We are continually looking for great people who want to get involved in mentoring these teens. Mentoring takes about one hour weekly and can help a youth stay on track with his plans, goals, and direction for life. No degrees required, just a heart that cares and a willingness to Read more…
Why do we go visit incarcerated youth? Why do we even care? This past week at Palmetto Youth Academy, where boys are sentenced from nine to eighteen months, we focused on the message of hope that is found in the Easter story. As we shared, one young man said he Read more…
Last week, I went to use the hose that is wound up in a cart on the side of our home. Apparently wasps had taken up residence in my hose cart. Months and months I had gone by them there, never opening the lid to see what they were up Read more…
When I was three years old my father walked out on our family. He moved on and began a new family of his own, without looking back. My mom single-handedly raised my brother and I throughout our childhood. She didn’t receive any financial support, so money was very scarce in Read more…
When we went to speak in juvenile detention, I met a young man who had been arrested and was awaiting his adjudication. He shook my hand and told me his name (which for his anonymity I won’t share). As I walked away, he wanted to make it clear that his Read more…
This past week, I was visiting the county jail and noticed a young man that I used to see in detention when he was a youth of seventeen. I remember this young man, because he and I had a chance to talk a bit back then. At seventeen he had Read more…
What leads a youth into a life of crime? So many have made observations and done countless hours of research into the psyche of the criminal mind and how it develops. As we meet with kids weekly, they all have their stories and their reasons. Some kids have lived through Read more…
Where are the Fathers? When I was three years old my father walked out on our family. He moved on and began a new family of his own, without looking back. My mom single-handedly raised my brother and I throughout our childhood. She didn’t receive any financial support, so money Read more…
This week my message at the juvenile detention center was on forgetting the past, straining toward a better future, and pressing on to achieve their purpose. I said it wouldn’t be easy, but that is what straining is about – focused determination. I emphasized that following the narrow path isn’t Read more…
Yesterday I decided to go with Bayside Community Church’s Adopt-a-block (AAB) – an outreach to the low income neighborhoods in Bradenton, FL. It was a good day to interact with the community and try to share encouragement and love, but nothing out of the ordinary happened; until I noticed this Read more…
