Faith & Values
Fresh Start is a Christ-centered organization where Kingdom hospitality shapes how we work, welcome, and serve.
Our Faith Foundation
Fresh Start is founded and led by followers of Jesus who believe that every person bears the image of God and deserves dignity, opportunity, and community.
Our motivation to serve comes from our faith. We believe in fresh starts because we have received grace ourselves. We believe in the transforming power of meaningful work, supportive relationships, and genuine community gathered around shared tables.
These convictions shape everything we do: how we train, how we welcome, and how we extend hospitality to every person who enters our doors—regardless of their own beliefs.
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." — Acts 2:42
Kingdom Hospitality
We believe hospitality is a Gospel practice—a way the love and presence of Christ are made known.
Tables as Relational Space
Shared meals create room for stories, burdens, and presence. Around tables, strangers become neighbors and neighbors become family.
Bread as Gospel Witness
Artisan bread shared freely echoes Jesus' words: "I am the bread of life." Every loaf can be an invitation to taste and see.
Dignity Through Presence
Genuine hospitality sees and honors each person. Being truly welcomed is often the first step toward transformation.
What This Means in Practice
What We Do
- ✓Treat every participant and guest with dignity and respect
- ✓Create welcoming tables where all are invited to belong
- ✓Offer optional faith community connections for those interested
- ✓Partner with churches and faith organizations
- ✓Share bread as an expression of love and generosity
- ✓Welcome volunteers and supporters of all backgrounds
What We Don't Do
- ✗Require religious participation for program enrollment
- ✗Discriminate based on participants' faith or lack thereof
- ✗Condition employment or services on religious activity
- ✗Pressure anyone toward conversion or church attendance
- ✗Use grant funding for explicitly religious activities
- ✗Make anyone feel excluded who does not share our faith
Values That Guide Us
Love
Genuine care for each person, expressed through action—in training, in hospitality, in presence.
Community
Belonging matters. We work together, eat together, and support each other as family.
Restoration
People can change. Fresh starts are possible. Transformation happens in community.
Hospitality
Welcome extended freely, tables open wide, bread shared generously—as Christ welcomes us.
Deeper Community
For those seeking deeper spiritual community, Fresh Start connects to HeartFire Circles—relational gatherings where Scripture, prayer, and shared meals create space for discipleship and growth. The practice of Breaking Bread Together extends hospitality into intentional faith formation.
A Note for Funders
Fresh Start is committed to maintaining clear boundaries between our faith motivation and our publicly-funded programming. Grant funds are used exclusively for workforce development activities: training wages, skill development, job placement support, and operational costs.
Community hospitality activities (shared tables, bread-sharing outreach) are funded through earned revenue and private donations. Any explicitly faith-based programming (HeartFire Circles, Breaking Bread communion practices) is offered separately and funded entirely through private donations from faith communities.
Participants are never required or pressured to participate in faith activities. We welcome questions about how we maintain this separation and are happy to provide additional documentation for grant compliance.
Questions About Our Approach?
We're happy to discuss how faith shapes our work while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
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