The Power of Faith-based Mentoring Relationships

I am passionate about helping adults from churches build relationships with at-risk kids.  I love to watch how mentoring relationships make a tremendous difference in the lives of both mentors and mentees over time.  In my line of work, though, I run into plenty of people who are skeptical about the value of mentoring at-risk kids.  Many people in society try to write off the type of kids that I work with as lost causes.  Cynical people say that there is nothing that can be done with some kids until something is done about the brokeness in their families and blight in their communities.  Frustrated teachers feel that the problem is not their teaching, but with the lack of involvement by parents (or any other number of excuses).  People who are completely disconnected from what actually goes on in Homewood make their judgments about the youth in my community based solely off of what they hear or read about in the news.  People can point to the violence and negativity in my community and try to make a case for why work that is attempted with young people would not really make much of a difference.

I am all for working to improve physical conditions in my neighborhood and working to strengthen families here.  That is one of the reasons why I so appreciate the Homewood Children's Village model that is currently being implemented.  It seeks to address systemic issues that contribute to cycles of poverty.  However, I believe that churches can play a significant role in the transformation of places like Homewood that other institutions in society cannot.  People from churches can connect with at-risk kids in profound ways.  I have great hope for churches and their function in the transformation of society.  I have tremendous hope in at-risk young people.  I know for a fact that young people can, and will, learn in spite of the living conditions in their neighborhood or functionality of their families.  There is no reason to be cynical about the young people that I know so well in Homewood, in spite of what frustrated people may say or what negative stories may be aired on the evening news.  I am not ignoring the difficult things in my community.  I am just optimistic about a way forward that focuses on building the assets in young people instead of writing children off as lost causes.  And the church has a big role to play in building assets in children.

In their book Reclaiming Our Prodigal Sons and Daughters, authors Scott Larson and Larry Brendtro write, "All kids are our kids.  We have often heard teachers and others say, 'What can we possibly do?  Look at this kid's family!'  But simply blaming the family does little good.  If the lives of troubled young people are to change, others in the community must become involved and play a role in the lives of individual children.  Nowhere is there more potential for positive influence than in faith-based programs.  They are one of the few cross-generational groups that can help rebuild a sense of community.  Nearly every other segment of modern society has segregated its young from its older members.  Schools, recreational programs, entertainment centers, and even many families keep youth distanced from adults.  Traditional faith communities do not.  Churches and synagogues are not merely buildings.  Ideally, they are communities of committed people who are also potential employers, adult mentors, and positive peer groups - all things that troubled adolescents desperately need."

There are many churches doing amazing work with children in Homewood.  Much of that work does not get recognized, but it is valuable.  And many more mentors are needed from many more churches in Pittsburgh.  There is great transformational power in faith-based mentoring relationships.  I continue to pray that God would continue to work on people's hearts to invest in the lives of youth in Homewood instead of writing any children off as lost causes.