Parker Street Ministries, Inc.

Parker Street Ministries’ ultimate goal is Gospel-centered community development beginning in Lakeland’s Parker Street community. We passionately believe Christian community development work is vital to our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nation. Without our efforts and partnerships with other organizations, the crime characteristic of at-risk neighborhoods proliferates, significant education and income gaps persist, substandard housing continues, and the effects of isolation, with its corresponding hopelessness and depression, remain unaddressed.

We serve an impoverished, high crime area with more than 1,049 households (this includes the Parker Street and North Lake Wire neighborhoods), just north of downtown Lakeland, FL. Replication is part of our mission. As successful programs develop, the goal is to help other agencies repeat them in similar areas. The Parker Street neighborhood is our focus but also a beginning. We are excited to be able to have our CEO coaching young, similar ministries in Atlanta and Rome, GA; Orlando, FL; and Montgomery, AL.

Because of decades of brokenness, meaningful change will be a generational process. This means our work is slow and plodding. At the same time, our strategies move us toward both long and short-term goals.

We have a long-term vision for residents to be:
-influential lifetime learners who reach their full potential
-living in a mixed-income neighborhood containing exceptional businesses and housing
-financially healthy stewards and generous through dependence on God
-pursuing healthy community as all people are created in God’s image

The goals for this vision of generational revitalization are touch points for meaningful change in education, housing, finances, and health. Our strategies are informed by a 6-year plan for improvement in these areas.

Parker Street Ministries’ strategies (2017-2022) were developed by core staff who provided needs assessments based on community listening, observations from living and working in the neighborhood, client demographics, and big data.

Lifetime Learning - Goal 1: Parker Street residents are influential lifetime learners who reach their full potential.
1. Provide academic support for students, pre-K through young adult
2. Provide learning opportunities for all ages for a variety of topics and purposes
3. Enhance indigenous leadership to share skills in all areas of learning
4. Cultivate partnerships with outside agencies and volunteers to improve learning

Desirable Neighborhood - Goal 2: The Parker Street neighborhood is a mixed-income neighborhood containing exceptional businesses and housing.
1. Set an example of and advocate for standards for neighborhood
2. Partner with outside agencies and residents to increase number of owner-occupied homes
3. Partner with landlords, residents, outside agencies for highest quality rental experience
4. Implement projects that utilize volunteers/organizations to work with residents to build community and beautify neighborhood

Financial Capability - Goal 3: Parker Street residents are financially healthy stewards and generous through dependence on God.
1. Offer jobs preparedness activities or programs for all ages
2. Provide access to professional money management instruction or resources that serve all ages and includes budgeting, record keeping, financial transactions, resource building, debt reduction, and credit repair
3. Encourage sacrifices of resources, time, and energy for others

Healthy Community - Goal 4: Parker Street residents are pursuing healthy community as all people who are created in God’s image.
1. Encourage a life of listening, learning, and reconciliation where diverse people are valued and intentionally engaged in authentic relationships
2. Develop and implement leadership among diverse people. Encourage a joyful love for God through constant practice of the ordinary means of God’s grace: prayer, the Bible, and the sacraments
3. Demonstrate and share Godly examples and biblical principles of family life. Promote healthy living
4. Identify and combat the internal and external forces that contribute to poverty

Near Term Activities Relating to Strategies:
-Provide college experiences and soft job skills training for high school students
-Focus on new technology in narrowing digital divide
-Teach reconciliation principles from "The Young Peacemaker"
-Launch multi-pronged strategies for increasing number of three-bedroom rentals available to AEP families
-Engage neighborhood residents with volunteer opportunities
-Increase number of community partnerships
-Collaborate with local police and others to reduce neighborhood criminal activity
-Establish financial literacy milestones for grades K-12
-Continued checks on feasibility of expanding service area into adjacent neighborhood

Parker Street Ministries’ resources, capacities, and connections support progress toward long-term goals. These capabilities are categorized as external, internal, and future resources.

