot, she forgave her abuser and surrendered her life to Jesus Christ. See that’s what happens when Jesus walks into a room. Demons lose territory. Chains break. Hearts soften. Trauma loses its grip.

But that was only the beginning.

As we moved into our Monday night Bible study, one of the brothers in the congregation stood up during prayer requests and said he had severe back pain that was stopping him from even being able to bend over properly. We called him forward, laid hands on him and prayed as a congregation. Immediately, God healed him. And when I say immediately, I mean immediately. That brother started moving his back around, bending over, testing it himself, showing everybody the pain was gone. No theatrics. Just Jesus being Jesus.
The moment God healed him, it felt like faith exploded through the room. You could literally feel the trajectory of the entire service shift. Also tonight, our very own Aleia Vega was supposed to preach. But instead of sticking to her sermon notes, she yielded to the Holy spirit completely and began praying for people instead. And let me say this clearly ya when the Holy Spirit interrupts the schedule, let Him interrupt it. Because while praying, the Holy Spirit used Aleia to call out hidden pain and trauma inside of a young girl. Nobody told her what that girl was dealing with. But God knew. And when those secrets of her heart were spoken, that young girl burst into tears right in the middle of service.

That young girl encountered freedom tonight.

1 Corinthians 14:25 says, “the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” That Scripture literally unfolded before our eyes tonight.

Another brother was delivered from spirits of addiction. Other people were prayed for and touched by God in powerful ways too. There was a genuine wave of the Holy Spirit moving through the building tonight. Not confusion. Not chaos. Just pure surrender to the voice of God.

Steps Ministry may be small in size, but God is doing massive things through this little building in the Seneca-Babcock area. God has a habit of using small things to embarrass big systems. Revival doesn’t need a mega stage when it has a yielded vessel.

And what made tonight so beautiful was this, nobody had to force anything. Nobody was trying to outshine each other. Nobody was fighting for microphones or platforms. Everybody moved in one accord with the Holy Spirit. Everything was done decently and in order because when God truly takes over, He doesn’t produce confusion, He produces his plan. Honestly, the modern church needs to become comfortable with Holy Spirit interruptions again. Too many churches are married to programs, timelines, and production schedules, but God is looking for yielded rooms, not polished performances.

Tonight was a picture of John 3:30 in action: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Our plans decreased.
Our schedules decreased.
Our wisdom decreased.

And God increased in the house.

Tonight reminded us that revival is not built by talent. Revival is born when people get out of the way and let God move how He wants to move.
Lord, we love You. And if this is only the beginning of the summer, we can’t even imagine what’s coming next.

Today we visited Revive Wesleyan to represent our church and the vision God has placed in our hearts for the Seneca-Babcock area and the surrounding South Buffalo communities. Revive welcomed us with so much love and gave us the opportunity to share the vision they have partnered with us in to reach people with the Gospel and the love of Christ. It was an honor to be within their church, alongside many other ministries they have partnered with, and share what God is doing through this partnership. So many people heard the vision, many signed up to volunteer and help serve the community, and we truly believe God is raising up laborers for the harvest through this connection. It was also such a blessing to reconnect with familiar faces and meet many new ones as well. Revive Wesleyan is a beautiful church filled with amazing people who genuinely love Jesus and care about the city.
We are deeply honored to be in partnership with them as we continue outreach efforts throughout the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood and the surrounding South Buffalo communities. This is what the Kingdom looks like. Churches coming together, not to build platforms, but to build people. We believe God is going to do something powerful through this unity. To God be all the glory.

Today was our annual Serve Day, and what a powerful day it was.

This year, we partnered again with Life Church Buffalo, just as we did last year. We are so grateful for their faithfulness and willingness to continue coming alongside us as we serve our neighbors in the Seneca-Babcock area.

Today, we assisted neighbors with their lawns, but it was much more than yard work. Through simple acts of kindness, we were able to bring the gospel to many people in the neighborhood.

We encountered an older man dealing with arthritis, and we were able to pray for him. We are believing in Jesus’ name that healing touched his body.

We also encountered a Jewish man who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. But in that moment, the Holy Spirit revealed something deep in his heart concerning loneliness connected to the departure of a significant person in his life. Through a word of knowledge, God exposed the secrets of his heart and brought him to tears.

