July 17, 2025 • 37 mins
In this inspiring episode of The Voices of Legacy, Pastor Carl welcomes Vic and Paula Holtz—compassionate visionaries and co-founders of Fresh Start Coffee House in Monroe, Michigan. More than just a café, Fresh Start is a healing space and employment hub for individuals reentering society after incarceration or recovery. As pastors of Monroe Vineyard Church, Vic and Paula share how faith, restoration, and purpose come together to create a powerful legacy of second chances and renewed hope.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Welcome to the voices of legacy, where you're writing your
legacy every day that you live. We are so excited
to have two very special guests today, incredible compassionate visionary leaders,
Miss Paula and mister Vic Holtz, co founders of Fresh
Start Coffee in Monroe, Michigan, as well as missionaries and
(00:46):
well ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Monroe
Vineyard Church. We're excited to talk about what they're doing
in the area and for a particular group of people
with their coffee house, a nonprofit cafe which isn't just
about great coffee and smooth smoothies and breakfast, but there's
(01:07):
a mission behind it as well, and I'm excited to
talk about that employment and dignity and such. Good morning,
good afternoon, and whenever you're listening to this, mister Vic
and Miss Paula Holts, I'm going to get it right today.
Tell us more about yourselves today. Well.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I am also pastor of the Monroe Vineyard Church. We
just in April passed our twentieth anniversary church plant there
in Monroe. I was originally born in Monroe, and I
can give you the vision for the coffee house. But
it wasn't mine. I'm just the grunt muscle behind it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So paul is the one who can give you that.
That's usually the way it goes. Usually it's the husband
that's the rock and then the life that's kind of
pushing from behind ever so swiftly. But tell us, miss Paula.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I laughingly say, I get the pictures. Vic does all
the work. I have the easy part. But Fresh Start
Coffeehouse was born out of a desire to help people
on the margins who are just their dreams have been
crushed for whatever reason, they haven't had the support, They've
(02:26):
never been celebrated in their lives. And as I was
looking out, our church was in a mall, and it
still is, but it was a different mall. And I
looked out the window and I saw all these vacant
storefronts and I just got this picture. I know it
was from the Lord. And I saw all of these
(02:47):
brand new storefronts dedicated to and run by and owned
by people, for instance, coming back into society from incarceration,
oreople in the recovery community. And that not just exclusively that,
but anybody who's just never been able to have their
(03:08):
dreams realized and I thought, Okay, this is impossible. It
must be God. Yes, so and a little by little
we just talked about it and talked about it and
dreamed about it and got some ideas about what some
of the stores would be like. For instance, one of
the stores, we're going to call it Vineyard Village. One
(03:31):
of the stores will be a question mark store. That
means you have to come in to see what it's
all about.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Wow, that sounds interesting.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But there would be salons and lots of different types
of stores and things that perhaps Amazon wouldn't provide.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Understood.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
The coffeehouse is number one, So.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
You actually answered the question, I think, and I want
to ask you anyway. Would you start at first the
ministry or the coffee house?
Speaker 3 (03:57):
The church? The church? This was all born out of
the church.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
So you had missions in the church that kind of
led or you just had the vision.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
No, it was just a vision. It was just a
picture that I had that came to me. And I'm
I'm an ordained pastor and Mick and I've been working
together in that ministry. Wow, And it was yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
I guess let's let's start from the beginning because I
want to kind of. I won't say, figure things out,
but get our listeners to know where you came from.
And I heard Vick say that he's from Monroe. Did
you live your whole life in Monroe?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Not even close?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I alread knew the answer to that when I just.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Went back and I was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Oh, okay,
and then at fifteen moved to Leroy, New York, which
is the home of Jello. I've been claimed of fame.
Went to college at the University of Rochester and New
York Eastman School of Music as a matter of fact,
so it's probably more than you wanted to know.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
No, not at all.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
I'm not from Monroe, but I am very much a
part of Monroe and delighted, thrilled.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
To be Well, you've been there for over twenty years.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Twenty years.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Wow. So did you have ministry elsewhere before you came.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Ann Arbor, Mylin, Okay, in that area. Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So what's been some of the ups and downs in
your journey in ministry locally?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Well, I would I would just say I've heard it
said that being a pastor is one of the hardest
jobs in the world. And I had no idea I
went to school to become an opera singer, and opera
was my major at Eastman.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And so you have a singing voice. I did, Yes,
you said.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I did well. At this age, not much left, but yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, And she hesitates to mention the fact that she
got her scholarships for her singing through a pageant called
the Miss America pageant, in which she was missed New York.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Well, so I'm sitting with Miss New York. I'm honored.
I'm going to get your autographic.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Wow, it's been a while.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Oh that's amazing. So now this has led you to
I guess the ministries of help and and and we
honor that. But in that mission, I don't know how
to really word this. Woman's gonna say it the way
that I have it after dealing with people in the
(06:36):
public sphere and all of what you just mentioned, which
with pageants that's very competitive. Uh. I guess I'll ask
the same question again. Some of the ups and the
downs and the sideways You're you're dealing with people, primarily
based on what we have on you, that have been incarcerated, right, Uh,
there has to be some challenges in dealing with them,
(06:57):
and you have to accommodate those challenges. What in some
of those challenges.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Well, I'll say this little bit and then turn it
over to Vic because he has a lion's part of
the story here. He's the musclim yeah he is, but
also the inspiration before a certain thing happened in our family,
this vision. God gave us this vision. So I'll say
(07:22):
that the incarceration of our own daughter came after the
Lord gave us this vision.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And I'm going to let Vic take it from there.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
So well, we're a blended family. We've been married twenty
eight and a half years now, and so between us
we have seven children, wow, twenty one grandchildren and two
going on four great grandchildren. My oldest granddaughter is pregnant
(07:56):
with twins, so she's given us two grand great grandsons
and then two great granddaughters. So in all of that,
both of us, before we were married, experienced issues with
one or more of our children with the drug issue.
(08:18):
And in my particular case, I have one son who
passed away three years ago from a fetinyl overdose.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
And I have a daughter who is in prison in Michigan.
