Hello Friends,
If you’ve seen or had the chance to read through our most recent 2024 issue magazine, you will recognize this inspirational story from The Root Cellar!
As an LLF President, I have come to admire the care and thoughtful approach of the LF Global Office as they seek to understand the nuance and layers of our work on the ground in Lewiston and Portland, Maine. Our programming and ministries have been rapidly growing while we have crossed into many sectors: youth mentoring, food insecurity, aiding refugees and asylum seekers and many seasonal opportunities. These activities are reflections of incarnationally responding to the needs of our cities and our true mission – “cultivating social, economic and spiritual wholeness” in the neighborhoods and cities where God has placed us. This is why the overall vision of LF—seeing cities as God’s playground rather than a battleground—is so deeply resonant to us at The Root Cellar.
Forming a strategic plan for The Root Cellar has been a long process filled with many starts and stops over the last several years. We attempted to go through the process without any outside aid but found the challenges overwhelming. Leadership changes, the pandemic and day-to-day operations kept the big picture planning on the proverbial back burner. As The Root Cellar approached its 40th year of serving Mainers, however, the development of a robust strategic plan became the top priority.
I was thrilled to learn that Dave Hillis, LF’s Shoemaker Senior Innovation Fellow, and the global office were interested in taking on this project. Dave was joined by a gifted consultant, Randy White (who was the founder of the local leadership foundation in Fresno), and our journey together began in earnest. This included many steps: refining underlying assumptions, vision and goals as well as an investigative and data driven discovery process. The latter created new avenues for our staff, donors, volunteers, partners, civic leaders and most importantly neighbors to speak into the plan, offering their support and critique.
The most impactful part of the process was the discovery of the “charism” – gift or calling – of The Root Cellar. It’s a simple question, with a profound and consequential answer – “What is the Gift of God to The Root Cellar?” In the 40-year history of this organization, this was the first time such a critical question had been asked.
The offering of this question invites the Holy Spirit into the work of strategic planning. Embracing the reality that God is uniquely at work through us for the good of our neighborhoods and cities is a transformative exercise.
In past years, I have found myself thinking more about what “we need” to fulfill the mission instead of what God has already given to us. This strategic shift allows us to appreciate the God given assets of The Root Cellar, our team, volunteers and donors.
By acknowledging the Divine source of The Root Cellar’s gift and calling, our daily work rises to its rightful place as a sacred act, contributing to the coming of God’s Kingdom. Every act, be it a mundane survey or a grand capital campaign, takes the form of stewarding God’s sacred gift to us.
Since our work is the result of a gift and calling of God, we can move forward with boldness in the city where God has placed us. The Apostle Paul reminds us that, “the same power that raised Jesus from the dead” is alive in us. Working for the restoration, rejuvenation and resurrection of our cities is our sacred, daily work.
It’s difficult to come up with a drier phrase than “strategic plan development.” Yet the process of discovering the next steps for The Root Cellar with Dave and Randy at my side has left me encouraged and emboldened. The finished product is daunting, to be sure, but God has already given us what we need, and He is with us.
With gratitude,
Joel Furrow
Executive Director
The Root Cellar
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