The Serendipitous Nature of Grace
I'm Third Did Not Begin With a Business Plan.
Sometimes the journey takes us somewhere we never expected—and teaches us something we never knew we needed to learn.
I'm Third did not begin with a business plan. It grew through experiences, relationships, unexpected opportunities, and lessons learned along the way.
Some lessons came through success. Others came through disappointment. Many came through people whose lives challenged us to see things differently.
Together, they shaped a conviction: Life becomes more meaningful when what we learn helps us become better neighbors.
1996 — An Unexpected Beginning
Sometimes a small gift opens the door to a much larger discovery.
In 1996, while helping care for his mother in Kansas City, our founder, Darryl L. Johnson, received a desk calendar featuring reflections from M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled. What seemed like an ordinary gift became an invitation to examine love, responsibility, discipline, and personal growth more deeply. Those ideas connected with lessons already emerging through faith, recovery, and everyday life. Over time, a simple truth became increasingly clear: Knowing a principle is not the same as practicing it. Information can introduce us to a better way of living. But growth requires reflection, choices, practice, and the willingness to change.
From Discovery to Development
As these lessons took shape, so did a new understanding of parenting, discipleship, and mentoring. .
People need more than encouragement and good advice. They need opportunities to examine their lives, recognize their strengths, understand their choices, and develop the capacity to move forward. The idea of Raising Royalty emerged from this conviction. Using chess as a metaphor for life, six pieces became a way to explore six dimensions of development: Purpose, Values, Stewardship, Wisdom, Community, and Discipline.
The goal was never simply to teach chess. It was to help people develop the capacity to navigate life.
The Child Who Changed the Conversation
Years later, a child making a snow angel in a patch of rocks became part of another unexpected discovery.
That encounter opened the door to relationships with children and families in the neighborhood. One invitation led to another. Before long, approximately 25 children were participating in activities and attending church.
But their presence revealed something important.
Good intentions were not enough.
The children brought different experiences, needs, and challenges. The adults and institutions welcoming them were not always prepared to provide the understanding, relationships, and support they deserved.
The question began to change.
Not simply, How do we help these children?
But also, How do we develop the people and organizations responsible for helping them?
When Good Intentions Meet Real People
In 2019, Darryl became Executive Director of Mentor2Youth, bringing years of experience and developing ideas into the daily realities of nonprofit leadership. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs had to adapt. Relationships had to be maintained under unfamiliar circumstances. Organizational limitations became more visible. The experience reinforced a lesson that had been developing for years: People need meaningful relationships. Organizations need the capacity to sustain them. Mentoring could not depend entirely on one person's experience, personality, or availability. The principles needed to be understandable. The practices needed to be teachable. The tools needed to be useful to others. What began as a commitment to developing people expanded into a commitment to delivering services and building systems.
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The Journey Continues
Life rarely unfolds according to our original plans. There are unexpected turns, disappointing outcomes, new relationships, and opportunities we could never have anticipated. We've learned that a change in direction does not necessarily mean a loss of purpose. Sometimes the journey itself reveals what comes next. That understanding continues to shape I'm Third. We are still learning, developing resources, strengthening our frameworks, and discovering new ways to serve. We don't believe anyone needs to have life completely figured out before taking the next step. But we do believe that the principles we practice, the relationships we build, and the choices we make can change the direction of our lives. Don't miss the miracle while you're crying in your milk. Even in difficult circumstances, there may be something worth discovering.
Putting the Neighbor Back in the Hood
Our journey has taught us that caring about people and being prepared to serve them are not always the same thing. Love needs understanding. Good intentions need practical skills. Meaningful relationships need time, attention, and care. And communities need people and organizations willing to develop those capacities.
That's the commitment behind our familiar expression: We're Putting the Neighbor Back in the Hood! Not merely by encouraging people to care, but by helping develop the capacity to care—and to turn that care into meaningful action. What began as a personal journey of discovery has grown into an organization committed to making developmental principles accessible, practical, and useful to others. The story is still being written. And so is yours.
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Discover Who We Are
Developing People. Delivering Services. Building Systems.
Our experiences shaped the work. Our principles continue to guide it. Discover how I'm Third Enterprises and I'm Third Ministries bring that commitment to life.
