CHICAGO, Ill. – For Brian Sales, the DOOR program in Chicago became an alternative to systems of violence and provided new thresholds of education, leadership and service.

Sales grew up as a committed member of First Church of the Brethren in the East Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. For a long time before DOOR arrived in Chicago, First Church of the Brethren was involved in hosting work and service camps, but Pastor Orlando Redekop wanted to do more. So when Glenn Balzer, DOOR director, came to the city in 2000, he jumped on the chance to formalize a connection.

Sales met Balzer on this first visit in 2000, when he was 15, and an immediate relationship was formed. From age 16, Sales spent every summer working for the DOOR program in Chicago, hosting youth groups that came to serve and working alongside agencies in the area.

“Chicago is my home, and during the time I was growing up, many males in my neighborhood felt abandoned and looked to gangs as a place to call home,” said Sales. In searching for alternatives, Sales found DOOR, and leaders that quickly saw his potential.

Serving as a leader in the DOOR program provided Sales with opportunities to learn leadership and communication skills, which helped him earn scholarships to Dennison University in Grandville, Ohio.

“Brian is a dynamic guy. He is one of those folks that screams ‘leader,’” said Krista Dutt, DOOR’s national program director and former Chicago city director. Dutt said Sales’ wide range of life experiences and interactions with diverse people groups strengthens his leadership qualities as he works within his community and with visiting DOOR groups. He is able to understand and empathize with those who are at home and those who visit.

After college, Sales returned to Chicago as DOOR Chicago city director—the first director of color identified and called upon from within the program. Sales cites many mentors along his journey to leadership, including his mother, Redekop, and Balzer.

“DOOR has shown me that God’s message can come to life if you allow it to,” said Sales. “It showed me a different way … and I want to share that. I appreciate DOOR just for being there.”