Founders are the single most important people in the history of an organization and in Mike and Linda we have two of the best. Founders determine the focus, the values, the culture of an organization. They set the mission which informs everything else. Founders take dreams and make them into reality, often at great personal sacrifice. Then...at some point...founders step away and see if their creation can fly on its own. What I have found to be true is this: Organizations, especially faith-based ministries, can survive and thrive in the face of leadership change. Personality cults cannot; they just wither up and die without the founder. This is the point in time where we will discover which category Joel's Place belongs to. I have been a founder myself, someone who invested my life into an organization for a decade and then left. I am familiar with all the conflicting emotions that accompany letting go of something that you hold so dear. I am aware of what it takes to move on both personally and professionally after dedicating your blood, sweat and tears for so long. But before getting into what Joel's Place looks like moving forward, it is right and appropriate to step back and honor those who have brought us to this place.
Everyone that I have spoken with in the Fairbanks is in awe of how much the Setterbergs have given of themselves in order to care for the youth of this community. And not just any youth. Mike and Linda have always had a special heart for those who were marginalized or were not being loved by anyone else. I had an old boss who described young men as coconuts with razor-blades sticking out of them. They were tough and they were sharp and they poked anyone who got too close and yet they were fragile and likely to break. While most people in our world would wait for those coconuts to mature, Mike and Linda would rush in and hold them in an embrace, opening their hearts and their home to anyone who was thirsting for love. The dream of Joel's Place was never based out of a love of skateboarding...it was based out of a love of skateboarders. It was a dream to provide youth with a place to be safe and a place to be loved and a place to be themselves without getting into trouble. Our founders have invested countless sleepless nights and long, long days into crafting a home for the homeless and a family for the abandoned. Every year our accountant reviews our audit. Every year she says that this enterprise should not work and will likely close in the coming year. We are coming up on 15 years of this place being open due to the sheer will, determination and faith of these two.
There are times when our strategy or our history drives me crazy. We have some practices that give me headaches. But what I am learning more and more is that you can teach practices. You cannot teach attitude...character...heart. And this place, this organization, has been infused with more heart than any other place I have ever stepped foot into. Mike and Linda poured passion into the very marrow of Joel's Place, going so far as to make our mission "Creating a compassionate community." Compassion literally means "to suffer with." The Setterbergs have Master's Degrees in suffering with. They are quick to listen, willing to mourn, eager to give and help in any way that they can. They walk around with personal stories that will both make you cry and fill your heart with joy at God's goodness. There is more laughter within these walls than any other place where I have worked.
I don't know exactly how to capture the scope of impact that Joel's Place has had. I know that since Mike and Linda decided to pursue this crazy adventure, they have ministered to thousands of kids. Maybe just a single meal. Maybe a place to sleep. Maybe a safe place to spend the winter. Maybe a new family altogether. I don't think we will know the full impact that they have had through this place until we get to heaven and they are welcomed in by everyone whose lives they have transformed.
Personally, I am honored to be entrusted with this precious gift. As much as I like creating new things, I am wise enough to know that there is a heart and a spirit about this ministry that simply requires that I stay out of the way. Joel's Place attracts those who need to be here and offers life transformation in a way very few other places can. I am grateful to have had an Executive Director who gave me space to try my own things while still being available for mentoring. I am grateful to have had a boss who was as vocal and enthusiastic an advocate and supporter as any I have ever had.
Thank you Mike. Thank you Linda. I will do everything I can to build a structure worthy of the strong foundation that you have left for us. May the Lord lavish blessings upon you as you enter the next phase of your lives together. I cannot wait to see what the next Act bring for us all.
