I was talking to someone the other day and they asked me “What does it look like for Forerunner Mentoring Program to be successful?”

Valid question. Simple, yet powerful. I was taken back a bit and searched my mind for all the right answers.

I stumbled around and said “What do you mean?”

He replied “I mean, is what you’re doing even working?”

Well, just come out and say it bud.

As I fumbled around, a slew of phrases ran through my mind:

Attend college. Hugs not drugs. No cussing. Follow Jesus. Good grades. Wait until marriage. Job. Leader. Respectful.

I’m not sure how I answered the question, but I’m sure I said something vague and politically correct.

But the question sure got me thinking.

So what does success look like for Forerunner Mentoring Program?

I am all about doing whatever we have to do to put the best product out there to serve our families. I am down for surveys and reports and all the quantitative and qualitative data you can find. I want to measure everything and do our due diligence when it comes to tracking improvements and finding areas where we fall short.

Report cards? Teacher interviews? Comparing our kids to the rest of the kids in the district? Yes. Sign me up. I want all of that.

All of that stuff that you just read matters a ton. We all want to know if what we are doing is working, and Forerunner is no different. I spend a lot of time here at Forerunner and you better believe I want to see some fruit from my labor.

So what does success look like for Forerunner Mentoring Program?

This question still has me thinking. As I sit here, I can’t help but to think about my own kids. I have two little ones at home that I love more than life itself. I think about myself as a father. What does it look like for me as I shepherd my little Garza flock? What does success look like for me and my family?

I want my kids to grow up in a safe and loving environment.

I want my kids to have every opportunity in the world to be the best that they can be.

I want my kids to feel supported and loved for who they are, not what they do.

I want my kids to be able to be a kid. I want them to be able to run around wild and do some “boy stuff”. I want them to get into just a little bit of mischief from time to time and it not be a scarlet letter for them. I want people to look at them running around with no-shirt-on and one shoe missing and think “those crazy Garza boys…”

I want my kids to have a refuge to run to when times get tough. I want them to know without a doubt that they can come to me when they are scared and mad and unsure and misunderstood.

I want my kids to learn from failing. I want them to know that it’s ok to mess up and it’s ok to ask for help. I want them to have someone to pick them up when they fall down.

I want my kids to know Jesus Christ and the unmerited love and acceptance that he offers.

I want my kids to dream.

I want my kids to be covered in prayer.

I want my kids to be self-confident and I want them to be secure in their identity.

I want my kids to be a part of a healthy family. I want them to see me love my wife well and to see me serve her with a smile on my face. I want them to see a servant leader putting others before himself. I want them to see me work hard and I want them to want to be like dad when they grow up.

I want my kids to tell others that “my dad can beat up your dad.”

I want my kids to know that real men don't fight.

I want my kids to hear someone say “I’m proud of you.”

I want my kids to walk down the street without people giving them bad looks and moving over to the other side of the street..

I want my kids to get the benefit of the doubt.

I want my kids to have options.

I want my kids to hold the door open for strangers and for them to say "yessir" and "yes m’am."

I want my kids to get used to older people saying "Aren't you respectful? But really. You don't have to call me mister anymore. Call me by my first name."

I want my kids to be proud when someone says “Aren’t you Zach Garza’s boy?”

That’s what I want for my kids. And I bet if you have kids, you want those same things for your kids.

Well, what I want for my kids and what you want for you kids, that’s what I want for my Forerunners. I want every last one of those things for every kid that is in our program.

I want our Forerunners to be loved and to feel safe.

I want our Forerunners to have hope and to be able to dream.

I want our Forerunners to be a part of something bigger than themselves and I want them to feel valued and important.

I want our Forerunners to have a consistent, Godly man in their life to tell them things like “I’m proud of you” and “You have what it takes to be a good man.”

I want our Forerunners to have every opportunity in the world and I want them to become a better man than me.

Is that too much to ask? Lord, please make it happen.

So what does success look like for Forerunner Mentoring Program?

Yes. Success looks like better grades and better STAAR scores and better behavior. It looks like growth in a bunch of areas that most would deem “key areas”.

But success also looks like the things that you can’t measure. It looks like a smile on the face of a kid who feels loved. It looks like a self-confident kid who is proud of who he is. It looks like a kid calling up his mentor and asking “Can I ask you something?” It looks like hope in the eyes of one of our boys.

That’s what success looks like to me.

And if that happens in one kid, just ONE KID, then Forerunner Mentoring Program has been successful.

We all have been given an incredible opportunity to build a relationship with our Forerunners through mentoring and tutoring. I encourage you to pray about if the Lord is calling you to join our program. This is the time of year that Forerunner is looking for new mentors and we need as many men as we can get.

There are a ton of kids in Lake Highlands that have no one praying for them. Not one person. They don’t have a man teaching them how to act like a man. They don’t have anyone speaking encouragement and hope to their souls. They don’t have anyone asking them what they learned in school today or giving them a high five when they do well on a test.

Come and find out what we are about. Come and join us as we give our kids the opportunity to be the best they can be. Come and partner with us as we love our neighbors.

Come and help us be successful.

Is What You're Doing Even Working?