Although he did not receive Jesus as Lord in that moment, he admitted that he may have been wrong all this time and that Jesus just may be the Messiah. He promised that he would continue studying the Scriptures to search for Jesus. We are praying that the Lord encounters him through dreams, visions, and the Word of God.

Many people were touched by Jesus today.

We cannot emphasize enough how amazing Life Church was. Every person who came out became the hands and feet of Jesus, serving this neighborhood with love, humility, and compassion.

Afterward, we gathered back at the church, played music, fellowshipped, and many people from the neighborhood came out and were blessed as we gathered together under the presence of God.

Father, we thank You for this amazing day. Thank You for being God in this neighborhood. Thank You for showing Your face through us as Your vessels. We are not worthy in ourselves, but You have called us, qualified us, and chosen us to carry Your presence into this community.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Tonight at Youth Group was powerful, man.

We had one of our frolic nights, where the kids are free to engage in different activities throughout the church, pool table, basketball, games, conversations, laughter, and moments of genuine connection, all with lessons and intentional discipleship woven into the atmosphere. These nights are always special because while the kids think they are simply having fun, God is quietly creating space for ministry to happen organically.

And tonight, that ministry happened.

I had a one on one conversation with one of the young people tonight, and during that conversation, he began opening up about things he felt he could not speak about publicly. Even deeper than that, he expressed that there were things he did not even feel safe communicating within his own family. But tonight, in the middle of a simple youth group, he found a safe place to speak. That alone was a blessing.

But one of the greatest moments of the entire night came unexpectedly.

One of our neighbors from the community came into the youth group tonight. He sat with us, ate with us, talked with us, and allowed himself to be loved. He is an older gentleman who has been battling homelessness, instability in employment, emotional abuse from a relationship he was in, rejection, and the feeling of being cast aside by life. He has been around our church for quite some time, and I have personally been walking alongside him through discipleship, prayer, encouragement, and honest conversations.

But tonight, something shifted.

Tonight, he made the decision to enter Adult and Teen Challenge after one of our leaders mentioned it to him. Aleia Vega , fresh out of graduated bible school, was led by the spirit to assist this man and anointed him for the process he has begun at Adult and Teen Challenge.
We were able to pray over him, anoint him, encourage him, and send him off with love and expectation. He is now stepping into a completely new chapter of his life, one where God is going to cultivate him, heal him, restore him, and transform him into the man he was created to be.

And what moved me deeply was what he said during the drive there.

As I was taking him to the program, he looked at me and said he could literally feel spirits leaving his body. He said he felt chains breaking off of him, the very things that had been holding him back from obeying what God had been calling him to do.

That moment reminded me of something powerful.

Sometimes deliverance does not begin on a church stage. Sometimes it begins in the passenger seat of a car after somebody finally says yes to God.

Tonight was supposed to be youth group. But God had bigger plans.

Yes, the kids were impacted. Yes, seeds were planted into the next generation. But God also reached into the streets tonight and pulled a man toward purpose.

This is why we do ministry.

Not for platforms.
Not for recognition.
Not for numbers.

We do this because Jesus still transforms lives.

Tonight, a man made a decision that could completely alter the trajectory of his future. And I truly believe we are going to watch him graduate this program and walk boldly into the calling God has placed on his life.

What looked like just another youth group became a rescue mission orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.

God is faithful.

Yesterday during our very first Adopt-A-Block outreach this year, we went into the neighborhood carrying more than flowers, we carried the heart of God. We knocked on the doors of mothers in our community, both from our church and outside of it, just to remind them that Jesus still sees them, Jesus still values them, and Jesus still loves them. We prayed with them, sat with them on their porches, wept with those who wept, and spoke life over hearts that have been carrying silent burdens. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” Yesterday, ministry looked like tears on porches, prayers in the streets, and flowers in tired hands. Sometimes the greatest sermon is not preached behind a pulpit, but lived out on a sidewalk. The gospel was never meant to stay inside four walls. Christ touched people in streets, homes, and villages, and yesterday, by His Spirit, we did the same. God, we give You all the glory for allowing us to be vessels that reflect the image of Your Son to our neighborhood. We don’t just want to talk about the Kingdom, we want to live it in front of people. Because real ministry is not just preached, it is practiced.