Everything Burns

Scripture tells us to store our treasure in heaven, that everything tangible is only temporary and will eventually burn away.  But it also tells us that God will meet our needs on this earth.  So, we live in a constant tension between the temporal and eternal.

It’s hard to remember to live life in the light of eternity.  It’s hard to remember that this building isn’t Joel’s Place, but the kids, and staff and relationships are.  That to invest in these kids, in their hearts and hopes, is to invest in eternity. But we also have to feed them, and help them and keep them safe.

     

Or rather, God does.  

He has promised us what we need.  But how does He deliver?  Through people.                                    We saw this last week when a bread truck overturned, and we received a  LITERAL CARLOAD of free bagels, buns, rolls and Dave’s Killer Bread! We probably won’t have to buy bread for the entire summer! Which is a pretty big deal, considering we’re feeding about 100 kids a day.

  We are so thankful for the folks that thought of us when they heard about the bread.  And we are so thankful for  being part of such a generous community that gives to us, to the food bank, and all the places that keep hungry tummies filled.

More than anything, we are thankful for the reminder that God is faithful.  

He will take care of the bread, and the fire, and the smoke and the rain. We will keep caring for these kids, and he will bring the people and resources to help us do that.

(Old) New Kid On The Block

Hi, I'm Kelli Boyle,
If you follow this blog, then you probably already know that James Menaker has moved on to *greener pastures, and I am the new Executive Director.
You also may or may not know a few things about me:

• Fairbanks born and raised
• Married to my best friend, Andrew, for 25 years
• 2 grown kids, who continue to inspire me
• 26 years working with kids in Fairbanks
• 8 years at Joel's Place , as a parent, volunteer, board member, or employee- in that order.

All of these "about me's" are part of the reason why I am so passionate about the kids and staff at Joel's Place Youth Center.
My husband and I both grew up here, and we said the same thing that so many kids still say now:
 "There's not enough things for teens to do in Fairbanks!" Which can be disputed, but is also kind of true.
Organized sports, music, dance and arts are plentiful in Fairbanks, but because of financial, transportation, or family commitment barriers, they are out of reach for many kids.
Those barriers don't change the fact that kids need safe places to go, with fun things to do.

Joel's Place is the answer.
It is.

Most of our activities are free, and our skate park fees are kept as low as possible.
We are open when it's needed most - In the summer, we are here for kids whose parents are at work during the day.  They don't need a babysitter, but they don't need to be left home alone all day either.
 They need a fun, safe place to play basketball, or video games, to get fed a healthy meal, to skate, scoot, or bike, to play music, create art, or have water fights.
 In winter, we are open weekdays and Saturdays into the evenings for all the reasons above and to help with homework, and let kids burn off their energy from **sitting still and being quiet at school all day.

Where many public spaces only offer "No Skateboarding" or "No Loitering" signs, we offer just the opposite. We say  "Come on in, run around, get loud, get messy,  hang out with us, and stay awhile."
  If you've never been to Joel's Place, or you haven't been in awhile, I invite you to come meet our amazing, loud, messy, creative young people. I invite you to be a part of what we're doing.
Hope to hear from you soon.

 In Christ,
 ~Kelli

*James is now working at Morningstar Ranch. I'm pretty sure they have pastures

**  Unless sleeping,  Joel's Place kids are never actually still or quiet

122

     Three years is not such a long time.  It is less than a presidential term.  It is less time than it takes to get a Bachelor's Degree.  It is less than half a decade.  Yet when I think back on my time before I started working at Joel's Place, it feels like a different life.

     Three years ago I had no non-profit experience.  I had no grant writing experience.  I only had two children.  I had no idea what the non-profit sector was and the scope of impact that Joel's Place had within Fairbanks.  I had not published a book.  I had never gotten on a skateboard, much less taught 25 3rd graders how to ride them during a field trip.

     I was two years removed from a bad breakup with InterVarsity, which I was pretty sure was my last chance at ministry and leadership.  I was working at Sears, running the receiving department in February of 2012, when I heard God say, "They are ready for you, whenever you are ready to go."  I assured Him that I was ready to go right then...I just needed to know who "They" were.  Silence.  Unbeknownst to me, that very month saw Linda Setterberg give the Board of Directors her letter stating her intent to transition out of the Executive Director position.  Joel's Place launched their ED search and in May I received a mass e-mailing asking the supporters of JP to pray because their search was going back to square one.  I thought I would fill out an application and see what happened.  I did not have a great non-profit resume, but I was faithful and had character and was willing to work relatively cheaply.  The Board decided to take a risk on me and I will forever be grateful.

     So what have I learned in my time at Joel's Place?

