454: How Sustainable Strategy Unlocked a Thriving Workplace Culture at 4KIDS

How does a culture of prayer, intentional strategy, and Christ-centered care transform not just an organization—but the lives of vulnerable children? In this encore episode, Kevin Enders, former president of 4KIDS, shares how sustainable strategy and a flourishing workplace culture came together to bring hope, homes, and healing to families across Florida.

Listen to the Audio

Listen in Apple Podcasts | Listen in Spotify  | Listen in YouTube Music

In this episode:

Mission, Vision & Values of 4KIDS

• Hope, Homes, Healing is the core mission of 4KIDS:
  • Hope for kids in crisis. (01:57)
  • Homes for foster, adoptive, and young adult needs. (02:03)
  • Healing through expanded therapeutic services (EPIC). (02:27)
• The organization offers services across six counties in South Florida with over 200 foster families and about 60 adoptions per year.
• Strong commitment to the Christian faith as a foundation for the mission.

Kevin Enders’ Personal Story & Calling

• Kevin and his wife became foster parents after a church message about the need for foster families. (03:15)
• They later adopted two children through 4KIDS. (03:38)
• His personal experience as a foster/adoptive parent built a deep connection with the mission. (04:40)
• Transitioned from a career in corporate leadership to become president and CEO of 4KIDS in 2017 after serving as a ministry advocate and “Champion.” (04:50)

Organizational Culture & Spiritual Identity

• Upon becoming president, Kevin prioritized maintaining and strengthening the Christian identity of 4KIDS:
  • Weekly all-staff worship and devotional meetings with praise, prayer, and sharing. (09:36)
  • Extended the meeting time to avoid cutting it short. (10:07)
• Kevin clearly defined the organization as a ministry of the church, not just a foster-care agency that hires Christians. (10:21)
• Emphasis on faith in Jesus Christ as the unifying and driving force of the organization’s culture. (08:01)

Building a Sustainable Strategy

• Sustainable Strategy is a key driver of flourishing workplace culture—connecting mission and vision with actionable solutions. (06:45)
• Kevin emphasized that strategy must lead to long-term relationships and problem-solving. 
• On arrival, Kevin identified a leadership void following a pastoral transition and sought to re-establish organizational passion and direction. (07:50)
• Defined spiritual leadership as his top job responsibility during his hiring process. (09:31)

Early Leadership Steps & Culture Assessment

• Leveraged the Best Christian Workplaces survey reports to assess organizational health in key areas:
  • Leadership (11:25)
  • Compensation (11:26)
  • Strategy (11:27)
  • Communication (11:30)
• Prioritized personal connections:
  • One-on-one meals with staff. (12:10)
  • Practiced active listening to understand team challenges and strengths. (12:16)
• Recognized the importance of transitioning from the business world to ministry:
  • Relied on feedback from long-standing team members. (12:54)
  • Focused on spiritual well-being of staff as part of leadership role. (13:02)

Improvement Through Survey Feedback and Strategic Intentionality

• 4KIDS saw significant culture improvement from 2018 to 2019, reaching the “Flourishing” level on the BCW survey. (13:55)
• Leadership committed to a three-year goal to become a flourishing workplace, which was achieved in one year. (14:32)
• Success was driven by:
  • Careful analysis of survey results. (14:39)
  • Intentional focus on both strengths and weaknesses. (14:46)
  • Quarterly reports shared with staff on progress toward goals. (15:16)

Transparency, Inclusion, and Communication

• Strategy involved making the vision a shared vision, not just top-down. (15:18)
• Staff began receiving quarterly updates, increasing clarity and buy-in. (15:19)
• Addressed concerns from earlier surveys about:
  • Lack of clarity around decision-making. (15:23)
  • Limited inclusion in strategic processes. (15:26)
• Promoted internal talent as new opportunities opened—even through the pain of others moving on. (15:50)

Strategic Planning Process with Spiritual Foundation

• First year: Kevin inherited an existing plan and observed. (17:02)
• Second year: Entire leadership team developed a new strategy via a spiritual retreat with prayer, silence, and reflection. (17:15)
• Mid-level leaders (directors/managers) were invited into their own visioning sessions to ensure alignment and unity. (18:02)
• Five key strategic areas were identified and prioritized collaboratively. (18:26)
• Culture and spiritual development of staff emerged as the #1 strategic priority. (19:02)

Goal Setting and Execution

• Teams created bottom-up annual goals, which were reconciled and aligned at the leadership level. (22:47)
• Monthly directors’ meetings were instituted to:
  • Review team culture and metrics. (23:40)
  • Identify management support needs. (23:52)
  • Encourage real-time decision-making to build momentum. (24:08)
• Quarterly meetings reviewed past and upcoming goals to ensure continuous improvement and alignment. (24:35)

Sustainable Strategy Highlight: Uplifting Growth

• Transitioned from outdated annual review models to ongoing feedback systems. (25:30)
• Responded to employee (especially Millennial) desire for:
  • Regular feedback. (25:54)
  • Personal development conversations. (26:13)
• This change was rooted in a desire to show care and support employee growth more effectively. (26:19)

Uplifting Growth Outcomes

• Significant increase in the survey item: “In the last six months, someone talked with me about my progress.” (26:28)
• Scores for opportunities to learn and grow also rose above the sector average. (26:36)
• Growth in these areas tied directly to increased feedback and development efforts. (26:41)

Strategy That Succeeded: EPIC Therapeutic Team

• EPIC = Emotional, Physical, Intellectual, and Character development of children (based on Luke 2:52). (27:35)
• Built around Scripture, prayer, and a unified Christian team. (27:38)
• Grew from 1 to 11 team members in 2.5 years; plans to double again soon. (28:14)
• Focused on:
  • Training Christian foster parents to respond to trauma. (28:56)
  • Providing direct, Christ-centered therapy to children. (29:07)
• Seen as a highly impactful and spiritually transformative initiative. (28:46)

Spiritual Culture Driving Strategy

• Culture was ranked #1 priority by staff in strategic planning. (30:34)
• Weekly Wednesday worship gatherings reinforce shared values and direction. (30:46)
• Daily lunchtime prayer hour instituted for staff to intercede for families and ministry partners. (30:56)
• Prayer is woven into every meeting—before, during, and after. (31:29)

Hope, Homes, and Healing: A Testimony

• Powerful story of three young girls rescued from abuse and sex trafficking. (33:01)
• One foster family stepped up, eventually adopting two of the girls. (33:12)
• Observable transformation: visible healing, joy, church involvement, and spiritual growth. (33:32)
• Illustrates how 4KIDS’ culture and strategy bring lasting life change. (34:40)

Final Reflections: Unity and Big Vision

• Encourages Christian ministries to collaborate more deeply, inspired by movements like the Christian Alliance for Orphans. (36:50)
• Sees God uniting the Church and like-minded organizations in new, powerful ways. (37:05)
• Shared Jeremiah 33:3 as a guiding verse: “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things…” (37:34)
• Urges leaders to dream big, engage God in prayer, and embrace a posture of expectation and unity. (37:25)

Read the Transcript

Read a complete, word-for-word transcript of the episode

FOLLOW OUR HOST

Follow our Host, Al Lopus, on LinkedIn & Twitter.

Email our host at al@workplaces.org