External Resources:
-1,049+ households in neighborhood, population 2,945+
-Diverse financial support through businesses, individuals, churches, foundations, and events
-678 volunteers whose work in 2021 was valued at $122,650
-$1,094,000 projected income (2022)
-City playground on adjacent property
-Community development investments of Community Redevelopment Association such as park, roadway improvements, and commercial corridor
-Collaborations through churches, builders, educators, Florida Prosperity Partnership, agency partners, Lakeland Economic Development Council, Lakeland Regional Health, local police, Neighborhood Association Coalition, local colleges, civic clubs, and other organizations

Internal Resources:
-22,000 sq. ft. facility with Community Center, offices, and a Family Life Center housing 10 classrooms, art room, stage, tech room, and commercial kitchen
-Parking lot and fenced courtyard
-Assets approximately $2,803,538 (Audit 2021)
-Network of 35 computers with Internet access, printers, managed IT
-Highly qualified staff in administration (with degrees in Master of Business Administration - Executive Leadership, communications and public relations, theology, ministerial leadership, English, and education - certified teacher)
-Highly respected and qualified Chief Executive Officer
-Four senior staff/board families living in the neighborhood served
-Bi-lingual capabilities of staff
-Contact lists for donors, volunteers, residents
-Board of Trustees with diverse skills (nonprofit accounting, financial management, higher education, government, community development, risk, banking, finance, fundraising, public relations, and clergy)
-Supportive Advisory Committee made up of community leaders
-Prayers of Christians
-Refreshed website and social media such as Facebook and Instagram
-FREE SurfLakeland Wi-Fi available campus-wide and beyond
-Governance processes in place to allow for continual improvement
-Constituent relationship management software (DonorPerfect)

Future Resources and Strengthening Tools:
-Continual development of Board of Trustees
-Increased diversity in funding through annual fundraiser and micro-events
-Increased collaborations with local entities
-Enhanced volunteer management
-Indigenous volunteers as a leadership development tool
-Further development of social media

Parker Street Ministries continues to make progress toward our long-term goals. In 2012 we completed a $1.4 million facility purchase/renovation. We remain in a capacity building phase for programs. Other recent progress includes:

-Expanded year-round academic enrichment program from grades K-8 to K-12
-Added career and financial planning for high school students
-Established year-round tutoring room for all K-5 students
-Continued with interns from neighborhood
-Provided volunteers with meaningful community service hours and job skills
-Special funding provided kick start for financial fitness program in 2015 and was renewed in January 2019
-Addition of Digital Literacy Curriculum in 2018 to combat Digital Divide

The problems that we are facing in our neighborhood are bigger than us, and we have been blessed with an invaluable asset in our collaborations with so many different entities. From other nonprofits trying to tackle similar issues in their neighborhoods to relationships with businesses and even our city, we have both enriched our programs and our capacity to grow well into the future. We are undergoing a long-range planning process to look at the next five years. In evaluating the current plan, certain objectives have been met, others are ongoing, and the remaining objectives must be modified. It is important for staff and stakeholders to discuss the impact and effectiveness of the current plan and develop an updated plan for the 2023-2027 period.

One big risk is being unable to fund our vision. We cannot control the economy or donors. We can only communicate our vision to donors and ask them to join in the transformation of this neighborhood through giving, volunteering, and prayer.

How do we adjust along the way? We are nimble enough to quickly evaluate problem areas and make changes. This was proven in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the neighborhood. Within two weeks we changed our model but remained open for kids whose parents could not care for them in the day. This included serving at-risk virtual learners and our regular after-school program students. In addition, we implemented outdoor classrooms and increased collaborations with organizations providing food. To combat the COVID-slide-in-learning, we began—and have continued—offering daily tutoring for all K-5 students in addition to any student at-risk of falling behind.

This is just one example of how we adjusted our strategies to provide Gospel-centered community development beginning in Lakeland’s Parker Street neighborhood.