The principles for STEP DC below are derived from the original STEP manual developed in the 1980s by
E.V. Hill, President of the original STEP Foundation which focused on raising the consciousness of American churches regarding responsibility to the poor. These principles are important as we seek to develop a long-term and sustainable strategy to elevate people, starting in the Deanwood neighborhood in
Ward 7, Washington, DC.

• Concentrate initially on a specific, small neighborhood in need before broadening our focus.
• Include responsible community members and leaders living within the target neighborhood to identify local needs and include them in all aspects of STEP planning.
• Identify local churches engaged in the local community and bring them together with local faith-based ministries and supporting suburban churches as Covenant Ministry Partners to support local needs.
• As Covenant Ministry Partners, recognize our collective power, through prayer and action, to build a beloved community that reflects the diverse, sacrificial, and personal beauty of God’s Kingdom.
• Carefully identify and agree upon the tasks that the partnering churches and faith-based ministries (i.e., Covenant Ministry Partners) can perform in the neighborhood along with commitments from each in terms of responsibilities, areas of expertise, and time availability.
• Coordinate and channel the resources of each partner to help maximize our capacity to meet the spiritual, physical, emotional, and educational needs of the families we serve.
• Develop the spiritual effectiveness of the inner-city churches by working closely with staff and volunteers of each church and connecting them with offerings and services provided by local faith-based organizations and supporting suburban churches.
• Compassion and integrity go hand-in-hand in building trusted relationships and cultivating spiritual transformation and continuous growth.
• Cross-communication increases awareness, access, and accountability among stakeholders.
• Connecting constituents across ministries streamlines recruitment redundancies, ensuring continuity and fullness of care. 
• Regularly meet as a covenant ministry to discuss joint outreach opportunities, roles and responsibilities, programming updates, and progress reports. 
• Include mentions of ally ministries in communications materials and activities, reciprocating parent referrals and passing on contact information.
• Accommodate ally ministry need requests with access to available facilities, staff, volunteers, materials, platforms, and monetary resources. Pool efforts to grow financial support for service offerings of ally ministries.