our team
Pastor Mike & Debbie Turner
Pastor Mike & Debbie Turner’s passion for helping single parent families has been the catalyst for aspireministry. Having experienced single parenthood themselves and together having 6 children and 10 grandchildren, they can personally relate to the spiritual, financial, emotional and social struggles single parenting has on the parent and their family.
Mike’s genuine love for helping broken people to see who they are through God’s gracious eyes became the foundation of aspireministry. Graduating in the spring of 2010 from Phoenix Seminary with his Master of Divinity Graduate Degree, his background in counseling hurting families provides an additional healing aspect to this ministry. Additionally, Mike’s leadership experience in the business world enables a fiscally responsible aspect that is essential to the success of a non-profit organization.
Debbie’s compassion for people in every stage of life is evident through her personal volunteer ministry. She is a Hospice volunteer, caring for individuals and their families who are in the end stages of life and she is a volunteer at the Child Crisis Center, helping young children who are currently displaced from their families. Her encouraging, warm and nurturing spirit draws hurting single parent families into a safe, inviting and comfortable place. Her goal is to help the aspireministry mothers envision something for their lives that they could not even imagine was possible before and to help them to see themselves as precious daughters of a loving God.
Pastor Mike & Debbie enjoy nurturing and loving the single parent families by opening their home and providing a safe and caring space for them. They have instilled the fundamental belief in everyone that has the privilege of working with the aspireministry families that if you love these precious lives unconditionally, meeting them where they are in their situation, showing them that they are truly important and valuable, then you have shown them the love that their Heavenly Father has for them. Once they have seen this glimpse of love, then their hearts and homes can begin to be healed.
Kristen Desmangles
With a passion for creativity and a love to see others reach their fullest potential, Kristen Desmangles brings her background in marketing, educational & career counseling and expertise with mentoring teenagers to aspireministry. She and her husband, Felix-Albert, added on the title and experience of ‘mommy’ to her background this year as they welcomed their son, Zachary, into their lives.
Kristen’s experience with marketing and creative development has provided the organization with logos, brochures, presentations and many other creative projects. Her gift of bringing to visual life a concept or idea has been used throughout the greater Phoenix and Chicagoland areas for over 7 years.
Many single parents have not been able to achieve their educational or career goals due to their life situations. Kristen works with aspireministry parents who have a desire to grow educationally or professionally and helps to show them that it is possible to return to school and remain in the workforce while being a single parent. Her knowledge of the inner workings of the often complex college entrance and financial aid systems are an invaluable asset to our families.
Kristen also assists aspireministry families with understanding their teenagers who many times fall through the cracks in single parent families because they appear to be so independent. Her background with mentoring teen girls has provided aspireministry families with understanding the “why’s” behind some of the behaviors while showing unconditional love, safety and support to the teen and their family.
Kristen and Felix-Albert consider themselves truly blessed to be a part of such an amazing ministry to single parent families and love to watch God work through each of the lives He places in their path.
Robert & Jackie Holman
Robert & Jackie Holman assist aspireministry with coordinating fundraising events around the country. Their experience as single parents bring an additional level of first hand understanding and compassion to the aspireministry families. They understand the pain, loneliness, the social aspect of feeling different than others, having no one to talk to or anyone who would just listen and always questioning if you’re making the right decision for your family.
Robert missed 7 years of his sons’ lives because of an often generalized court system that overlooked his visitation rights. While this was a very difficult time for him, he held on to his faith, knowing that God understood and would make things right for his family someday if he just had faith. Today, Robert and his two sons have a wonderful relationship with each other and have a stronger faith in God.
Robert & Jackie have started hikingtentsonline.com with 100% of the proceeds to be donated back to aspireministry.