And I won't go beyond saying we don't agree she
should be there, but beyond that, she's nine and a
half years there and it actually has We're not allowed
(08:48):
to do anything officially in the prison, but we can
do more than the average person because of the connections
and contacts we have. My daughter does a I will
study there and I send her lots of it. And
we have also adopted a couple of other ladies. This
is women's here on Valley right off twenty three, and
(09:12):
so that fell into our lapse in the middle of things.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And this was prior to the coffee.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Shop, so it was prior than the vision. Yeah, and
so it was well, actually the vision, she started having
the vision and then this hit us, So it was
a punctuation, I think, And so that has been a challenge.
So I try and see her weekly. But we also
(09:39):
we actually had one lady we invested in for about
eight years and we were able to pick her up
a couple months ago. She was released and took her
home to the southeast or northeast side of Detroit. So
let's put some extra emphasis. And yeah, we've gotten to
(10:02):
know a lot from the inside on this.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
So I guess the system's kind of making it hard
for you to interact with inmates prior to their.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Release because our daughter's there, we can't do anything for
him because gotcha. But we've set many Bibles in and.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
So wow. So I guess the description of a soft
place to Lanta, I think I read that that's what
the cafe is. Then for those that are actually transitioning out, yes,
and that means.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
What, Well, we want to have a place where they
can experience encouragement, a warm environment that and I don't
know how you can do that without the Lord. I
don't know how people can recover without Jesus. And we
figured we're perfectly positioned for that. And so far God
(10:59):
has been gracios and it's been a wonderful, wonderful, difficult
experience and we've learned more than we ever wanted to
know about how difficult life can be for people who
are not free as we are free. And I think
we've grown in compassion, and I think that's evident at
(11:20):
the coffeehouse.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So you think maybe the opportunity that you're presenting is
helping somebody that's been institutionalized maybe not only experience freedom,
but freedom of their minds in having purpose and having
an opportunity to learn a trade. I'm assuming they're being
paid for their services absolutely to restart their lives.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
It's right, it's a reboot. It's not easy to get
a job. We had one individual who applied it for
different places, was accepted immediately, and then a background check
was done and this person was then not allowed to work.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
But and now we have this person and we're very,
very blessed.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
It's worked beautifully, and they're probably appreciative for the opportunity
I would assume.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
I think so. Yes, and beyond that, found skills and
abilities that they never knew they had.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
That's amazing, that's awesome and well worth this conversation. So
have there been any big financial or emotional or spiritual obstacles?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Constantly, I keep saying that.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Because I'm formerly being in law enforcement myself, I know
the type of people that you're dealing with, and all
of them aren't bad. Even the bad ones aren't really bad.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
No.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
I found that a lot of people that try to
be so tough and so hard and whatnot, that's not
really them. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
No, No, we are all recovering from something.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yes, yes, yeah, And you're giving an opportunity to recover
from some serious trauma, even if it's earned trauma.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
I think most of our problems are self inflicted.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yes, yeah, so the lady I mentioned when Paula starts
spending time with her in the prison, she made it
very clear that she couldn't take advantage of us. We
got had told us that she was worth the investment,
so she was going to get it whether she wanted
(13:20):
it or not, as far as she didn't have to
take anything or force anything, it was just going to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, that's the other I guess concern that I would
have because I really like what I read when it
comes to what you're doing, is people trying to take
advantage of you. When I got called a ministry some
over twenty years ago, similar and I was just a minister,
I thought that I was going to be preaching and
(13:49):
standing in front of people. And I had a very
wise mentor and pastor, and he put me in food
ministry ministries of help. I didn't preach for almost three years,
two and a half years before a trial sermon. Nevertheless,
I'm so glad I got that because in the food
ministry there's multiple locations, campuses. You've got to see how
people would really try to take advantage of what we're
(14:10):
giving freely out of the love and compassion of our heart.
Doesn't matter. So when I'm reading what it is you're doing, like, oh,
it's nice.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
But.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Does anybody ever try to take advantage? Oh? Yes, that
was a quick yess.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Oh of course, I mean this is unfortunately, we're learning
a lot about the human condition. This has been a
wonderful training for us and understanding what people have gone through,
why people respond to the way they do, why they are,
why they feel entitled, and we've had to grow through that.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
So if you've been involved in the recovery program, anyone
that says, I've seen them that have said we have
a ninety percent success rate, And when you really get
in to what you find out that after they've lost
ninety percent of their people, the ones that are left is.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Them.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And so we've had a number of employees who have
lasted somewhere between one and two days and then they're
just gone. And so we find that, but then we
also have the gems that do much better, and then
there's a lot in between.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Even in that I'm assuming that you're planning seeds anyhow,
and if you have a person for a couple of days,
you can love them for a couple of days, and
if they don't work out, you know, maybe you don't
get to see the rewards from that that you've placed
in them by giving them the opportunity. How do you
prepare it's good good segue into how do you prepare
and equip individuals for hire?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Well, let's see. The number one thing I believe is
we give them an environment where they can feel safe
and they can feel like we're really well, Like right now,
we have we actually had to go through a situation
where we had to reboot the whole staff in March,
(16:06):
and so we have new folks in and they're referred
to they refer to each other as the dream team,
and we're sitting here because they can handle it and
they're so well, we just closed it one thirty, but
still we Yeah. And so when you're in that recovery world, yeah,
(16:30):
all things can happen and you have to be quite forgiving.
So preparing them so they're they're required to be disciplined
and come to work on time and all the skills
that I mean, it's life skills more so than I
mean they're most likely not going to go out and
make coffee somewhere. So so yeah, it's that's the preparation
(16:54):
that we really have. So we also have something called
the Lost and Found and it is a twelve step
program that it's a spiritual twelve step program that we
have on Wednesdays. And we have a lady from Toledo
who actually had that a ministry here and then she's
(17:16):
now our recovery coach and we actually refer to her
as our HR department, but she's actually she will spend
one on one time with the folks that come in.
