Soul Shop’s Core Values

Hope-filled

We believe this can be done!  We have plenty of examples of what it looks like when churches get it wrong.  But man, when they get it right, no force for good is more powerful.  We believe that we can be Hope with Skin on, that we can hold hope for people when they struggle to hold it for themselves, and that we can loan our hope to those who are struggling to find it.  

Relational

Whether it’s learning the names of training attendees, starting our T4T’s listening to each other’s stories or the fact that best friends co-direct this organization, we begin and end with relationships.

Diverse

In our programming and in our leadership, we strive to make space for diverse voices and opinions.  We prioritize elevating voices that have previously been ignored.  We work to identify our own blind spots and to cultivate curiosity about those with lived experiences and beliefs that are different from our own.  We do this, knowing that our programming, our organization, and our world are made better (and are sometimes even healed) because we did the work.

Earnest

We practice what we preach, take this stuff seriously, mean what we say, and say what we mean.  We have hard conversations with each other.  Our yeses are yes, and our nos are no.  We return emails.  Answer phone calls.  Hold each other accountable.  Ask hard things of each other.  Suicidal desperation is far too serious to do otherwise.

Nimble

We believe that movement building requires the capacity to act fast, take opportunities as they come, and work with efficiency.  Therefore, we resist the urges and impulses to become the kind of organization that has its hands tied by bureaucracy and unwieldy administrative overhead.

Sustainable

We are committed to creating a culture and an organization that outlives us all.  To do that, we need healthy processes and policies that are good for the organization, the Soul Shop participants, and the leaders making it happen.  We do this through price points that are affordable to the host, sufficient to fund ongoing development, and fairly compensate the trainer.  We are committed to the investment in and cultivation of a leadership bench that does not depend on just one leader.  And we prioritize laughter, rest, and play.  

Collaborative

In Soul Shop trainings, we teach that a qualification for this work is our network of support, and we believe that for the organization as much as we do for the suicide helper.  From our discernment-based decision-making as a leadership team to our cultivation of partnerships with other like-hearted organizations, we believe that we are better when we pool our resources and work together.