The concert was free to attend and held at the New Ulm High School auditorium. The idea for a thank you concert came when an anonymous donor paid for Jason Gray to perform. As the donor is a supporter of all three of their non-profits, NUMAS Haus Executive Director Nicole Schmiesing said it made sense for them to come together.

“We all serve similar missions as far as making the community stronger by supporting children and families,” she said. “We also rely on many of the other organizations in town who are similarly situated as we are. NUMAS Haus had Jason Gray in the past and there were collaborative efforts there to bring him back to this area.”

The three groups don’t often host events together. While they work together in assisting community families, most of the events they do are individual fundraisers. With this donation, Ivy House Director Trisha Homan said they saw an opportunity to give back to a community that has raised them and furthered their goals.

“We all agree we wouldn’t be where we are today in our nonprofits without our community,” she said. “We received a lot of support from businesses and community members by volunteering and donating to us with money. This is our way to say thank you to them because we wouldn’t be here without them.”

Christian singer-songwriter Jason Gray (right) signs an autograph for a fan as several more wait to meet him. CD's and shirts were available after the concert, which Gray signed as he talked and gave advice to attendees.

For Gray, he said it was obvious when he heard about the opportunity he needed to perform. He has done several benefit concerts for NUMAS Haus and believes the three groups hold the core of what he is most interested in.

“The work they’re doing is beautiful,” he said “It aligns with what I’m most interested in, transformation. The work these organizations are doing. They’re meeting people at certain tipping points in their lives, moments of crisis that can tip over into transformation. I wrote an album called “Order Disorder Reorder“, which I understand is the power of transformation. They’re meeting people in moments of disorder that will help create reorder.”

Over a two-hour concert, Gray performed his most popular songs like “Sparrow”, “Remind Me Who I Am”, and “Jesus Loves You (And I’m Trying)”, his Christmas album “Christmas Stories: Repeat the Sounding Joy”, and classic Christmas songs like “Silent Night”. Gray said performing these songs during this time is special for him, and he hoped it was special for attendees.

“I hope my songs will help connect people to their own heart,” he said. “When that happens, I feel like automatically they will connect. The wonder of Christmas is very special and very healing, and I’m happy to participate in it.”

As 2023 comes to a close, each organization is looking to build on the progress they made this year. Ivy House had over 300 kids come through their doors, First Choice Pregnancy Services is looking to add some more fatherhood programming and bring in STI testing, and NUMAS Haus is looking at expanding to house more families. Most of all, they hope to continue expanding and growing together.

“All three of us get along so well,” Homan said. “It’s fun because our missions are pretty similar. We serve families and children; it’s fun to get together and learn more about each other through this whole process. We all get along well, and it’s fun to work together.

For more information on these organizations, visit https://numashaus.org/, https://consideryouroptions.org/, and https://ivyhousemn.org/.