In the mid-1990s, people of faith in San Antonio, TX, formed a strategy to address needs of families in the area.

This group recognized the need to minister to local families - and especially to expecting and new moms. Many churches in the San Antonio joined in and conceived of a program that would provide mentors to walk alongside pregnant and new moms throughout their pregnancies and at least until their babies turned one. One by One Ministries, Inc. was officially incorporated in 1998, and the ministry obtained its IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 2003.

One by One’s cofounders:

• Dr. Harold Hime with the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board

• Evelyn Herbert, retired educator and graphic artist

• Linda Hibner, Program Director

• Camille Simmons, Executive Director.

Together, this team provided essential leadership through the early development of One by One’s curriculum and a pilot program in San Antonio.

Timeline

early 1990s: San Antonio churches determine need to minister to families, especially pregnant and new moms; One by One co-founders develop concept, program, curriculum, and evaluation tools to meet these needs. Education, medical, and community service professionals help to develop the curriculum and evaluation program.

1995: One by One begins pilot program in San Antonio and on a smaller scale in Dallas.

1998: One by One Ministries, Inc., is incorporated.

2003: One by One receives IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

2008/2009: The Baylor University School of Social Work (Waco, TX), The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing (Memphis, TN), and The Urban Child Institute (Memphis, TN) partner with One by One to review and revise our curriculum and evaluation system for relevance and current trends in maternal/newborn health.

2008: One by One adds a ministry region in Memphis, TN. Several major donors provide critical support. Powerlines Hickory Hill Southeast Memphis collaboration forms to implement One by One through local churches in specific neighborhoods that government and medical research identify as having the greatest need.

2008: One by One partners with highly-respected Memphis-based services organizations such as Agape Child and Family Services, the Church Health Center, Families Matter, the ARISE Initiative, and the Early Success Coalition Network to provide church recruitment, mentors, and family support networks.

2011: One by One begins to grow in Dallas and North Texas. The community of faith provides funding and volunteers as they see One by One’s program as a viable option to address rising teen pregnancy rates across the U.S., and especially in Texas. Pregnancy care centers and other agencies begin referring clients to One by One.

2014: One by One’s original founders retire, and One by One moves its headquarters from San Antonio to Memphis.

2014: Serve West Dallas, a backbone non-profit agency serving the needs of the under-resourced community of West Dallas, selects One by One to be its 14th collaborative partner. This premier collaborative association is a national model that demonstrates the clear advantages of multiple agencies working together to provide “wrap-around” services to under-resourced families.

2019: One by One develops a “Community” model in which we partner with a church and pregnancy center in a community to recruit and train mentors to serve local women in need. Our first communities develop in West Tennessee (Dyersburg, Tri-County areas) and North Mississippi (Corinth, Oxford, Tupelo, and Columbus).

2020: During COVID, One by One pivots, as many agencies do, from in-person to virtual service delivery to maintain our ability to serve moms.

2021: One by One hires a Communities Director as our communities continue to grow. We launch a new community in Garden City, Kansas.

2021: Thanks to a Texas-based grant, One by One translates all of our materials into Spanish in order to serve Spanish-speaking moms.

2022: One by One uses our ability to pivot during COVID to create a way to serve moms virtually. We pilot the program with six mom and mentor pairs who live in several different states across the U.S. One by One hires a Spanish and Virtual Director to lead our efforts in these delivery methods.

2023: Thanks to another grant, One by One launches a virtual delivery method and serves almost 25 moms in 14 states with mentors located in 8 states.

2023: One by One begins promoting One by One en Espanol to Spanish-speaking moms in all of our regions and communities and to virtual participants. We begin training Spanish-speaking mentors to pair with Spanish-speaking moms.

2023: One by One creates a San Antonio Advisory Committee to work with our national Board of Directors to provide council and support to our San Antonio region.

2024: One by One welcomes Booneville, MS, as our newest community. Our virtual ministry reaches moms and mentors in 25 U.S. states.

2025: One by One creates a Virtual and Spanish Advisory Committee to work with our national Board of Directors to provide and support our virtual and Spanish ministries.

One by One’s past has been clearly marked with God’s intervention and direction. Today, One by One is strategically positioned to extend the reach of the Gospel and the need for parental nurturing during early childhood development to other urban areas across the country.

From the beginnings in Texas to more recent ministry development in Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, and nationwide, One by One is fulfilling its God-given mission to mentor and educate new moms to parent well in order to improve the lives of babies and their families and impact the future of our world one generation at a time.