April was monumental. Q1 came to a close and we couldn’t believe all that has already happened in 2022 within our programs and mentoring relationships. Our boys are coming up on their last month of program before heading off to summer camp in June. Some of them are high-school Forerunners who will be graduating in a couple weeks. Some of them got to be matched with a mentor and be introduced to a father-figure in their lives. And others are growing in traits of a man through the investment of staff, tutors, coaches, and volunteers. Thank you for rallying behind us in this work we get to do everyday. Thank you for believing that these boys who we have the privilege of knowing and serving will change Lake Highlands one day. Thank you for believing in our vision and mission to see these boys fulfill their potential. Thank you for believing in us and that one thing still stands true - relationships change lives.

The Company of Men is a new initiative that started as an idea in March and came to fruition last month. The goal of this initiative was to honor and celebrate the graduating high-school students who are a part of our programs at Forerunner and commission them into Manhood.

On April 27th, 2022 a milestone was reached for our organization. A milestone reached for five of our graduating high-school forerunners. The young men who have been forerunners for their families. Forerunners in their generation. Forerunners for The Company of Men.

Thanks to mentors and men in our community, we were able to gift each senior with a suit, tie, belt, shoes and more to send them into the next chapter of their lives. One of our longest standing forerunners stood up during dinner and shared that the thing that excites him the most about becoming a man is that he knows he doesn't have to figure it out on his own. That God has support for him in the journey, and that he will get to be that support for others. In a few sentences, he summed up what we want every boy in Lake Highlands to know. “It is not good for man to be alone.”

God reveals himself in relationships. They are not only a reflection of His care and support for us, but also the place where we find our own purpose. To live and make sacrifices for others. To leave a legacy. To change the trajectory of our family lines. We are not our own. We have been bought with a price. No greater love than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. Here’s to these five forerunners and many more to come who will leave a legacy behind and carry manhood forward.

Relationships Change Lives.

The first 5 Forerunners inducted into The Company of Men.

Our first ever Women’s Retreat. April 2nd, 2022 was a day marked by community amongst some powerful women.

Mothers of the boys we serve and other women had a day to do three things: relax, relate, and reset. The day started with relaxing at the nail salon, relating with one another over lunch, to resetting hearts and minds on God and his heart for this season of mothering by hearing a beautiful devotional from Kim Sayles who serves on our Board of Advisors.

We are so thankful that we not only get to build relationships with young men in our community, but we love getting to serve their mothers and support them in their journey of parenting and mothering their own sons. These women are paving a way and being Forerunners in their homes.

"Strength and honor are her clothing; she is confident about the future. Her mouth is full of wisdom; kindly teaching is on her tongue. She is vigilant over the activities of her household” Proverbs 31:25-27

Pray for our mothers to continue being strengthened daily and for each to be filled with confidence for the future. Pray for grace and wisdom as they each continue leading their families!

Why take a day off to rest and reset? Why host a day retreat for the Forerunner moms?

The answer is this: Mothers, from the beginning at conception, carry, breathe, and sustain life for their children. Inside the womb and then outside of it. The mothers at Forerunner have chosen to continue to grow, protect, and nourish their children even when their partner has separated from them. The burden of most of all the aspects of child rearing falls on them. This is their calling and our Forerunner moms shepherd and carry that calling with high integrity. Though with this calling of single parenthood comes sacrifice after sacrifice. These women pour their heart, soul, and energy into mothering. Their dreams, desires, and wants are sacrificed for their children. Forerunner wanted to give them a day for them to be. A day to simply connect with other single mothers carrying the same calling and reconnect with their personhood outside of being a mother. A day to Relax. Relate. Reset.

These were the three words chosen to shape the events for the day on April 2nd. Relax and spend time without your children for a day. No caretaking except for taking care of yourself. Pampering at a spa. Soaking your feet and sitting in a massage chair. Eating a meal prepared for you in a beautiful setting that is peaceful. Sisterhood. Relating to each other while wearing matching pink shirts. Laughing, hugging, relating and belonging. Taking over the spa with all 16 other mothers. Strangers watching and asking who we were. The nail tech giving me her cell phone number because she is a single mom and she wants to be with us and asking if she can join.

Women celebrating women and bringing them into the fold, just as Jesus did. A daily devotional book given to each woman, and read out loud, because relating to the Lord shapes us and is the most important relationship in our lives. Watching the women arrive that evening gorgeous and feeling gorgeous in the heels and make up and dresses. Seeing them pile into vehicles all together feeling beautiful and excited to share a meal together. This is the why behind what we do. They are a tribe. They have a place to belong. Forerunner has created a space for them to be known, to be seen, and to be celebrated.