I mean, we're not a large operation as far as
numbers go, so she can do that. So she's on
staff and paid to do that.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So not be large, but you're making the impact, you
really are.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yes, if I can insert here that she is involved
in all of our interviews. We have extensive interviews and
on many levels, and so when we do select someone,
it's very intentional and with everybody involved HR twelve Steps
as pastors, so they're surrounded.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
You're actually interacting with other community entities as well well.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
With this with our HR person recovery coach got and
we have a board of directors as well.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yes, and we're connected very closely with some of the
recovery houses. So when we first we're building out, we
have in our mall a company, the flooring company. And
in that flooring company he has three recovery houses for men,
(18:38):
and he donated the flooring and then we paid his
guys to put the flooring in. They did a lot
of the changes in carpentry and so forth, painting and
that kind of thing, and so we had them. We
also have on board a lady from Paula's House, which
is women's recovery house, and so and we're still trying
(19:02):
to get our first person to come out of there
to we don't necessarily have somebody that's still just starting
out in recovery. We need to have someone who's you know,
comes a long way. So but anyway, so we're connected
with them.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
And that is a separate from I'm Paula in she's
Paula's House.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
So yeah, not this Paula.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yes, right, so awesome. And you said the mall, So
this is the mall that you can see right off
the highway.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Yeah, there's actually three of them, and we're the one
closest to the city.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
So okay, yeah, okay, so it's pretty easy to find
it is. That's awesome. Tell us about the community events
that you have there at that location.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
We have lots of concerts and they are their fundraisers,
and we've been very, very fortunate in that the people
who've come and given their talent know that we, as
a nonprofit, are not able to pay them, but that
in fact we use them and their goodwill and their
(20:03):
love and their hearts and their talent to draw people
in as a fundraiser so that we can stay open.
Is you can't really make enough money in a little
coffeehouse to do what we do. Again, it's one of
those impossible things that if God calls you to it,
you know he will do it, but you don't know
how you're going to do it.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
But he's supply and.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
He's going to supply and he has. So some of
those events are we'll have a Meet the Artist day.
We have an artist who actually attends our church who
is wonderful. We have a whole wall filled with her
art and other friends that we've met throughout the years
who will come and present painters yes, art work, yes,
(20:46):
and jewelry and lots lots of different crafts, and so
people who are willing to come not charge us, nor
do we charge them for rent.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So this is really community. It really is really and
you're a nonprofit organization, but this is more than that
base from your description. It's the community coming together to
give opportunity to people to come back to the community
and actually be tenable, reasonable trained citizens again or hopefully
in some cases for the first time.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yes, yes, so.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
The transformational testimonies and success stories of people have come
through the Fresh Start program that those stand as a
testimony for what you're doing. Now, do you have some
amazing testimonies that you can share without naming names, of course.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So yes, we have a gentleman who really struggled through
his recovery and he was able to come in and
help us build out the stage area and he ended
up he had his one year clean and sober in
our the twelve step program Lost and Found and he
(22:01):
has been absolutely amazing. We have a current gentleman who,
as Paula was saying, was just having a difficult time
finding work anywhere. And you looked at him and big
strong young man who just he could he would get
grasped up and you could see he had a lot
(22:23):
of talent and potential and he is just blossoming like
we can't believe it's And as soon as I saw him.
He actually came to a concert a year ago, that's
how we met him, and I just said to him, yeah,
I have read your record. He said, as soon as
(22:44):
people see the record, that's it. I go, I have
read your record, and we're hiring you. And I just
had a sense in my church it would be called
a gift of discernment, and the discernment of spirits I
have on this guy is I don't care what the
record says, that's the past.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I was going to say, that sounds like a sermon.
I've read your record.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yes, yes, exactly, and so it's been phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
And yeah, so re entry and recovery, even what you're
explaining right now, can be an emotionally heavy task. It
really can't. For you to be able to make yourself
available to these people that are attempting to recover from
their addiction or re enter into society, how do you
(23:34):
stay grounded and hopeful and healthy Because you guys just
come with smiles on your faces and you sound great,
But how do you keep that going and stay healthy
and doing this such emotionally intensive work.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I don't think you can do it without the Lord.
I honestly don't know.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Faith.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Absolutely our faith in Jesus and our knowledge that what
we are called to He's called us to this, he
will provide. I won't lie. And I've got to say
there have been some rough times, and there have been
days I wanted to pack it all up and say, Okay,
I'm done. I'm done, and I'm over eighty and I
(24:15):
I'm ready to retire. So what Yes, I'm eighty one
and a half. Wow, I'm so happy to miss you
announce that. Yes, I know that was nineteen sixty three,
so most of our listening audience wasn't even born then,
so I wouldn't see wow.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Wow. That's a good answer. I think that even for
people that aren't of faith, because we have a lot
of people of diverse background. Sure, it's important that you
lean on something outside of yourself and with us. Of course,
I'm with you. It's all about the faith. But you
have to have purpose that's outside of you, I think,
(24:56):
to sustain you and keep you motivated and whatnot. And
even if you don't see the results of your actions immediately,
you know, to know that you've done good. I think
it's helpful. Yes, in this particular calling.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah, we had I had this ridiculous idea that I
was going to retire. Do I retire? And we just
discovered that that just wasn't in the cards at all.
And I actually had a friend of mine who said,
why are you still working at your age? And then
(25:32):
I see him on Facebook and he's just finished a
one thousand piece chicksaw puzzle and I have just helped
set up a concert for people.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
And it's like, yeah, I think your puzzle is better
than his puzzle. Yes, it is a little bit. No, no, off,
it's to your est awesome and I can relate to
that much younger you guys, But I was supposedly retired
and I'm far from it because there's just too many
people to help, and that just keeps you going. I
think we're made to keep moving into perpetuity. That's just
(26:05):
my opinion. Yes, you're really blessed by being a blessing
to others. How do you talk to people of faith
or churches about embracing those with criminal records and addiction
and histories, as you mentioned Vic, especially in the community
where the stigmas of those things run really deep, and
especially even in Monroe. I mean Monroe doesn't there's reputations
(26:28):
that precede Monroe for a lot of the issues. You
mentioned the Fitt and Hal earlier on in our conversation.
How do you help others to kind of embrace what
you're doing?
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Well, I guess the number one thing is just by
having them see the results of the things that we're doing.
