2 Hours

There is a youth speaker and so-called teen expert by the name of Josh Shipp who has made a career out of studying teens, knowing their culture, and advocating for them. He is brilliant and has helped a great number of adults and teens to navigate the tricky years of adolescence with his main point being a simple but profound truth: every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story. This truth has shaped the way I look at ministry and, in particular, the need for mentoring with teens.             Over the past year, mentoring students in a 1-on-1 setting outside of Wednesday night youth group has become a big part of ministry for me.  The mentorships have only taken a couple of hours per week per student but this time has made a big impact for some of them. They need a consistent commitment from an adult to give them time in both the peaks and the valleys of life. This is how trust is built. Week in, week out, a couple of hours to talk about anything and everything. The reason is that kids spell “trust” T-I-M-E. Time is a strong communicator to teenagers that you care about them and, honestly, it takes a certain amount of time before they even feel comfortable sharing with you (this can be true for many adults as well). It also helps to join them in the things they are already doing. This brings about one of the best parts of mentoring teens; the meetings happen at Taco Bells, parks, in front of TVs, throwing a football, or wherever else they feel comfortable. Most of the time, sitting in an office or around several other adults isn’t going to be a setting where they feel comfortable and it can keep them from sharing. Being willing to do mentoring where they want to be and doing what they want to do rather than trying to force them into my office has been a major contributor to building trust and going deep. I didn't fully realize how big of an impact just two hours per week of 1-on-1 conversation with a student could make. The biggest encouragement to me has been one particular student who had a major turnaround in his life. He went from struggling in school and having no passion in life to being a Jesus-loving honor roll student (he even won an award at his school called the Turnaround Award). While I believe there were many factors that attributed to this student's turnaround, I believe a major contributing factor were our weekly mentorship sessions where we discussed what it means to authentically follow Jesus, friendships, influence, family, decisions, etc. God used the time we spent together for bigger and better things than I ever could have imagined. God has shown me just how powerful He is and what He can do during this time with students. It became my goal to mentor at least 2 students a year and God honored that, and then He doubled it. I have spent consistent time mentoring 4 different students this year and each of them are seeming to make strides in their relationship with Jesus and their parents.  I have even started mentoring a few young adults, and it has been encouraging to learn and grow and see what God can do with just a few hours each week. If I could change one thing about Josh Shipp’s statement, it’s that I think it’s too specific. I think this truth applies to a wider number of people than just teens. I believe that all people are one caring person away from being a success. We all need somebody who is walking with us in life through its ups and downs. So whether you feel called to mentor kids, teens, or adults it is time to give two hours per week to somebody and see what God does with it. Patrick Frost Middle School Youth Pastor