Grassroots Beginnings
The Founding Vision
It all began with a silent retreat in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Genevieve had been getting a sense of more for a while, ever since she had been given - yes, given - a large house for free, with the previous owner telling her, "The Lord told me to give you, my house. Do you want it?"
Saying Yes to the Call
Genevieve said yes, having a sense that a mission was coming along with the house. But the 'more' wasn't clear for a while.
On the sixth day of an eight-day silent wilderness retreat, Genevieve received what felt like a divine download. Through prayer, she began to discern the mission the Lord was giving her.
The Mission Takes Shape
Having a mission with an end goal of awakening people to the goodness of God and helping them to come to know Jesus Christ was familiar territory for her, having done street evangelization in the same part of lower east-side Detroit for years, but she was surprised by the construction aspect of the bi-vocational mission.
While the pieces didn't seem to add up initially, the vision came back into focus, with the pieces coming together by themselves.
Firm Foundations of Hope has been serving low-income homeowners in our surrounding area since June 2022, while hiring, training and mentoring previously unemployed persons part time, preparing them for the full-time work force.