(Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection)
Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection is incorporated in the state of Colorado and is designated as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with the Internal Revenue Service. Each city is run by a local board of directors. The DOOR network is run legally by our National Board of Directors. This board is made up of two representatives of each city as well as standing national partnership members. Our operating slogan in management of the national board is Culturally Aware- Ministry Driven- Financially Accountable.
Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection (DOOR) is a faith based network of urban service-learning programs that expose, educate, challenge, and motivate participants to respond to the issues and concerns facing an increasingly urban world. Program offerings range from a weekend to a year and include opportunities for individuals and groups.
Our Strategy:
Expose people in a direct way to the city. Participants will spend from a weekend to one year living in an urban context, working with various helping agencies, churches and ministries already present in the community.
Educate people by spending time reflecting on the gifts as well as the needs of urban people and the communities in which they live. Participants will be asked to think about their lives and lifestyles.
Challenge people to consider Biblical responses to the issues of poverty, racism, and injustice facing the city, developing in them an awareness of the multiple ministry opportunities available both in the city and in their home town.
Motivate people to act in constructive, appropriate and loving ways both now and in the future, asking individuals to consider ministry and service an essential daily part of living out their authentic Christian faith.
Our Faith Perspective: Recognizing the various faith traditions from which we come, this network commits to the following faith statement:
We consider Jesus Christ our model of living for God and the answer to human need, hostility, and violence; God commands us: to respect life, love all people (even our enemies), reconcile broken relationships, and pursue justice. Our bond with other followers of Jesus transcends all racial, social, economic and national barriers. We view the Bible as our guide for faith and life.
Core Values:
* We believe, as followers of Jesus, that all people are created in the image of God.
* We believe in respect for all peoples in all communities.
* We seek peace and justice; simple and abundant living; service as a lifestyle in a community setting through partnerships and education, reflecting diversity.
The First Years (1985-1988)
In the summer of 1985, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) began discussions about a second short-term program that focused on connecting people with service through learning about people in need and themselves in the Central States region. They modeled their discussions after the success of the one-year old program Sharing With Appalachian People (SWAP). MCC wanted to provide service opportunities for churches in the mid-west. From the beginning, groups paid to participate and the fees would help the program to be self-sustaining. Harold A. Penner, MCC U.S. Program Director submitted a grant proposal to the Schowalter Foundation in October 1985. The program at that point was entitled “Inter-Mennonite Preparation for Christian Ministries Project”.
Les and Gwen Gustafson-Zook arrived in Denver in the March of 1986. They helped to name the program. DOOR hosted 175 participants during its pilot year. They came from four youth groups, three family groups, and 62 day volunteers from the Denver Metro Area. They were a part of three Mennonite Churches, one Mennonite Brethren Church, one Presbyterian Church and one Evangelical Covenant Church. That fall, a formal description of the DOOR program was written. Since 1986 our summer weeklong schedule is still very much the same, including time for reflection and evening presentations on the Strengths of the City.
Joyce and LaDell Gautche, who had recently returned from Jamaica, acted as the interim directors from the fall of 1987 to the fall of 1988. Under their direction, DOOR hosted twelve groups in 1988, purposefully keeping numbers down. They divided the responsibilities of the summer between themselves as Administrative Support and two support staff persons, Al Zook, Day Coordinator, and Steve Goering, Evening Coordinator.
In the fall of 1988, Mike and Becky Hofkamp became the next DOOR directors. 1991 was a year of transition. Larry and Kori Leaman-Miller were hired in 1992 and served until 1995. In 1994, former youth pastor, Glenn Balzer was hired to direct DOOR and continues as director today. DOOR hosted 303 short term participants in 1994.
(1996-Present)
In 1996, two departments at MBM (Evangelism and Church Development and the Short-Term Mission Department) began dreaming about ways of inviting urban Mennonites to be involved in leadership/pastoral development without having to leave their communities to receive training. Two years later, the Urban Leadership Quest pilot was started with Buffalo, NY as its first location. Since those early days, MBM has looked to partner with various cities and agencies to move this vision forward.
