The Next Generation of Mentors is Here

This morning I had the opportunity to train a new group of LAMP mentors. It was a great group of potential mentors all around, and included in the group was a young man that I had the privilege of mentoring through LAMP when he was in middle school. Now, that young man is 20 years old and he has decided to become a school-based mentor at the same school where he went to elementary school in Homewood. He still lives in Homewood, and he wants to invest in the people in his neighborhood.

My goal in leading LAMP has always been to work myself out of a job. I would love to see the next generation of LAMP mentors consist largely of this group of young people in Homewood who are currently being mentored by people who generally live outside the community. Several hundred children have benefited from mentoring relationships through LAMP, and it would be incredible if those several hundred children who are becoming several hundred young adults would be able to pay it forward by mentoring the next generation of children in Homewood.

Faith-based mentoring is a transformational force for good in the lives of both mentors and mentees. When mentees experience transformation, they develop a vision for their future and they envision themselves making a positive difference in their own community where they have grown up. This is why it is so important to have a long term, relational approach to urban renewal. These things take time to develop, but when it happens... it's an incredible process to behold. I thank God for the privilege of being able to watch the next generation of leaders in Homewood rise up to participate in God's mission to redeem their community.