And we have had as far as I know. So
maybe they haven't told us it, but many of the
churches have really been behind us and for us. And
so if you look at the team of people or volunteers,
(27:00):
there are from so many different churches. And I don't
have the being a pastor. I know that I don't
have the expectation that the pastor does it. But I
found some great lay leaders that come over and help us,
and it's that makes the whole difference for us. So
we have Bible studies, we have book book club meetings
(27:23):
and that kind of thing that allow the people. We're
a gathered, We're made for gathering and meetings, so we
have you could come in and have five or six
different meetings happening in our We have sets of couches
and we have a conference room and a small and
we were we were actually the facility we're in was
the old Tower FM radio station, and so we have
(27:49):
two rooms. So we have two rooms that are soundproof,
one of which we use for our children's ministry on Sunday.
It's nice, a sound proof.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Room for the kids.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
For the kids.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
That's funny.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
But yeah, so people can become there and meet and
even be private in it or just a public meaning
we have a big table that's the community table, and
so dis maade for meeting. Wow.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
So fresh start in Monroe, Michigan. But but the need
is everywhere, yes, here and across the land. As many
are listening to this from different areas. What advice would
you give others looking to start similar nonprofits? Maybe they
(28:38):
had the calling as you did to start to have it, yet,
what advice would you give them to start something like this?
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Go for it, just do it, start, I mean, take
take a step. It would really help to have to
be married to somebody like my husband, who is able,
but we are a great partnership. I think you need
partners I would just say go for it, do your homework,
connect with people who started nonprofits, get some dream, don't
(29:09):
be afraid to dream, yes, and walk it out. It's
that's about all I can say. And write the vision vision,
that's right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
So I had heard it one time that a vision
isn't really adequate unless it's impossible to do. And so
we have been working on the impossible. And even if
you do a piece of it, your success.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Well, your proof that it is possible. Yes, have a vision, Yes,
start it. And now you're here, and now the community
is coming together. That's the part portion of this that
that really attracted me, that the community at large is
coming together to support what you're doing because the benefit
is at the end of the day, eternal. Yes, but
(29:54):
it's something that people can benefit from right now, here
and now, and that that's I think the US blessing
from the outside looking at you guys are offering. It's tangible,
you can see it.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I think that that's been our heart all along. We
have wanted for many many years to just let's get
rid of our petty differences and let's get together people.
Let's just get together.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Now to the question of the day. I think it's
probably about that time. How do you see the role
of the church evolving in the post pandemic. I'll hit
this first post pandemic world when it comes to meeting
and practical needs of employment, community and the recovery support.
We kind of answered this question already, but post pandemic,
(30:38):
you think that's benefited you and what you've been doing
because you started this before, yes, or has it hurt
you in any way?
Speaker 2 (30:49):
So we were bad. We stayed open more than what
was told.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
We actually closed for three or four weeks and then
everyone complained. So we got together. So I said two rules.
Number one is that you take care of yourself and
number two as you honor boundaries other people. And we
never had a problem as far as post pandemic. I
(31:19):
really believe that we're in a time right now in which,
if I may say it this way, the Kingdom of
God is really breaking in and we're seeing stuff all
over the universities and especially the young folks. I saw
it back in my day with something called the Jesus
People movement, and that's what got me back in nineteen seventy.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
One to.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
And I believe that the impact that God wants us
to have is to bring His kingdom, his love into
the world and be part of that. So we need
to if we're not changing the world, if we're not
getting outside of our our four walls. Now, in our case,
(32:03):
we went out and tried to pray for people and
scared them. So we now invite them in through a
coffeehouse that is not a church, and we're a little
bit better at doing that. So our building is used
six seven days a week.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
So awesome, I would say if I made that the
pandemic did had a very good effect in that it
highlighted hopelessness for many many people. Things just kind of
shut down and we were faced with ourselves and our
social networks were cut back, and we were there and
(32:46):
we had open doors and there was a there was
an outlet for that. And I just feel like that's
one of the ways that things are orchestrated on behalf
of unity and community, that using a very very bad
situation to highlight your own weaknesses, your own needs that
(33:07):
perhaps you weren't even aware of before, and then you
find a little place like a coffeehouse or a vineyard
church or any church where that hope is presented back.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
I heard someone say, and outside of ministry, they forced
introspection is the best introspection when you're made to have
to similar to incarceration, may to have to you and
your surroundings and your condition, and you have no choice
but to do that.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
It kind of leads to the scripture all things work
together for the good. And it seems like you guys
are doing an awesome job. You're doing a lot of good.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
But to the last question, I'll go ahead and get
to it now. I saw this when I had to
access What do you think your legacy is right now?
And what would you like for it to be?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
I think for me, And it's a first. I resisted
coming to Monroe. I told the pastor are sending pastor
that even Jesus didn't do well in his hometown. And
now that I'm there and we've been back for twenty years,
(34:18):
I would say that it's a call that I left Monroe.
I actually went up dan Arbor. I believe that God
is calling us to be part of the renewal of Monroe.
And yes, Monroe has lots of issues, and I mean
(34:38):
it's town hero is General Custer. You know, it's it's
been in all kinds of battles, and I think that
this is a spiritual battle. I think Monroe is a
special place, and it's it's where we will probably be buried,
and it's it's the call that we know we now have.
(35:03):
And so my vision is is that of turning Monroe around,
not personally, but allowing theism.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
I'm hoping that when people are faced with making some
kind of a life decision and a big choice, that
our legacy can be one of get out of the boat,
Get out the boat. I have a very dear friend
from Oaks of Righteousness in Monroe who said that she
(35:35):
was on our board and she said, just get out
the boat. Don't You can plan and plan and plan
and plan, but take that first step. And I hope
that our legacy is one that will show that it
is possible to take that step and not sink. Get
out of the boat and do what you can do
and leave the rest to the one who called you
(35:56):
to do it might.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Be able to walk on watermen. Yes, awesome, Well, thank
you so much for joining us on the voices of legacy,
pressing your way here all the way from Monroe, which
isn't very far, but still we're thankful that you made
it down here and shared your story with us today.
(36:29):
Thank you for listening to the Voices of the Legacy.
This is your friend, Pastor Krol Mitchell the Third, your
hosts of this program. We want you to go to
w GTE dot org slash legacy to like, share, subscribe,
and hear all of our past podcast and our future podcast.
