About True North Ministry

Since 2002, True North Ministry has shared the Gospel with Northeast Ohio’s youth, offering spiritual mentorship and life skills to help young men become faithful followers of Christ.

Who We Are

True North Ministry, started in 2002 and organized as a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization under the Internal Revenue Code in September 2007, was formed for the purpose of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with at-risk and incarcerated youth in Northeast Ohio.

Under the leadership of our founders, Becky Retzer and Suzie Ferrick, the ministry initially began work at the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center (Dan Street). For a period of time, the ministry was located on South Arlington Rd. in Akron, and our team had the privilege of also working with young men seeking transitional work opportunities in areas including lawn maintenance under the leadership of Jim Rios.

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Over the years, we were blessed to have faithful leaders like Duncan Othen, who served as our Executive Director during many of the Dan Street years. Duncan lives out The Great Commission and continues to volunteer with our Gospel ministry at Indian River.

During 2020, our ministry at the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center at Dan Street in Akron was terminated, largely because of the Covid epidemic and staffing issues. However, the Lord opened new doors for an after-school program named Accelerate at the City of Akron’s Patterson Park facility, as well as a monthly ministry at The Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon, Ohio. While the Accelerate program was discontinued with the closure of the Patterson Park facility, ministry at Indian River continues and is in the process of expanding.

At the request of Indian River, we were asked to develop a curriculum for life and career skills training in addition to regular Gospel ministry. With the support of several grant-making organizations, including Christ Foundation and In His Steps Foundation, in 2025, we were able to obtain resources to develop life and career skills training modules, as well as financial literacy training, that will help the youth we reach have a better foundation for success when they leave the Indian River Juvenile Correction Facility.

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Our Goals

Expand our ministry at Indian River Correctional Facility to semi-monthly or weekly sessions.
Double the number of volunteers involved with the Indian River ministry.
Launch and complete sections of life, career, and financial literacy training programs.
Grow monthly/quarterly donations to a level that supports annual expenses.
Actively explore ministry at the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center, as well as possible online life, career, and financial literacy and ministry training programs.

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Our Vision

To share the gospel of Jesus Christ with incarcerated and at-risk youth in Northeast Ohio and help them to become enthusiastic followers and servants of Christ.