Category Archives: Uncategorized

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. (Mark 16:9 NIV) We have an old saying that “things sometimes take a turn for the worst” … but sometimes things, even bad things, can take a turn for theContinue reading “When Things Take a Turn for the Best”

If you lead a mentoring program for any period of time, you will have some difficult conversations. No one likes conflict, but if we are going to work with people on behalf of people, we will need to have difficult conversations from time to time. While it may be tempting to avoid these conversations, healthyContinue reading “Difficult Conversations”

Please enjoy this success story from one ministry CAYM helped train. A four-year-old boy was about to get kicked out of preschool. Without parents in his life, Chris was out of control. The school was running out of options. Then a teacher suggested mentoring through the Appalachia Mentoring Project. For four straight weeks, Ken showedContinue reading “Too Young to be Without Hope”

Island Christian Church in New York knew they needed mentors for youth of single moms who attended their church. It’s hard enough to keep kids faithful to the Lord under the best of circumstances, but moms raising children on their own face enormous challenges. Raymond’s parent divorced when he was too young to understand whatContinue reading “Changing Families”

Tony Blair once said, “The art of leadership is not saying yes; it is saying no.”[1] And yet, if you are anything like me, you find it hard to say no on occasion. As long as everything seems important and urgent, “no” remains a distant dream. Leaders, ministry is important, but your health and emotionalContinue reading “The Power of No”

We see over and over how mentoring relationships can impact communities! Please enjoy this success story from one ministry CAYM helped train. Shepherd Christian Community sits in the middle of the poorest area of Indianapolis, a city where the poverty rate has nearly doubled since 2000. This Nazarene church has a congregation made up mostlyContinue reading “Compassion Cleans a Community”

Sometimes mentoring leads down unexpected paths! We would like to share the following story from a family who experienced long-lasting impact from what began as a mentoring relationship. This is the story of Jimi Nickel and her family. “I started working at Youth Horizons in the fall of 2006 after my husband Phil and IContinue reading “Becoming a Nickel is Priceless”

“Youth are leaving our churches, and we don’t know what to do about it.” These words are too often spoken by pastors who faithfully minister in churches across this nation. “How do we stay relevant to our culture when the culture constantly changes?” is usually the next question. While Christianity Today has done a goodContinue reading “It’s All About Relationships”

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be a Prince of Peace. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. IsaiahContinue reading “The Mentor and Shalom”

Keeping record of the basic internal metrics for a mentoring program is an important part of tracking the progress of a program.  These basic metrics help a mentoring program to identify which mentoring best practices are being done well and what adjustments may need to be made so that the program becomes more effective.  Let’sContinue reading “Mentoring Programs: Basic Internal Metrics”