Pocket Full of Change Ministries began with the first journey, Pocket Full of Quarters, described below in the section called About: Pocket Full of Quarters. Cheryle Touchton's ‘bio’ is found under About: Cheryle M. Touchton.
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Pocket Full of Change Focus
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We believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only son and in human form was fully God and fully man. We believe the way of salvation is through Jesus Christ alone by repentance and faith in His death and resurrection.
Title: Looking For a Pocket Full of Quarters - A Spiritual Look at America
Length: 30-45 Minutes (can be adjusted to fit into sermon time)
Audiences: Churches or Organizations that Host Luncheons
Description: A Missionary Overview: This Biblically based multimedia presentation examines the spiritual health of American people and churches. It includes pictures and adventures of Pocket Full of Quarters (Cheryle’s missionary journeys to all 50 states) and is designed to inspire listeners to focus on loving God above all else. Each presentation is tailored to focus on specific organizations, churches, or community groups.
Title: The Secret to Everything
Length: 6 Hours (5 week Bible Study or weekend retreat)
Audiences: Churches
Description: This is designed to help individuals understand that the secret to an abundant life is to stop working on life problems, goals, and ambitions and begin living the Greatest Commandment—to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is an in-depth multimedia Bible Study of the most important commandment, Luke 10:27 and is based on Cheryle’s book, Pocket Full of Quarters – 5 Steps to Loving God and includes the pictures and inspirational examples of people, places, and churches encountered on the journeys of Pocket Full of Quarters. It is personal, thought provoking, interactive, and life changing and will not only tell the participants that they should love God, it will tell them what the Bible says about how to do that.
Title: The Secret to Travelling
Length: 1 Hour or Lunch Presentation
Audiences: Libraries, Senior Citizen’s Groups, Credit Union Meeting, AARP
Description: Cheryle shares hints for places to go, routes to take, and how to travel cheaply and efficiently. Using a multi-media presentation, she will share humorous anecdotes and lessons learned from her journeys while traveling alone across America .The workshop will include ideas for tent and RV camping, as well as staying in hotels and retreat centers.
Title: Pocket Full of Christmas – Having a Purpose Filled Advent
Length – 4 Hours (Designed to be 1 hour weekly session during the Advent Season)
Audiences: Churches
Description: A fun interactive multimedia Advent Bible Study. Based on Cheryle Touchton’s book, Pocket Full of Christmas.
Title: Are There Cracks In My Temple Wall?
Length: 45 minutes – 1 Hour Session
Audiences: Churches, Women’s Groups
Description: This is designed to help women take care of their bodies, develop a healthy body image, and accept and love the body God gave. This humorous presentation studies what the Bible says about our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit and deals with issues women struggle with in regards to their bodies.
Title : Snap Crackle Pop – Keeping Your Marriage Strong Through the Years
Length – 8 Hours or Weekend Retreat
Audiences: Churches
Description: Biblically based interactive multimedia Christian Marriage Retreat or Seminar – Takes a frank and humorous look at God’s call to oneness, commitment, communication (speaking and listening), understanding your spouse, and intimacy in marriage.
Title: Expanding the King’s Kingdom
Length – 1 Hour Overview or Full Course – 8 Hours or Weekend Retreat.
Audiences: Churches
Description: This course in evangelism is an in-depth multimedia Bible Study of the Great Commission, Matthew 28: 18-20. It is based on Cheryle’s experiences traveling the country as an evangelist and includes the pictures and inspirational examples of people, places, and churches encountered on the journeys of Pocket Full of Quarters. It is personal, thought provoking, interactive, and life changing and will give participants the tools they need to confidently share their faith.
Title: Becoming a Mature Church
Audiences: Churches
Length: 8 Hours or Weekend Retreat
Description: In-depth multimedia Bible Study of 1st Corinthians and the church of Corinth. Includes pictures/examples from the churches and places visited on the journeys of Pocket Full of Quarters, as well as pictures of Greece. Tailored to specific church needs and is interactive. Leads church members to understand the importance of church unity, following leadership, and finding God’s purpose in church membership. Leads church in study of spiritual gifts/ministries and a corporate spiritual health inventory.
Title: Business At Its Best
Audiences: Christian Business Organizations
Length – 1 Hour or Lunch Presentation – Could be made into a retreat
Description: Learn the secret to business success. Hear tips on managing business activities like marketing, sales, personnel, strategic planning, and finance while remaining true to faith and values. Find out what being an ethical business person doesn’t mean. Hear stories of successful Christian business people from across America.
Title: I Love My Employer
Audiences: Christian Business Organizations
Length – 1 Hour or Lunch Presentation
Description: Learn to focus on God as your employer and to fall madly in love with your employer. Learn how to excel and find meaning and purpose in all work circumstances. Hear tips on dealing with difficult employers, employees, and work situations.
Title: How to Serve In Love (Even When Church Members Don’t Deserve It)
Length: 1 Hour Overview or Full Course – 8 Hours or Weekend Retreat.