Be a friend and join with us in the Voices
(36:51):
of Legacy, where you're writing your own legacy every day
that you with have a blessed w g t E
(37:28):
voices around us
Welcome to the voices of legacy, where you're writing your
legacy every day that you live. We are so excited
to have two very special guests today, incredible compassionate visionary leaders,
Miss Paula and mister Vic Holtz, co founders of Fresh
Start Coffee in Monroe, Michigan, as well as missionaries and
(00:46):
well ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Monroe
Vineyard Church. We're excited to talk about what they're doing
in the area and for a particular group of people
with their coffee house, a nonprofit cafe which isn't just
about great coffee and smooth smoothies and breakfast, but there's
(01:07):
a mission behind it as well, and I'm excited to
talk about that employment and dignity and such. Good morning,
good afternoon, and whenever you're listening to this, mister Vic
and Miss Paula Holts, I'm going to get it right today.
Tell us more about yourselves today. Well.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I am also pastor of the Monroe Vineyard Church. We
just in April passed our twentieth anniversary church plant there
in Monroe. I was originally born in Monroe, and I
can give you the vision for the coffee house. But
it wasn't mine. I'm just the grunt muscle behind it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So paul is the one who can give you that.
That's usually the way it goes. Usually it's the husband
that's the rock and then the life that's kind of
pushing from behind ever so swiftly. But tell us, miss Paula.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I laughingly say, I get the pictures. Vic does all
the work. I have the easy part. But Fresh Start
Coffeehouse was born out of a desire to help people
on the margins who are just their dreams have been
crushed for whatever reason, they haven't had the support, They've
(02:26):
never been celebrated in their lives. And as I was
looking out, our church was in a mall, and it
still is, but it was a different mall. And I
looked out the window and I saw all these vacant
storefronts and I just got this picture. I know it
was from the Lord. And I saw all of these
(02:47):
brand new storefronts dedicated to and run by and owned
by people, for instance, coming back into society from incarceration,
oreople in the recovery community. And that not just exclusively that,
but anybody who's just never been able to have their
(03:08):
dreams realized and I thought, Okay, this is impossible. It
must be God. Yes, so and a little by little
we just talked about it and talked about it and
dreamed about it and got some ideas about what some
of the stores would be like. For instance, one of
the stores, we're going to call it Vineyard Village. One
(03:31):
of the stores will be a question mark store. That
means you have to come in to see what it's
all about.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Wow, that sounds interesting.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
But there would be salons and lots of different types
of stores and things that perhaps Amazon wouldn't provide.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Understood.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
The coffeehouse is number one, So.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
You actually answered the question, I think, and I want
to ask you anyway. Would you start at first the
ministry or the coffee house?
Speaker 3 (03:57):
The church? The church? This was all born out of
the church.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
So you had missions in the church that kind of
led or you just had the vision.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
No, it was just a vision. It was just a
picture that I had that came to me. And I'm
I'm an ordained pastor and Mick and I've been working
together in that ministry. Wow, And it was yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
I guess let's let's start from the beginning because I
want to kind of. I won't say, figure things out,
but get our listeners to know where you came from.
And I heard Vick say that he's from Monroe. Did
you live your whole life in Monroe?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Not even close?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I alread knew the answer to that when I just.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Went back and I was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Oh, okay,
and then at fifteen moved to Leroy, New York, which
is the home of Jello. I've been claimed of fame.
Went to college at the University of Rochester and New
York Eastman School of Music as a matter of fact,
so it's probably more than you wanted to know.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
No, not at all.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
I'm not from Monroe, but I am very much a
part of Monroe and delighted, thrilled.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
To be Well, you've been there for over twenty years.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Twenty years.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Wow. So did you have ministry elsewhere before you came.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Ann Arbor, Mylin, Okay, in that area. Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So what's been some of the ups and downs in
your journey in ministry locally?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Well, I would I would just say I've heard it
said that being a pastor is one of the hardest
jobs in the world. And I had no idea I
went to school to become an opera singer, and opera
was my major at Eastman.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And so you have a singing voice. I did, Yes,
you said.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I did well. At this age, not much left, but yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, And she hesitates to mention the fact that she
got her scholarships for her singing through a pageant called
the Miss America pageant, in which she was missed New York.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Well, so I'm sitting with Miss New York. I'm honored.
I'm going to get your autographic.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Wow, it's been a while.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Oh that's amazing. So now this has led you to
I guess the ministries of help and and and we
honor that. But in that mission, I don't know how
to really word this. Woman's gonna say it the way
that I have it after dealing with people in the
(06:36):
public sphere and all of what you just mentioned, which
with pageants that's very competitive. Uh. I guess I'll ask
the same question again. Some of the ups and the
downs and the sideways You're you're dealing with people, primarily
based on what we have on you, that have been incarcerated, right, Uh,
there has to be some challenges in dealing with them,
(06:57):
and you have to accommodate those challenges. What in some
of those challenges.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Well, I'll say this little bit and then turn it
over to Vic because he has a lion's part of
the story here. He's the musclim yeah he is, but
also the inspiration before a certain thing happened in our family,
this vision. God gave us this vision. So I'll say
(07:22):
that the incarceration of our own daughter came after the
Lord gave us this vision.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And I'm going to let Vic take it from there.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
So well, we're a blended family. We've been married twenty
eight and a half years now, and so between us
we have seven children, wow, twenty one grandchildren and two
going on four great grandchildren. My oldest granddaughter is pregnant
(07:56):
with twins, so she's given us two grand great grandsons
and then two great granddaughters. So in all of that,
both of us, before we were married, experienced issues with
one or more of our children with the drug issue.
(08:18):
And in my particular case, I have one son who
passed away three years ago from a fetinyl overdose.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
And I have a daughter who is in prison in Michigan.
And I won't go beyond saying we don't agree she
should be there, but beyond that, she's nine and a
half years there and it actually has We're not allowed
(08:48):
to do anything officially in the prison, but we can
do more than the average person because of the connections
and contacts we have. My daughter does a I will
study there and I send her lots of it. And
we have also adopted a couple of other ladies. This
is women's here on Valley right off twenty three, and
(09:12):
so that fell into our lapse in the middle of things.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And this was prior to the coffee.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Shop, so it was prior than the vision. Yeah, and
so it was well, actually the vision, she started having
the vision and then this hit us, So it was
a punctuation, I think, And so that has been a challenge.
