February 2022 "Month-in-Review"
Last month, our good friends at Camp Firewalker led some of our boys on a hike, provided the best breakfast tacos we’ve ever had (some of the boys may or may not have snuck some on the trail), and helped our boys persevere to the finish. 👣 Mentors preceded to carry their mentees on their backs, and the boys followed and did the same for each other. This is what mentoring and brotherhood is all about — bearing one another’s burdens, helping each other stay on the narrow path.
We have some exciting news! Last month, Beth Winter made a lateral move to become our new Director of Operations!
Beth has served as our Director of Programs at Forerunner for almost a year now. Concurrently, she’s helped fill in the gaps of our operational needs. As we were creating plans to hire a Director of Operations, we had a moment of clarity that Beth is actually the best equipped person to take on the role.
Operations is all about supporting our programs through increasing our organization’s capacity to fulfill the vision through leadership development and systems management. Much of the work Beth has done in the programs since she started here as a grade coach has been to design the blueprints of our programs. She quite literally wrote the book on our policies and procedures, restructured our staff training process, implemented higher safety standards, and spearheaded the designs of our facilities. Our strategic direction and vision for our programs has improved considerably because of her leadership.
So, rather than hiring for a new Director of Operations, we transitioned Beth into this role! We’re confident Forerunner will continue to benefit from Beth’s strengths in her new role. Please take a moment to congratulate her on the many accomplishments she has made while serving as Director of Programs. We are glad that she will continue to offer her talents here at Forerunner, and expect the best is yet to come!
Last semester, one of our Junior High students forgot his laptop at program. It was on my desk when I arrived the next day. I thought about taking it later to the school but I felt compelled to take it to the school right away.
When I arrived, there was a young man on the steps of the school with his mom. He was crying and angry. I walked into the office and Mr. Vincent threw his hands up and said “Wow, you are here! We just told that mom outside about Forerunner.”
I went outside to meet her and got to talk with her, and her son who is pictured below enrolled into Forerunner. It was a divine appointment. I’m never at the school that early. We matched this student with a mentor at the junior high school last month. His mom said it’s an answered prayer, because His grandmother had been praying for an older male figure to come into his life. Jesus is faithful and hears our prayers. He is providing godly men to mentor others. He is making a way and opening divine appointments, and all we have to do is trust Him. Keep this mentor and his new mentee in prayer as they start walking and doing life together!
The brothers! This past month, these two brothers each got matched with a new mentor. We have already seen them come alive in their relationships and we are excited to see these boys grow and fulfill their potential. They were so excited when meeting their mentor for the first time, because they knew someone was stepping in to show them the way to live as Men of God. If you would like to become a mentor for one of our boys, fill out an application here.
Our Women’s Ministry had a blast at their Galentines Night last month. They shared a meal together, laughed, played games, and had a moment where each mom in the room had to write on thing they love about themselves on the board. We saw moms set out in vulnerability and choose to believe what God says about them, even when they world says otherwise.
God has been continuing to show up and move at THRIVE, our high school program. We had a couple cancellations last month due to inclement winter weather, but we were grateful to have Nate Miller (left photo) and Chris Edwards (right photo) come and share with our high school guys on who God is to them. Nate Miller has a heart for youth and serves as Youth Pastor at Lake Pointe. Chris Edwards is a motivational speaker and carries a story of God showing up in his life as his Keeper. The high school guys are asking deep questions and learning so much from men like these who have gone before them, encountered God, and share with the world what He has done in their lives. In March, we will close out our “Who Is He to You?” Series and we’re believing these young men will continue learning about their identity in Christ, step into Manhood, and walk out in their schools with leadership and a hunger for others to know God.
A little Forerunner History.
2 years ago during February we shared the gospel with our Forerunners at church, and told them about receiving salvation and being baptized as a sign of your decision to follow Jesus. 20 students wanted to be baptized. So, we made a plan for Forerunner’s first ever baptism ceremony.
And then the next week we started hearing about covid. By Friday our program was shut down, and we didn't get to reopen until the middle of September 2020.
But when we did, we picked back up where we left off. Our Bible Time became more intentional, and our Church services became a core element of our Forerunner culture. We even had moms wanting to come and be a part of it.
And when we shared about baptism again around this time last year, a group of kids came to the front of the chapel after church to talk to our staff about making the decision to be baptized. Over the following weeks we talked 1/1 with students to ensure they understand the significance of that decision, and we talked with parents about the choice their sons wanted to make in being baptized. And in May 2021 we finally got to have that first Forerunner Baptism ceremony.