Audiences: Church Staff
Description: Biblically based, fun, interactive, multimedia course that helps church staff learn and apply service principals that businesses find essential to growth.
Title: Getting that Book Out of our Head and On Paper
Audiences: Writers or Potential Writers
Length – 1 Hour Overview or Full Course – 8 Hours or Weekend Retreat.
Description: How to write the book that lives in you. Includes tips on book outlining, writing styles and techniques, time management, research, and spiritual preparation.
Title: Follow the Call
Audiences: Churches or Organizations that Host Luncheons
Length – 1 Hour
Description: Biblically based study on hearing and responding to the call of God.
Title: Surviving the Holidays
Audiences: Libraries or Community Centers
Length – 1 Hour
Description: Fun, creative, practical tips on getting through the holidays while enjoying the reason for the season. Based on Cheryle’s book, Pocket Full of Christmas – Having a Purpose Filled Advent.
Title: For Married Women Only - Get Naked and Bring Food
Audiences: Churches – Women’s Groups
Length – 1 Hour
Description: - A biblically based frank and humorous look at achieving intimacy in marriage in spite of the fact that your husband is male. Helps women understand their role in sexual intimacy as well as understanding and meeting the needs of their spouse.
Title: Making the Computer Work for You
Audiences: Writers, Writer’s Conferences, Libraries
Length – 1 Hour Overview or Full Course – 8 Hours or Weekend Retreat.
Description: A practical “how to” course for using a computer. Includes tips on writing e-mails, doing research, organizing electronic files, using the computer for time management, using the computer for promoting goods and services, and available computer tools.
Title: Marketing Through Ministry and Ministry Through Marketing
Audiences: Writers, Writer’s Conferences, Ministries
Length – 1 Hour Course
Description: A practical “how to” course for using a ministry to market the products and services of a ministry and using marketing to fulfill a call to ministry. It offers practical tips for how to minister while marketing and uses Biblical examples.
Other: Secret Conference Calls
Description: 1 hour Bible Studies via free conference calls on topics like:
· The Secret to the Business of Writing
· The Secret to Marriage
· The Secret to Parenting
· The Secret to Business
· The Secret to Marketing
Send a note to to add your name to the mailing list for upcoming calls.
Other: Teacher/Facilitator/Retreat Leader
Description: As an experienced teacher, facilitator, and retreat leader, Cheryle will prepare and speak on the topic of choice for churches or organizations using either privately prepared or already published materials.
Other: Sh’ma Based Consulting Services
Length: Varies according to need
Description: A customized approach, based on Luke 10:27, designed to help churches, Christian businesses or religious institutions reach their goals. The process begins with an inventory that identifies areas of need and then develops a systematic plan that enables stakeholders to make improvements by relying on God and being obedient to Him. These areas of need may be financial, spiritual, or organizational in nature and may include issues regarding the promotion and management of the organization, unity, financial resources, programs, and vision.
Books:
God began preparing for Pocket Full of Quarters years ago when I had several family members grow critically ill over a few months. I spent extended time in ICU waiting rooms. In each situation, the outcome was losing a loved one.
ICU waiting rooms are a sub-culture where people depend heavily on others. People talk to each other. They minister and pray with strangers. Family, friends, and church members visit and meet needs spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Often they minister to others in that same waiting room. In those rooms, we became willing to do almost anything for each other. We prayed, cried, and laughed together. We cheered when the news was good and grieved when the news was bad.
One surprising need we all had was for quarters. We needed quarters to call family members with medical updates (does anyone remember the days of pay phones?). Vending machines with needed food and drinks only took quarters. Our physical lives began revolving around quarters.
We constantly asked each other for quarters. We were willing to help with almost anything except giving away the coveted quarter. Most would part with them, but usually begrudgingly. Cafeteria visits included requests for quarters. If we found quarters, we were careful not to jingle our pockets and give the secret away.
I mentioned the need for quarters to my minister, Dr. Sam Wilson. On his next visit, he arrived with a roll of quarters. Suddenly I had a "Pocket Full of Quarters." I had enough to share. I laid these quarters out on a table. People used them as needed. When they came back from the cafeteria, they dumped their quarters into the stack. Sam’s gift grew, and we all had a “Pocket Full of Quarters.”
The last night I was there, only two patients were in ICU. My grandfather had experienced a serious heart attack. The other patient was the father of a young woman I befriended while swapping quarters. Around midnight, we heard a code called over the loud speaker. Crash carts noisily rushed down the hall. The ICU door flew open. My grandmother and the wife of the other patient were engrossed in dialogue and missed the commotion. The daughter and I knew that one of us was about to receive seemingly unbearable news.
We looked at each other, quietly stepped into the hall, and went to the door. People were running in and out. “Get out of the way!” a nurse demanded. Not wanting to return to the waiting room and face our relatives, we stepped together inside the phone booth where we had spent so many of those quarters.