• Accountants speak a strange, special language that is meant to confuse smart people into believing that adding the same numbers together can result in multiple different sums.
• Well-intentioned is not the same as effective.
• The need is not the call.
• When someone asks you about something that happened long before you started on the job, the best response is, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
• This little endeavor called Joel's Place is too big and too important for one person, one family, or even one church to carry alone.  Building up the resources of these kids is a community-sized ambition and it requires donors, volunteers and advocates from every walk of Interior Alaska.  It is big, but it is worth it, because...
• God loves these young ones so very much.  So very much.  Whether it be the pierced and pregnant teenage girl or the FAS young man who steals things or the shy boy searching for a father figure or the rambunctious brute who is just looking for someplace he can run without breaking things or the dozens and dozens and dozens of kids who are just looking for someplace to be safe and have fun while they grow up...God's heart overflows for them all.  He reaches out to them with compassion and joy and anticipation about who they can become and He invites us to do the same.  In this job you have the opportunity to see the worst in young men and women.  Every once in a while you catch a glorious glimpse of who they could become.  We choose to work through the worst so that the best can move from potential to reality.

There are some jobs that you have just to pay the bills and tread water until something better comes along.  Every once in a while there are jobs that are transformational.  They change your skill set, your resume, your worldview and the direction that your life is headed.  Joel's Place has been one of those transformational jobs for me and I am so grateful.  Thank you to the Board of Directors.  Thank you to my amazing co-workers.  Thank you to the kids...who have no idea I even write this blog, but are important anyway.  Finally, thank you to all of you, our friends, supporters and donors who have followed along with me in the previous 121 posts.  Your encouragement and support have been a delight during the good times and have carried us through the darker days.  There would be no Joel's Place without you...and this world is a better place because Joel's Place exists.  Blessings upon you all.

     Humbly,

James

Moving on

So...first the short, bullet-points information and then the backstory:

• After three years, I will be stepping down from the Executive Director position at Joel's Place, effective next Friday.
• Kelli Boyle will become the new ED
• Leah Byam will become the new Program Director
• I will be joining the Board of Directors and working over at Morningstar Ranch

Now...for the rest of the story:

This past November I was spending some time praying about life and Joel's Place and I heard God say that I was just about done with my time here.  I've heard that call before and it usually comes a couple of months before the begin of a substantial life transition.  So I watched and I waited and I started looking for what would be happening next.

What I saw was that it would be a good step for me to transition onto the Board of Directors for a couple of substantial reasons: Organizational Development and Leadership Development. 

As far as Organizational Development is concerned, Joel's Place has been in a transition process for the past few years from a small, family-style business into a broader, community-driven outreach.  That was the transition that I was hired to facilitate and that is where we find ourselves after these three years.  Now we need some new vision.  I have ideas...lots and lots of ideas and the best place to work through those ideas and their corresponding requirements is on the Board of Directors.  I won't bore you with the By-law changes and policy tweaks and committee meetings that I want to see.  The short story is that I have a lot of big picture ideas that will be better coming from the Board and being implemented by another ED.  Speaking of which...

As I contemplated moving onto the Board, the very first factor that I considered was who would take my place.  Ideas from the Board are great, but if there is not a staff member who is able to take ideas and make them become reality, then it is wasted time and energy.  (Side note: Kelli, you probably want to stop reading now.  You will probably get embarrassed by all the nice things I'm going to say about you.)   Kelli has volunteered, served as Board President and began working for Joel's Place as Program Director a little before I started.  She is smart, funny, in-charge without being oppressive and deeply loves these kids.  She had never seriously considered being an ED but she is going to be amazing.  We have talked a lot over vision and spreadsheets and grant writing and fundraising.  I will still be around if she hits a steep patch of the learning curve.  Kelli will be sensational at training our staff to love with grace and accountability.  She is outstanding at managing the business side of the non-profit and making sure that the revenue-generating programs actually generate revenue.  Did I mention that the kids love her back?  And she just received her first grant (see above).  There is no one better qualified to take over the reigns at the moment, who knows the strengths and weaknesses of Joel's Place better than her.  I am excited about what this opportunity will do for Joel's Place and I am excited for what this opportunity will do for Kelli.

Stepping into Kelli's old position will be Leah, who just graduated from college and has been working/volunteering here for years and years and years and years.  She is highly skilled, highly competent, highly creative and deeply beloved by our members.  She is ready for this new challenge and the transition will be remarkably smooth.

So I have one more week left here before fully diving into Morningstar (a non-profit that provides respite services and vocational/educational training to people/families with disabilities).  I'm sure I will take some time next Friday to write some reflections about the past three years.  If you have any questions or comments you are more than welcome to write or call and we can talk things through. 

Blessings upon you all,

James