Last winter, Kindred Life was humbled to have the opportunity to present our ministry to The Barnabas Group, a widely renowned, Christian, business network based in Chicago. Dedicated to to being the hands and feet of Jesus in the marketplace and providing expert consultation and guidance to ministries like ours, we were matched with several strategic mentors. Kindred Life needed help navigating our growth, reorganizing our infrastructure and communicating where God was leading. We spent spring and summer working with The Barnabas Group to better clarify our mission and vision. Utilizing a steering committee comprised of several Kindred Life board directors and staff members, we also set tangible long and short-term goals.
Through the guidance of our Barnabas mentors, we were lead to clarify the why, what and how of our ministry. By addressing our culture from the inside out, a major deficit to teen dads surfaced. While over the last 2 years we have initiated more “teen-father friendly” programming, we are now focusing on specific curriculum, mentors and even staff parameters to serve young dads. This expansion has lead to furthering our community volunteer partner outreach. We have found many secular, even governmental, partnerships have begun to form as a result. Being a Christian ministry, we see this as a witnessing opportunity.
We are very excited to unveil our revised Vision and Mission Statements! In addition, we are offering supporting clarification through a set of values and guiding principles. As a result of our prayerful collaboration, The Board has approved the following goals for 2018 (fourth quarter), which include:
1. Refine and complete the teen dads’ curriculum and service delivery plan
2. Rework our current policy and procedures considering the changing culture and family needs
3. Review our fundraising and resources needed to support our growth
We are ever-mindful that Kindred Life Ministries would not have come this far without the Lord’s guidance, faithful prayer warriors and a dedicated staff and volunteers who are committed to helping teen parents and their families thrive.
Furthermore, we are excited to share several long-range goals, which include:
- Expand outreach efforts to community partners and local churches
- Hire a Teen Dad Coordinator to join the program staff
- Open fourth program office site
Will you join us in prayer that God would continue to lead and guide us to realizing a community where all teen parents and their families thrive? Would you prayerfully consider how the Lord is leading you to help us cultivate growth, build relationships and meet the needs of teen parents and their families? God is at work at Kindred Life. Please let us know how we can serve and help you discover how/where His will for you may align with the needs, goals and plans for our precious families entrusted to us.