So I try and see her weekly. But we also
(09:39):
we actually had one lady we invested in for about
eight years and we were able to pick her up
a couple months ago. She was released and took her
home to the southeast or northeast side of Detroit. So
let's put some extra emphasis. And yeah, we've gotten to
(10:02):
know a lot from the inside on this.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
So I guess the system's kind of making it hard
for you to interact with inmates prior to their.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Release because our daughter's there, we can't do anything for
him because gotcha. But we've set many Bibles in and.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
So wow. So I guess the description of a soft
place to Lanta, I think I read that that's what
the cafe is. Then for those that are actually transitioning out, yes,
and that means.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
What, Well, we want to have a place where they
can experience encouragement, a warm environment that and I don't
know how you can do that without the Lord. I
don't know how people can recover without Jesus. And we
figured we're perfectly positioned for that. And so far God
(10:59):
has been gracios and it's been a wonderful, wonderful, difficult
experience and we've learned more than we ever wanted to
know about how difficult life can be for people who
are not free as we are free. And I think
we've grown in compassion, and I think that's evident at
(11:20):
the coffeehouse.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So you think maybe the opportunity that you're presenting is
helping somebody that's been institutionalized maybe not only experience freedom,
but freedom of their minds in having purpose and having
an opportunity to learn a trade. I'm assuming they're being
paid for their services absolutely to restart their lives.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
It's right, it's a reboot. It's not easy to get
a job. We had one individual who applied it for
different places, was accepted immediately, and then a background check
was done and this person was then not allowed to work.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
But and now we have this person and we're very,
very blessed.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
It's worked beautifully, and they're probably appreciative for the opportunity
I would assume.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
I think so. Yes, and beyond that, found skills and
abilities that they never knew they had.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
That's amazing, that's awesome and well worth this conversation. So
have there been any big financial or emotional or spiritual obstacles?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Constantly, I keep saying that.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Because I'm formerly being in law enforcement myself, I know
the type of people that you're dealing with, and all
of them aren't bad. Even the bad ones aren't really bad.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
No.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
I found that a lot of people that try to
be so tough and so hard and whatnot, that's not
really them. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
No, No, we are all recovering from something.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yes, yes, yeah, And you're giving an opportunity to recover
from some serious trauma, even if it's earned trauma.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
I think most of our problems are self inflicted.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yes, yeah, so the lady I mentioned when Paula starts
spending time with her in the prison, she made it
very clear that she couldn't take advantage of us. We
got had told us that she was worth the investment,
so she was going to get it whether she wanted
(13:20):
it or not, as far as she didn't have to
take anything or force anything, it was just going to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, that's the other I guess concern that I would
have because I really like what I read when it
comes to what you're doing, is people trying to take
advantage of you. When I got called a ministry some
over twenty years ago, similar and I was just a minister,
I thought that I was going to be preaching and
(13:49):
standing in front of people. And I had a very
wise mentor and pastor, and he put me in food
ministry ministries of help. I didn't preach for almost three years,
two and a half years before a trial sermon. Nevertheless,
I'm so glad I got that because in the food
ministry there's multiple locations, campuses. You've got to see how
people would really try to take advantage of what we're
(14:10):
giving freely out of the love and compassion of our heart.
Doesn't matter. So when I'm reading what it is you're doing, like, oh,
it's nice.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
But.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Does anybody ever try to take advantage? Oh? Yes, that
was a quick yess.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Oh of course, I mean this is unfortunately, we're learning
a lot about the human condition. This has been a
wonderful training for us and understanding what people have gone through,
why people respond to the way they do, why they are,
why they feel entitled, and we've had to grow through that.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
So if you've been involved in the recovery program, anyone
that says, I've seen them that have said we have
a ninety percent success rate, And when you really get
in to what you find out that after they've lost
ninety percent of their people, the ones that are left is.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Them.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And so we've had a number of employees who have
lasted somewhere between one and two days and then they're
just gone. And so we find that, but then we
also have the gems that do much better, and then
there's a lot in between.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Even in that I'm assuming that you're planning seeds anyhow,
and if you have a person for a couple of days,
you can love them for a couple of days, and
if they don't work out, you know, maybe you don't
get to see the rewards from that that you've placed
in them by giving them the opportunity. How do you
prepare it's good good segue into how do you prepare
and equip individuals for hire?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Well, let's see. The number one thing I believe is
we give them an environment where they can feel safe
and they can feel like we're really well, Like right now,
we have we actually had to go through a situation
where we had to reboot the whole staff in March,
(16:06):
and so we have new folks in and they're referred
to they refer to each other as the dream team,
and we're sitting here because they can handle it and
they're so well, we just closed it one thirty, but
still we Yeah. And so when you're in that recovery world, yeah,
(16:30):
all things can happen and you have to be quite forgiving.
So preparing them so they're they're required to be disciplined
and come to work on time and all the skills
that I mean, it's life skills more so than I
mean they're most likely not going to go out and
make coffee somewhere. So so yeah, it's that's the preparation
(16:54):
that we really have. So we also have something called
the Lost and Found and it is a twelve step
program that it's a spiritual twelve step program that we
have on Wednesdays. And we have a lady from Toledo
who actually had that a ministry here and then she's
(17:16):
now our recovery coach and we actually refer to her
as our HR department, but she's actually she will spend
one on one time with the folks that come in.