Space was close and we grew self-conscious. One of us whispered, “Let’s pray.” We collapsed into each other’s arms. “God, give us strength to face what is about to happen. Help the wife of the person about to receive the worst news of her life. Give us your words of comfort.” We felt God’s peace in that phone booth. With tears rolling down our faces, we straightened. We were prepared to face our future. The ICU door slowly opened and the nurse walked towards me. God used those quarters to pave the way. I walked back to the waiting room to find my grandmother.
Pocket Full of Quarters became my metaphor for being prepared for life. The lessons I learned in that ICU waiting room prepared me for my future. My relationship with God grew closer as I began spending more time with Him. As my pockets grew fuller, I began noticing the pain of the people around me and longed for them to have a pocket full of quarters too. As I traveled with my job, I began talking to people everywhere about their relationship with God. I prayed for opportunities to share the love of Christ and was astounded by the doors God opened. I longed to spend more time with people and to share these experiences with others, but the time constraints of my high profile executive job kept me from it. When the technology industry collapsed in 2001 and I lost my executive position, my husband and I knew God had paved the way for me to fulfill God’s call.
As I travel across the country, I listen to people’s stories, talk about their relationship with God, get permission to write their story, and hand them a card with the address of the Pocket Full of Quarters website and my e-mail. These cards have a slot that holds a real quarter. Some try to return the quarter, but I refuse. I want them to have a pocket full of quarters. These free quarters are a symbol of God’s free grace available to everyone. The quarter also helps them remember the name of website where many go as a follow up to our conversation. Some e-mail that they keep the quarter as a reminder of God’s love.
People and churches open their hearts and homes as they share their spiritual stories and whisper their secrets. Most report that they believe in God. Many worship and some even serve Him diligently. Unfortunately, I also see many sagging shoulders and pain-filled eyes that desperately need a Pocket Full of Quarters.The Bible says a cord of three is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12) What a team God has given this ministry. All three women are Christians called by God and committed to the Sh’ma.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself. NIV (Luke 10:27.)
There is nothing like being part of team. Good teamwork is one of the secrets of any successful team or organization. A sports team that works together well wins championships. A ministry team that soars at teamwork increases the kingdom of God. The Bible encourages teams by warning us that one person can be overpowered. It goes on to say that two might be able to defend themselves but three or more is best. Meet the Pocket Full of Change Ministry Team.
Cheryle Touchton, affectionately known as “The Pocket Full of Quarter’s Lady,” travels the country as a missionary talking to individuals about their relationship with God. She visits malls, parks, national landmarks, rural areas, downtown metropolises, homes, and churches of every Christian denomination, always with the same message of love. As she travels, she hands out cards containing quarters and the address to her website, which contains the moving and humorous anecdotes and photographs of her travels. As a former Technology CEO, Cheryle is the winner of numerous awards like the Florida Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Jacksonville’s Outstanding Services Business Award. Cheryle’s call to ministry is to listen, encourage, teach, and evangelize. When not traveling, Cheryle speaks in churches, leads Christian retreats and Bible studies, speaks for radio and television audiences, and manages her website, which reaches thousands each week. She earned her MBA from Jacksonville University and her Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of Florida. She has published two books, Pocket Full of Quarters - 5 Steps to Loving God, and Pocket Full of Christmas - Having a Purpose Filled Advent. She is the winner of the 2006 Best Devotional Writer Award for the Florida Writers Conference. She and Bob, her husband of 37 years, reside in Jacksonville Beach, Florida ("The Beach") where they delight in spending time with their family, attending church at Chet's Creek Church, and opening their beachfront home for parties, Bible Studies, and retreats. Cheryle loves to blow bubbles and play with her three grandchildren and her Sheltie, Belle.
Gail Golden is a Publicist, Author, Speaker, and Ministry Partner with Pocket Full of Change Ministries. Gail’s responsibilities include promoting the books, products, and services of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. Gail is also a Rabbitzen, which means she is the wife of a Messianic Rabbi. Gail and her husband, Rabbi Jem Golden, minister together at Magen David Synagogue in Merritt Island, Florida. Gail occasionally travels on Pocket Full of Quarters missionary journeys. Gail lives in Port St. Johns, Florida and is a published freelance author who has appeared in magazines like Today’s Christian and Evangel. Gail would consider it a privilege to speak to your church or organization and will be writing a column for Pocket Full of Change Ministries titled Gail-Friends.
Barbara Gobbs is an Executive Assistant, Author, Speaker, and Ministry Partner with Pocket Full of Change Ministries. She coordinates all administrative details of the ministry. Barbara is the author of two books: A Day’s Devotion From Denver and Cinderella Moments. She is a Bible Study teacher, a writer and speaker and active in Kernan Blvd. Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. She is married to Bobby Gobbs, a retired Air Force pilot. Barbara occasionally travels on the Pocket Full of Quarters missionary journeys. You can read more about her by going to www.barbaragobbs.com. Barbara is available to speak to your church or organization and will be writing a column for Pocket Full of Change Ministries titled Devotional Diva.
The ministry team at Pocket Full of Change Ministries commits to you that as a team, we will do our best to focus all of our energies on loving God and others and helping people discover that the Sh’ma is the secret to everything we face now and in the future.