Mentoring
Research demonstrates that youth who participate in mentoring relationships experience a multitude of positive benefits. In the US today, 17.6 million young people – nearly half the youth population – want or need mentors to help them reach their full potential, and nearly 44 million adults say they are willing to become mentors. Yet, due to capacity limitations, only 3 million youngsters are in formal mentoring relationships. This leaves nearly 15 million American young people still in need of mentors; these young people comprise the nation’s “mentoring gap.”
WHY MENTORING?
A growing body of research confirms what we instinctively know to be true – that a caring adult can make a big difference in a child’s future. Mentors serve as role models, advocates, friends, and advisors. Numerous studies document that mentors help young people augment social skills and emotional well-being, improve cognitive skills, and plan for the future. High-quality mentoring also results in better attendance at school, lowers dropout rates, and decreases involvement with drugs and violent behavior. In short, quality mentoring works.
www.mentoring.org
DO YOU WANT TO TALK TO A MENTOR ABOUT BEING A MENTOR?
This week I received an email from a young man in high school somewhere in the world. He stumbled across one of our articles on hearing God. He told me that it was hard for him to hear God in the midst of all the things that life throws at teens. He took the time to write and say it was good to find that others, who have struggled with some of the same questions, have found some answers.
Kids are hungry for truth and authentic life experience that backs it up. Here on this blog there is rich life experience and a track record of God's faithfulness backed up by the stories of your faith.
This young man's email reminds us that we are not too old, or too "out of the loop" to share with the next generation. We have faith that has stood the test of time and they are looking for just that very thing.
Psalm 78:4-6 says "We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. ..so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children."
Last month alone we had over 500 questions come in from young people who are turning to the internet looking for answers. This young audience is hungry for spiritual truth.Often we feel we aren't equipped or comfortable to reach out to the youth of our day. Yet we have that track record of God's faithfulness in our lives that they are looking for. That's the need.
Here is the challenge. Will you be available to speak to a young person? It may be in your neighborhood, or at work. It may be online through TruthMedia. We are looking for volunteers who will be willing to answer one email a month, a week or a day. Whatever works into your schedule. We provide online training and resources and a secure link that all email goes through so personal email addresses are not published. We provide resources and the opportunity to send a question back to the mentor pool if you aren't comfortable with it.
Will you take the challenge to tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of our God? By Gail Rodgers
Visit us here for more information and how to apply: http://truthmedia.com/team/mentoring/
Question: Do you feel the next generation is open to the story of your faith?
Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.
The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat." He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.
The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!" Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!" Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once, too."
May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good...
Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car. Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.
This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. Be a Susie, or better yet, be like Jesus today and dump a bowl of water on someone in dire need.
The Prayer:
Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.
Check out this inspiring movie about how one child's life was impacted because one person took the time to care:
The Teacher Movie: an inspiring tale of the life-changing effects of mentoring.
For more inspiration, check out this PowerPoint presentation:
Ask The Geese
Get Involved
Right now there is a huge "mentoring gap" among young children who need and want a mentor, but don't have someone who is able to guide them through the tough times in life. If you would like to be a part of the solution and change a young persons's life forever, please contact us and become a mentor. We will help you get plugged in and start changing lives.
Resources:
Keys to Hope Guidelines
PlusONE Mentors: If you live in Shasta County, PlusOne Mentors may be a place for you to get help or get involved. PlusONE's Mission is "To support youth in at-risk environments by providing qualified mentors." If you need a mentor for your child or would like to become a mentor, contact PlusONE today.
Mentor: If you live outside the Shasta County area and are in need of a quality mentor, check out this Mentoring website that is a national network of mentoring organizations.