I mean, we're not a large operation as far as
numbers go, so she can do that. So she's on
staff and paid to do that.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So not be large, but you're making the impact, you
really are.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yes, if I can insert here that she is involved
in all of our interviews. We have extensive interviews and
on many levels, and so when we do select someone,
it's very intentional and with everybody involved HR twelve Steps
as pastors, so they're surrounded.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
You're actually interacting with other community entities as well well.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
With this with our HR person recovery coach got and
we have a board of directors as well.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yes, and we're connected very closely with some of the
recovery houses. So when we first we're building out, we
have in our mall a company, the flooring company. And
in that flooring company he has three recovery houses for men,
(18:38):
and he donated the flooring and then we paid his
guys to put the flooring in. They did a lot
of the changes in carpentry and so forth, painting and
that kind of thing, and so we had them. We
also have on board a lady from Paula's House, which
is women's recovery house, and so and we're still trying
(19:02):
to get our first person to come out of there
to we don't necessarily have somebody that's still just starting
out in recovery. We need to have someone who's you know,
comes a long way. So but anyway, so we're connected
with them.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
And that is a separate from I'm Paula in she's
Paula's House.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
So yeah, not this Paula.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yes, right, so awesome. And you said the mall, So
this is the mall that you can see right off
the highway.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Yeah, there's actually three of them, and we're the one
closest to the city.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
So okay, yeah, okay, so it's pretty easy to find
it is. That's awesome. Tell us about the community events
that you have there at that location.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
We have lots of concerts and they are their fundraisers,
and we've been very, very fortunate in that the people
who've come and given their talent know that we, as
a nonprofit, are not able to pay them, but that
in fact we use them and their goodwill and their
(20:03):
love and their hearts and their talent to draw people
in as a fundraiser so that we can stay open.
Is you can't really make enough money in a little
coffeehouse to do what we do. Again, it's one of
those impossible things that if God calls you to it,
you know he will do it, but you don't know
how you're going to do it.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
But he's supply and.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
He's going to supply and he has. So some of
those events are we'll have a Meet the Artist day.
We have an artist who actually attends our church who
is wonderful. We have a whole wall filled with her
art and other friends that we've met throughout the years
who will come and present painters yes, art work, yes,
(20:46):
and jewelry and lots lots of different crafts, and so
people who are willing to come not charge us, nor
do we charge them for rent.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So this is really community. It really is really and
you're a nonprofit organization, but this is more than that
base from your description. It's the community coming together to
give opportunity to people to come back to the community
and actually be tenable, reasonable trained citizens again or hopefully
in some cases for the first time.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yes, yes, so.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
The transformational testimonies and success stories of people have come
through the Fresh Start program that those stand as a
testimony for what you're doing. Now, do you have some
amazing testimonies that you can share without naming names, of course.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So yes, we have a gentleman who really struggled through
his recovery and he was able to come in and
help us build out the stage area and he ended
up he had his one year clean and sober in
our the twelve step program Lost and Found and he
(22:01):
has been absolutely amazing. We have a current gentleman who,
as Paula was saying, was just having a difficult time
finding work anywhere. And you looked at him and big
strong young man who just he could he would get
grasped up and you could see he had a lot
(22:23):
of talent and potential and he is just blossoming like
we can't believe it's And as soon as I saw him.
He actually came to a concert a year ago, that's
how we met him, and I just said to him, yeah,
I have read your record. He said, as soon as
(22:44):
people see the record, that's it. I go, I have
read your record, and we're hiring you. And I just
had a sense in my church it would be called
a gift of discernment, and the discernment of spirits I
have on this guy is I don't care what the
record says, that's the past.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I was going to say, that sounds like a sermon.
I've read your record.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yes, yes, exactly, and so it's been phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
And yeah, so re entry and recovery, even what you're
explaining right now, can be an emotionally heavy task. It
really can't. For you to be able to make yourself
available to these people that are attempting to recover from
their addiction or re enter into society, how do you
(23:34):
stay grounded and hopeful and healthy Because you guys just
come with smiles on your faces and you sound great,
But how do you keep that going and stay healthy
and doing this such emotionally intensive work.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I don't think you can do it without the Lord.
I honestly don't know.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Faith.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Absolutely our faith in Jesus and our knowledge that what
we are called to He's called us to this, he
will provide. I won't lie. And I've got to say
there have been some rough times, and there have been
days I wanted to pack it all up and say, Okay,
I'm done. I'm done, and I'm over eighty and I
(24:15):
I'm ready to retire. So what Yes, I'm eighty one
and a half. Wow, I'm so happy to miss you
announce that. Yes, I know that was nineteen sixty three,
so most of our listening audience wasn't even born then,
so I wouldn't see wow.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Wow. That's a good answer. I think that even for
people that aren't of faith, because we have a lot
of people of diverse background. Sure, it's important that you
lean on something outside of yourself and with us. Of course,
I'm with you. It's all about the faith. But you
have to have purpose that's outside of you, I think,
(24:56):
to sustain you and keep you motivated and whatnot. And
even if you don't see the results of your actions immediately,
you know, to know that you've done good. I think
it's helpful. Yes, in this particular calling.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah, we had I had this ridiculous idea that I
was going to retire. Do I retire? And we just
discovered that that just wasn't in the cards at all.
And I actually had a friend of mine who said,
why are you still working at your age? And then
(25:32):
I see him on Facebook and he's just finished a
one thousand piece chicksaw puzzle and I have just helped
set up a concert for people.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
And it's like, yeah, I think your puzzle is better
than his puzzle. Yes, it is a little bit. No, no, off,
it's to your est awesome and I can relate to
that much younger you guys, But I was supposedly retired
and I'm far from it because there's just too many
people to help, and that just keeps you going. I
think we're made to keep moving into perpetuity. That's just
(26:05):
my opinion. Yes, you're really blessed by being a blessing
to others. How do you talk to people of faith
or churches about embracing those with criminal records and addiction
and histories, as you mentioned Vic, especially in the community
where the stigmas of those things run really deep, and
especially even in Monroe. I mean Monroe doesn't there's reputations
(26:28):
that precede Monroe for a lot of the issues. You
mentioned the Fitt and Hal earlier on in our conversation.
How do you help others to kind of embrace what
you're doing?
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Well, I guess the number one thing is just by
having them see the results of the things that we're doing.
