About OneCity

What is OneCity?

OneCity operates as an intermediary, raising funds and developing partners to help create life change in Cincinnati. Growth and true life change result from a willingness to learn and work with others toward wholeness. Rather than working independently, we believe that a collaborative approach in which people unite to tackle the tough issues facing our city will have the biggest impact. In developing local best-practice collaboratives across Cincinnati, we can help turn the tide on such issues as poverty, chronic unemployment and education.

To fulfill these goals, we advocate for:

  • Research and application

    of best-practice strategies locally

  • Collaboration

    of providers for greater impact

  • Volunteers

    There will never be sufficient resources for paid staff to tackle all of our city’s problems, therefore, life-on-life mentoring must be part of our solution.

History of OneCity

OneCity began in 2003 with a vision to improve the lives of people in our city through collaboration between local churches and social service agencies. Since most agencies and nonprofits operate independently, duplication of effort limits their overall scope and impact; whereas people working together, utilizing combined resources and effort, yield greater impact.

In early 2003, Mark Stecher, a local pastor and visionary, looked at organizational models across the country emphasizing city-wide collaboration, resource optimization, and best-practice strategies. He discovered Leadership Foundations, an organization now represented in over 70 cities around the globe with measurable success in helping social service agencies pool resources for greater impact, and decided to launch “OneCity”, locally.

Focusing initially in two key areas of opportunity in Cincinnati, poverty and education, Mark shared his vision with several local churches who pledged financial, volunteer and spiritual support, and OneCity was born!

Over the past ten years, OneCity has launched a dozen initiatives, partnered with multiple social service agencies, engaged 235 churches and mobilized thousands of volunteers to help improve our city! The goal of changed lives is becoming a reality!

Mission: One New City–Two Lives at a Time

Values

We believe our city will be a healthier environment for growth and change as we operate according to the following values:

Relationships

We grow through friendships and seek experiences that allow us to learn from each other and more about God.

Progress

We value progress over perfection and proactively seek growth.

Credibility

We establish metrics to ensure our efforts yield positive results towards effective and sustained life change.

Engagement

We believe each person’s unique set of passions, abilities, and resources has greater impact when plugged into the bigger picture of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Improvement

In striving for excellence, we encourage ongoing research, evaluation and collaboration toward reaching program goals.

Cincinnati

We love our city and value the past, current and future citizens who make Cincinnati what it is and what it can be.

Board of Directors

Mark Stecher

Mark Stecher founded OneCity in 2003 after working for over 10 years with Procter & Gamble and 20+ years as a small business owner, organizational consultant and church leader. He served as a Campus Pastor for eight years with Crossroads Church in Mason, OH, and he is currently serving as Lead Pastor for the Crossroads campuses in Central Kentucky. Mark is married with three grown children, and he and his wife reside in Lexington, KY.

Denis Beausejour

Originally from Canada, Denis has made Cincinnati his home since 1996. After a 22-year career at Procter & Gamble where he last served as Global VP of Marketing, Denis was called into ministry leadership several years ago. Currently, he serves as Senior Pastor at Mariemont Community Church. Denis is married and has four children and four grandchildren.

John Morelock

John is an Ohio native and has lived in Cincinnati since 1975. He is the Founder/CEO of Calvary Industries, a chemical manufacturer, with operations in Cincinnati, Louisiana and Mexico. John is the father of four sons and has a grandson. He attends Crossroads Church.

Scott Phillips

Scott was born and raised in Cincinnati and is married with five children. He is a partner at Frost Brown Todd LLC, and as a litigator, he focuses on land use, zoning and real estate litigation matters in state and federal courts and also represents clients with media and general business/commercial disputes. He and his family attend Crossroads Church in Mason.