Our Mission
To demonstrate God’s love for families through training, nurturing and mentoring.
About the Director
Renee Culbertson was born in Northern California where her family instilled the importance of serving others. During her high school years, Renee had the privilege of spending a year in Ecuador as an exchange student. It was during this time that Renee became fluent in Spanish. She later attended the University of Virginia, earning her Bachelors Degree in Nursing. During her years of clinical experience, she gravitated toward the care of pregnant women. It was through her work with these women that Renee became aware of the profound gap in services available to those who were truly in need of quality care. This lack of care prompted Renee to create the Esperanza Women’s Center located in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. The vision of Steps of Faith came to fruition a decade later in 2007.
Our Story
Where we came from…
After witnessing first-hand the difficulties and challenges encountered by many young, frightened and teen-aged mothers, Renee Culbertson vowed to do more. She was inspired to create the Esperanza Women’s Center in 1997, with the purpose of providing these women the resources necessary to complete a healthy pregnancy. The women who came to the Center were given assistance in obtaining health care coverage, medical services and were educated about prenatal health and nutrition. Initially, the Esperanza Women’s Center averaged approximately 30 women through its doors each month. This number soon climbed to over 400 women being served by the Center each month. Though the Center was deemed a success, Renee’s faith drove her to do more. Her desire was to provide an additional layer of support to these women, designed not only to assist them during a crisis, but to also help them shape the decisions that caused the crisis. The need for further assistance was the inspiration for founding Steps of Faith, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Where we are today…
Steps of Faith encourages women to make healthier decisions for their future by providing the entire family with both education and mentoring. By providing these resources to our families, they are offered love, hope and the opportunity to be self-sufficient. We are called “Steps of Faith” because we encourage each person we serve to step out in faith with us. By walking alongside one another, we can love and share our God given gifts. Christian volunteers provide one-on-one and group mentoring to men, women and children, equipping them to grow in faith together.
Where we are going…
In order to be successful in the present, Steps of Faith must also look to the future. We have reached the point of needing to hire a permanent Director of Development to sustain and to further promote our message of hope and broaden the services we offer to even more people. We need to secure a larger space of our own that will allow us to offer more classroom opportunities in an age and need appropriate setting. Our vision also includes a worship space, designed to encourage our families to consider a closer relationship with God while enjoying the blessing of being in the body of Christ. By involving the families in worship, the need to be a part of the local church is demonstrated. Additionally, the enlargement of our current “Baby Boutique” into a maternity and baby-themed thrift store would further serve our families. Such a store would enable the Center to offer employment opportunities and work experience while generating revenue to strengthen other aspects of our organization.