“Oh Carrie, what a wonderful day! The 3R motto for today really goes a long way, it was such a beautiful and happy day for all of us. Thank you for being the brain behind these memorable moments with the ladies, and God bless all the volunteers for putting smiles on our faces. May God make them happy too. I’m just too happy to go to bed, it’s been many years since I experienced this. God bless all the givers and the support system and the Forerunner coaches too.” - a text from one of the Forerunner moms after the retreat

Thank you for supporting us and helping us create a setting where mothers like this experience the goodness of the Lord. Here’s to going from “it’s been may years” to “it’s everyday”.

-Carrie Cassell, Women’s Ministry Coordinator

Our clothes still smell like bacon grease, bonfire smoke, and sweat because our Spring Campout was one we’ll never forget!

Thanks to our adventure comrades and friends at Camp Firewalker, many of our boys got to experience the outdoors in a new way for the first time. They were taught the ropes of fishing, archery, orienting, tent set-up, and much more. What may be routine for many of us became a first time experience for many of our forerunners. Not only did they learn new things, but they experienced brotherhood outside of our day-to-day programs.

Our hope is that experiences like these would continue for our boys. For them to discover Manhood in being outdoors, and connecting with their Heavenly Father. To be able to tell their children one day about their first time fishing. Their first time seeing the stars as clear as they did. The first time making and eating s’mores. The first time sharing a tent and laughing until they fell asleep with their brothers.

May the outdoors become one of the many places where our boys find joy and reset in their relationships with each other and their mentors. #RelationshipsChangeLives

A new Forerunner joined our squad in April! Say hello to Conterrace Green, our new Director of Programs!

We’re so thrilled to have him jump on board and run with us in this season! As our DOP, Conterrace will oversee the strategic direction and growth of all programs at Forerunner Mentoring. He has a heart for the next generation and has already brought so much energy and excitement to our team!

We are so thankful to see new mentors step in and be a part of our mentoring program! April was National Volunteer Month, and we couldn’t do what we do without volunteers. Our mentors volunteer their time to invest in our boys, speak identity over them, show them the way, and be their biggest champion. Pray for these mentor/mentee relationships to thrive and continue flourishing in the name of Jesus.

Dr. Darrick Holland, a mentor in our high school program, spoke to us last month about his journey to becoming a lawyer. He’s a graduate of the University of Maryland, NorthCentral University, Walden University, and practiced law at American Heritage University School of Law. Darrick served in the military and used his benefits to pay for law school. Darrick deals with appeal, corporate, probate, and real estate law. He also owns his own real estate company. Darrick grew up in the rough streets of Baltimore, Maryland. It doesn’t matter where you come from you can make it with a vision and by utilizing your resources. Darrick is Kris’s mentor. Kris so happens to want to join the military and do real estate! It is becoming more and more evident that God is so interwoven in our mentoring relationships. Who would have thought that this mentee has a mentor who can show him the way and give him advice on pursuing his dreams because he has been a Forerunner himself in the same career path?! God is working and is more involved in our relationships than we’ll ever know.

-Darius Person, High School Coordinator

“This Is God putting his last masterpiece on earth”

As some of you may know, we are a faith-based organization and structure our programs so that boys whom we serve we grow in their identity as men of God. Around the month of April every year, we spend time sharing the gospel with our forerunners. Last month, 12 boys in our K-6 program decided to pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior!

During the same week at our high school ministry called THRIVE, 6 young men gave their lives to Jesus!

We are believing that through conversations with coaches and mentors that these relationships with Jesus will be only the beginning to them fulfilling their potential and living life to the fullest in the Father’s love. Pray for these boys and young men as they consider taking the next step in their relationship with Jesus and making a public declaration of their faith through baptisms that will happen in May.

My brother and his mentee were just matched back in November, and Daniel comes up to program often because he volunteers to take his mentee and his brother home from program for his mother a couple of times a week. One night I asked him how it's been going with mentoring. He told me this story:

The other day my mentee and I were playing basketball, and he said “If I make this shot we stop at the store on the way home and I get a bag of chips!” I told him it was a deal.

Then he switched it up and said “If I make this shot…you're the best mentor in the world!” He shot and missed. I just laughed and was like I guess I'm not!

My mentee grabbed the ball again and said “Okay if I MISS this shot…you're the best mentor in the world.” Then he threw the ball in the complete opposite direction of the goal.

Empowering identity is one of our end goals for our boys, and we've said that identity unlocks potential. It's true for mentors too. Hearing words of encouragement from your mentee is powerful, and this mentee put courage into his mentor in that moment. I can just picture any of the discouragement that Daniel may have been carrying falling off of his shoulders when he saw his mentee chunk the ball off to the side and he realized that he just wanted to make the message clear on how he felt about him.

“You're the best mentor in the world”

-Beth Winter, Director of Operations

Thank you for reading our stories and following us along in this amazing journey of seeing these young men fulfill their potential.

Relationships Change Lives.

April 2022 Recap