Chicago Opportunities for Peace in Action (COPA) began as an initiative of the MCC Great Lakes board in 1994 in conjunction with Illinois Mennonite Conference (MC) and Central District (GC). COPA's mission is to provide short-term awareness-raising/service experiences in the city for youth from the MCC Great Lakes region and beyond in a way that challenges participants to reflect on systemic injustices and responsibility as people of faith. In 2000, the COPA board decided to join with DOOR for increased efficiency in operation and publicity.
Associated Mennonite Ministries of Miami, Florida (AMM) began conversations with Mennonite Board of Missions and DOOR in 1995 to discuss the possibility of starting a “DOOR” type of program in South Florida. In the fall of 2000, the AMM board in consultation with DOOR and MBM, hired a city director for this new initiative.
After much discussion between the various boards (DOOR, COPA, AMM) and MBM, the DOOR network was born, and the “D” in DOOR was changed from “Denver” to “Discovering” to appropriately reflect this network. DOOR officially became “Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection” in 2001. The Partnership document, which created the DOOR-Network, was officially entered into on July 13, 2002.
In planning for the 2003 summer MCUSA Convention in Atlanta, a local group of pastors birthed the idea of creating an Atlanta program. In the fall of 2002, a local advisory board was officially formed, made up of representatives from Berea Mennonite Church, Community Fellowships, and Beulah Cathedral. In February 2003, Atlanta officially became a full partner in the DOOR-Network.
Door San Antonio started in 1993 as the SALSA Program (Service and Learning in San Antonio) after the local Mennonite Voluntary Service unit left their long time home (La Casa de Maria y Marta.) San Antonio Mennonite Church then formed the SALSA program to fill the void left by the MVS program. In Jan 2004 the SALSA board saw that DOOR and SALSA were doing identical work, so the boards decided to merge into the DOOR program.
Beginning with the reflections of the first directors in 1986 about the merits of short term missions, to the reflections of Director Larry Leaman-Miller in 1993 of racism and classism, DOOR has always been asking questions of its mission and service. In December 2004, the DOOR National Board wanted to be sure of critical and self examination of any possible racism within DOOR and to be sure DOOR was moving in the direction urban leaders wanted it to be heading. The board called for the formation of an “Urban Leadership Development” track. The first step was to create a task force of Board representatives from the various DOOR cities initially, made up exclusively of people of color plus the National DOOR Director with a willingness to add caucasians later. In September 2005, the Urban Leadership Development team met for the first time in Minneapolis. The initial meeting consisted of nine local board members of color, representing four of the then five DOOR cities plus the National Director and the Assistant Director. Discussions focused primarily on the inclusion and development of minority full-time staff, part-time staff, board leadership and program participants.
In the fall of 2003 DOOR-Miami hosted the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) participants of the PC (USA) in Miami. After two years of fruitful collaboration, expanding to Atlanta in 2005, the YAV program of the PC (USA) and DOOR entered into a formal covenant agreement in December 2005.
After many faithful and wonderful years in ministry, Hollywood Urban Project (HUP) closed its operations in the fall of 2005 to reassess it's ministry model and funding base. HUP, a ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood and had been one of the original sites of PCUSA's Young Adult Volunteer Program. Discussions began with the DOOR National Board in the Spring of 2006. By the fall of 2006 Hollywood was welcomed into the DOOR network. DOOR-Hollywood began programming by hosting a Dwell unit in 2007.
DOOR currently is comprised of six cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Hollywood/LA, Miami and San Antonio. In 2008, DOOR hosted 3224 Discover (short term) participants, 48 Discern (semester) participants and 28 Dwell (year long) participants. If you think your city would be a good candidate for the DOOR program, contact us at door@DOORnetwork.org for more information.
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