Whether you are a pastor, ministry leader, or a lay-leader, you can play a vital role in leading your church to serve children and families in hard places. From volunteering to collecting items or encouraging foster care ministries within your church, let us help you as you lead your church in this transformative ministry.
Engage Your Church
“I am so thankful for the ministry of Connie Maxwell under the leadership of Danny Nicholson. Their partnership helps us as a church love and care for the most vulnerable in our community. I could not encourage others strongly enough to take advantage of the great resources Connie Maxwell provides.” – Josh Powell, Lead Pastor at Taylors First Baptist Church
Request a speaker.
Awareness and education are some of the first steps in transformational foster care ministry. We have several people on our staff who would love to speak at your church.
Speakers
Danny Nicholson
President
About Danny
He was adopted by Billy and Mary Nicholson, a maintenance worker and school teacher, who took him home to 401 West Richardson Circle in Hartsville, South Carolina. He grew up in a Christian elementary school and developed a love for the game of basketball. While training for basketball in high school, he found his God-given talent for running and joined the high school Track and Field team in the spring of 1978. He ran 4:28 in the mile during the State Championship meet in 1979 which earned him an athletic scholarship at Charleston Southern University. He graduated from CSU in 1984 with a major in Communications and minor in Religion.
From 1984 until 2017 (33 years), Danny served in University Advancement for eight different institutions of Higher Education, including, Medical University of South Carolina, Coker College, and Carson Newman University, to name a few. To download Danny’s full bio, click here.
Jay Boyd
Senior VP for Ministry Strategy and Engagement
About Jay
Jay began his career in Christian non-profit fundraising in 2011. Since then, he has worked for various ministries in Alabama, Illinois, and Florida, helping and leading team efforts to raise over $75M.
Jay joined the team at Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries in August 2020 and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Engagement. In this role, he works closely with the President and Executive Leadership team to ensure execution of the organization’s 10-year strategic plan. Jay and the team he leads help oversee the following efforts: Annual giving, marketing, church engagement, volunteer engagement, events leading to alternative revenue & database growth, foster parent recruitment within churches, and more.
Jay holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Brock School of Business at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. He also earned a Master of Arts in Leadership from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He completed his undergraduate degree in Journalism & Mass Communication from Samford University. Jay earned his Credentialed Certified Nonprofit Leader (CCNL) certification from Christian Leadership Alliance in 2016.
Jay and his wife Lauren have been married since 2008 and live in Greenwood, SC with their two children, Brayden and Isabella. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting, traveling, and creating experiences that produce meaningful connections with family and close friends.
Other Ways to Get Involved
Pray
Your prayers matter, and they make a difference. Pray for our children and families in Residential, Crisis, Foster, and Family Care. Pray for our staff, cottage parents, and foster families. To become a prayer partner and receive specific prayer requests concerning the needs of our ministry, children, and families, click here.
Give
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Give Financially
When you give to the Cooperative Program, you are supporting Connie Maxwell. We are thankful for the support we receive from Southern Baptist Churches. We also receive regular, faithful support from churches outside of CP giving. If you are interested in giving to Connie Maxwell, click here.
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Give by purchasing from our current needs list here.
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Give during the Christmas season.
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CHRISTMAS STORE — The Christmas Store is an annual event that allows our children to give back at Christmas. We ask that donors purchase items they would like to receive for Christmas. Children are given the opportunity to “purchase” these items for their family members.
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CHRISTMAS WISHES — Each year, every child in our care is given the opportunity to write a specific Christmas wish list. These wish lists are sponsored so every child we care for can experience a magical Christmas.
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Serve
We have monthly Serve Days available in all of the months of the year except January and July. To come for a Serve Day or find other statewide opportunities, please visit our volunteer page here.
Online Store
When you are sporting Connie Maxwell gear, you are helping to raise awareness of our mission. Click here to visit the Connie Maxwell online store.
Host an informational event.
Let us come to you to help cast a vision for a dynamic foster care ministry at your church. We love equipping the local church for foster ministry! Here are some ideas for your event:
- Host a Lunch and Learn
- Have a foster care information table set up after your worship service
- Host a training event for your children’s ministry volunteers or groups that support foster families
