CITY LIGHT

The next lesson is building and forming relationships within the Frontline Team, the people we serve and those who help us serve donors, volunteers and partners. A hallmark of the reemergence of Frontline has been the team’s commitment to valuing and growing relationships. One aspect of this change was the commitment to relationships over programs. I noted to a group of young people in the community that lamented the different programs and offering that started and stopped with grant dollars that our team was committed to developing a series of relationships with them that would enable them to grow. This helped change the ministry focus and mission from reaching out people that were lost and who needed help (a nearly impossible goal) to developing leaders starting with early childhood education. Thus helping the team to raise support and gather supporters without bouncing back and forth starting and stopping program s based on support. Lesson: In a crisis rather than looking for just a...

When I arrived at the doorstep of Frontline Outreach in the fall of 1998 it was a ministry organization that was rich with history. There was a 42,000 square foot building in disrepair and a staff of people uncertain about their future and the ministry’s as well. The programs while well intentioned were not integrated. Everyone knew we worked with children, but no one could quantify what we did or how we did it. It was apparent the Frontline Team needed a large dose of focus. The dilemma was where to start? Should the emphasis be emergency food assistance, teen pregnancy, boxing, daycare, GED or any of the ideas du jour that I was approached with regularly. It became clear that Frontline Outreach as a ministry could not help anyone else until it and we (the team) helped ourselves. I announced , “Bleach and water are cheap, let’s clean this building up.” Immediately, the team and I began cleaning out old areas that had accumulated well intentioned “gifts” that were unusable and sprucing...