When Oliver Richmond, his wife, Pam, and his late colleague, Jefferson Davis Herring, launched Kingdom Partners in 2017, they began with a simple idea: to help churches flourish so their communities would be stronger.
Churches and faith-based organizations tend to operate in isolation, working independently under different denominations, but often toward a similar goal. The three believed the church could change the world, and recognized the gap in their own faith community in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Today, they remain committed to that belief.
Where It All Began
In those early days, as a small team of two, they worked with a humble budget of around $40,000 a year.
That was when they were introduced to Leadership Foundations.
Oliver, Jefferson, and Thomas Castillo first encountered the LF network at a board training retreat. There, they made connections with leaders from Tacoma, Washington. A few months later, the group was invited to explore joining the network.
“If you decide to join,” they were told, “Larry will be your coach.”
Someone else leaned over and quietly added, “You have the best coach in the country.”
That introduction marked a turning point. It wasn’t just the leadership and the coaching that impressed them. It was the entire culture of the organization.
Everything felt different: the way resources were freely shared, the way partners collaborated with one another at every level, and the way different institutions — churches, schools, nonprofits, businesses, and government entities — were building bridges to truly transform their cities.
In 2020, Kingdom Partners officially joined Leadership Foundations as a local partner, and that’s when things began to shift.
Building Capacity
Through coaching, board development, and fundraising training, Oliver and his growing team began strengthening their internal systems. Larry helped train their board of directors, helped them think bigger, and helped them see what was possible.
When their board aligned to the vision and their mission was sharpened, opportunities followed closely behind.
In 2020, they applied for the Charity to Change initiative, a grant of $20,000. But they invested far beyond that, pouring roughly $60,000 into a cohort of 20 churches from different denominations and backgrounds — black and white pastors, men and women leaders — united around mentoring, literacy, and affordable housing.
The collaboration caught local attention.
The Mayor of Chattanooga saw what they were doing, bringing together faith communities, education leaders, and city partners. They were awarded $2.3 million.
Today, Kingdom Partners has:
- Over 150 church and nonprofit partners
- 45 staff members
- $1.25 million received in 2024 through a Lilly Endowment grant
- Ongoing affordable housing initiatives, including a duplex completed last year and plans for 30+ additional units
“We wouldn’t be here without Leadership Foundations,” Oliver says. “Once we joined the network, things took off.”
The Difference One Mentor Makes
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Over the years, Kingdom Partners has engaged 1,200 young people through the City of Chattanooga grant and MYL.
They’ve hosted speech contests where students have the opportunity to improve their public speaking skills by delivering impromptu talks before an audience. They’ve walked with kids through middle and high school, and even into college. They’ve taken Black youth on service trips outside their city, some who have never left the city limits before.
“Kids just want to be heard,” Pam explained, emphasizing the importance of active listening and connection, especially in the context of mentorship. She adds that the connection tends to happen over time through consistency.
“You have to show up,” Oliver adds. “Sometimes people disappear. That leaves a mark on a kid.”
They recalled a young man who was nearly expelled from school and sent to juvenile detention. Out of frustration, he started acting out, cursing at the school leadership. When the principle called the student’s mom, she was unreachable. But because of the mentoring relationship established through Kingdom Partners, the second contact on the school’s list was Oliver.
Instead of going to juvenile detention, the student was given a second chance. Underneath the anger and aggression was a deeper story. He was working outside of school hours and helping his mom pay her bills. The pressure of meeting those expectations began to weigh on him.
He just wanted to be heard.
A Culture of Generosity
One of the most distinctive aspects for Kingdom Partners is how they operate within the LF network.
“If another LF partner gets a grant,” Oliver says, “they’re willing to share what they learned in the process.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he adds. “Organizations that genuinely want to work together.”
Kingdom Partners now coaches other leaders in:
- Fundraising
- Board development
- Strategic partnerships
- Ministry innovation
They incubate emerging nonprofits until they receive their 501(c)(3). They invest funds back into local churches and organizations. And they build partnerships across sectors — government, education, business, and faith communities.
One year, Oliver and Pam visited 50 different churches, sometimes attending three services on a single Sunday, simply to support their partners.
Over time, it built trust. And that trust built respect.
Scaling Hope
Today, Kingdom Partners is thinking about scale and sustainability.
More mentoring. More literacy partnerships. More housing units. More engaged churches.
They’ve created a Leadership Council where successful business leaders are lending expertise and resources to help initiatives grow responsibly. Now, thousands are served directly and indirectly through their network.
In a country often marked by division, Kingdom Partners is modeling something different leaders across sectors aligned for the good of their city.
“It brings hope,” Oliver says, “when you can see how God is moving in different cities.”
What began with one couple, a small budget, and a belief that the church could help change the world has grown into a network of partnerships shaping Chattanooga’s future.
And it’s still rooted in that same simple idea: when churches flourish together, their communities do too.