And we have had as far as I know. So
maybe they haven't told us it, but many of the
churches have really been behind us and for us. And
so if you look at the team of people or volunteers,
(27:00):
there are from so many different churches. And I don't
have the being a pastor. I know that I don't
have the expectation that the pastor does it. But I
found some great lay leaders that come over and help us,
and it's that makes the whole difference for us. So
we have Bible studies, we have book book club meetings
(27:23):
and that kind of thing that allow the people. We're
a gathered, We're made for gathering and meetings, so we
have you could come in and have five or six
different meetings happening in our We have sets of couches
and we have a conference room and a small and
we were we were actually the facility we're in was
the old Tower FM radio station, and so we have
(27:49):
two rooms. So we have two rooms that are soundproof,
one of which we use for our children's ministry on Sunday.
It's nice, a sound proof.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Room for the kids.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
For the kids.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
That's funny.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
But yeah, so people can become there and meet and
even be private in it or just a public meaning
we have a big table that's the community table, and
so dis maade for meeting. Wow.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
So fresh start in Monroe, Michigan. But but the need
is everywhere, yes, here and across the land. As many
are listening to this from different areas. What advice would
you give others looking to start similar nonprofits? Maybe they
(28:38):
had the calling as you did to start to have it, yet,
what advice would you give them to start something like this?
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Go for it, just do it, start, I mean, take
take a step. It would really help to have to
be married to somebody like my husband, who is able,
but we are a great partnership. I think you need
partners I would just say go for it, do your homework,
connect with people who started nonprofits, get some dream, don't
(29:09):
be afraid to dream, yes, and walk it out. It's
that's about all I can say. And write the vision vision,
that's right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
So I had heard it one time that a vision
isn't really adequate unless it's impossible to do. And so
we have been working on the impossible. And even if
you do a piece of it, your success.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Well, your proof that it is possible. Yes, have a vision, Yes,
start it. And now you're here, and now the community
is coming together. That's the part portion of this that
that really attracted me, that the community at large is
coming together to support what you're doing because the benefit
is at the end of the day, eternal. Yes, but
(29:54):
it's something that people can benefit from right now, here
and now, and that that's I think the US blessing
from the outside looking at you guys are offering. It's tangible,
you can see it.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I think that that's been our heart all along. We
have wanted for many many years to just let's get
rid of our petty differences and let's get together people.
Let's just get together.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Now to the question of the day. I think it's
probably about that time. How do you see the role
of the church evolving in the post pandemic. I'll hit
this first post pandemic world when it comes to meeting
and practical needs of employment, community and the recovery support.
We kind of answered this question already, but post pandemic,
(30:38):
you think that's benefited you and what you've been doing
because you started this before, yes, or has it hurt
you in any way?
Speaker 2 (30:49):
So we were bad. We stayed open more than what
was told.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
We actually closed for three or four weeks and then
everyone complained. So we got together. So I said two rules.
Number one is that you take care of yourself and
number two as you honor boundaries other people. And we
never had a problem as far as post pandemic. I
(31:19):
really believe that we're in a time right now in which,
if I may say it this way, the Kingdom of
God is really breaking in and we're seeing stuff all
over the universities and especially the young folks. I saw
it back in my day with something called the Jesus
People movement, and that's what got me back in nineteen seventy.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
One to.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
And I believe that the impact that God wants us
to have is to bring His kingdom, his love into
the world and be part of that. So we need
to if we're not changing the world, if we're not
getting outside of our our four walls. Now, in our case,
(32:03):
we went out and tried to pray for people and
scared them. So we now invite them in through a
coffeehouse that is not a church, and we're a little
bit better at doing that. So our building is used
six seven days a week.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
So awesome, I would say if I made that the
pandemic did had a very good effect in that it
highlighted hopelessness for many many people. Things just kind of
shut down and we were faced with ourselves and our
social networks were cut back, and we were there and
(32:46):
we had open doors and there was a there was
an outlet for that. And I just feel like that's
one of the ways that things are orchestrated on behalf
of unity and community, that using a very very bad
situation to highlight your own weaknesses, your own needs that
(33:07):
perhaps you weren't even aware of before, and then you
find a little place like a coffeehouse or a vineyard
church or any church where that hope is presented back.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
I heard someone say, and outside of ministry, they forced
introspection is the best introspection when you're made to have
to similar to incarceration, may to have to you and
your surroundings and your condition, and you have no choice
but to do that.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
It kind of leads to the scripture all things work
together for the good. And it seems like you guys
are doing an awesome job. You're doing a lot of good.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
But to the last question, I'll go ahead and get
to it now. I saw this when I had to
access What do you think your legacy is right now?
And what would you like for it to be?
Speaker 2 (33:57):
I think for me, And it's a first. I resisted
coming to Monroe. I told the pastor are sending pastor
that even Jesus didn't do well in his hometown. And
now that I'm there and we've been back for twenty years,
(34:18):
I would say that it's a call that I left Monroe.
I actually went up dan Arbor. I believe that God
is calling us to be part of the renewal of Monroe.
And yes, Monroe has lots of issues, and I mean
(34:38):
it's town hero is General Custer. You know, it's it's
been in all kinds of battles, and I think that
this is a spiritual battle. I think Monroe is a
special place, and it's it's where we will probably be buried,
and it's it's the call that we know we now have.
(35:03):
And so my vision is is that of turning Monroe around,
not personally, but allowing theism.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
I'm hoping that when people are faced with making some
kind of a life decision and a big choice, that
our legacy can be one of get out of the boat,
Get out the boat. I have a very dear friend
from Oaks of Righteousness in Monroe who said that she
(35:35):
was on our board and she said, just get out
the boat. Don't You can plan and plan and plan
and plan, but take that first step. And I hope
that our legacy is one that will show that it
is possible to take that step and not sink. Get
out of the boat and do what you can do
and leave the rest to the one who called you
(35:56):
to do it might.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Be able to walk on watermen. Yes, awesome, Well, thank
you so much for joining us on the voices of legacy,
pressing your way here all the way from Monroe, which
isn't very far, but still we're thankful that you made
it down here and shared your story with us today.
(36:29):
Thank you for listening to the Voices of the Legacy.
This is your friend, Pastor Krol Mitchell the Third, your
hosts of this program. We want you to go to
w GTE dot org slash legacy to like, share, subscribe,
and hear all of our past podcast and our future podcast.
Be a friend and join with us in the Voices
(36:51):
of Legacy, where you're writing your own legacy every day
that you with have a blessed w g t E
(37:28):
voices around us
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