13 students were baptized.
And then over a Manhood Rite of Passage trip, 4 more.
And then during a summer camp, 4 more.
21 Men of God, making their declarations.
God’s plans prosper. He’s faithful to finish what He started. Thank you for following along on our journey the past couple years.
-Beth Winter, Director of Operations
Big Brothers for Life.
During my first year on staff at Forerunner, I was in pursuit of some High School guys. I had an idea to take 1 high school guy out to a meal once a week to build trust with them and get to know them deeper.
Meet my guy Zae. I invited him to waffle house for breakfast. To my surprise he was an open book. He began to notify me that his brother was murdered the year before. Also, his dad just got out of prison. He served 13 years. I asked him how he felt about that. He said it’s weird and he also misses his older brother.
I talked with his mom the day after and she thanked me. She said he needs an older male figure due to the loss of his brother. I matched up Perry and Zae last year. They have a natural and authentic relationship. Zae walked into Thrive last month with a boot cast on his ankle. He has to wear the boot for another month. Y’all, IT WAS SUPER COLD LAST MONTH AND HE WALKED TO THRIVE ON IT. Well…he didn’t have to walk home alone last week in the cold because his older mentor and brother Perry, gave him a ride home. God is good. I’m so happy for Zae.
-Darius Person, High School Coordinator
“What do you want in a wife?”
This Forerunner and I were taking about what he wants in a wife one day. He was saying that it doesn't matter what's on the outside but what's on the inside and that God needs to be in her heart. He also hopes she can teach him how to cook 😂 Then he takes the straw that's he's messing with and bends it in half saying “this is your heart when your boyfriend cheats on you” before I could say anything he straightens it back out and says “but this is your heart because you've got God and you've got me” 😭❤️ The way that he loves is so pure and sweet. It always shocks me and consistently melts my heart.
-Caitlyn Moudy, K-6 Coach
Set apart on the court.
My brother is a mentor for one of our Forerunners. We went to his SVAA game last month one morning, and within minutes my sister-in-law looked over at me and was like “Are you about to cry right now?” And I was like yes because when we walked in, our Forerunner was on the bench, but when they called time out, he JUMPED off the bench and RAN out to his team to hype up the guys coming off the floor with encouragement. He made the rounds to every player to give them high fives, pats on the back, and to tell them good job.
Through the whole game he never had an attitude when the ref called him on something and he didn’t gloat when he made a good play. He shared the ball, he cheered for his team, and any minutes he had in the game he hustled to make them count.
There wasn't another kid in the room that looked like him in more than a few ways. He was set apart; but he defined what he was set apart for through leadership, humility, and respect. So proud of this Forerunner.
-Beth Winter, Director of Operations
Breaking Cycles.
I had a meeting with a woman who works for another ministry today, and she said that she is the daughter of an absent-father, and she wanted to know why we choose to not provide programming for girls when they have just as many needs as the boys in that regard.
I explained to her that our aim is to break the cycle of fatherlessness; to raise a generation of men who will not supply the demand of programs like ours. I told her our program isn't boys-only because we have forgotten about their sisters; it's because we're already thinking about their future wives, sons and daughters, and that we're asking ourselves what we can do today to make sure the absent husband/father pattern doesn't continue with them.
She said "Oh wow...okay. Yeah, I get it now. You're not just an intervention for the fatherless now; you're preventing the fatherless of the future...actual cycle breaking. I wish there were more programs thinking like this."
When the meeting was over I sat in my chair shaking my head because Tuesday night I wrote this note in my phone that has seemed to keep being relevant:
"I don't know what it is like to be a boy, or what it takes to be a man; but I know very well that women and children suffer when men don't fulfill their God-given potential. It's why I care about these programs; I understand the weight of their impact...in presence and absence. And I believe there are going to be women and children who will not know our names, but will live in the blessing of being partnered with or fathered by men who show up, build up, and love Jesus because of how they were prepared, through the sacrifice of many mentors and their loving families, to step into their purpose as Men of God. Forerunners; empowered through relationships, education, and identity...who will change the narrative of what it looks like to be a father, husband, and leader."
That's what we get to do. For our Forerunners' future wives, sons, and daughters...coworkers, employees, and employers...friends, neighbors, and church; thank you for being one of the many mentors making the sacrifice. Relationships change lives.
-Beth Winter, Director of Operations
