At NELA Youth, we offer various programs, but our most impactful one is the Mentoring Outings. These outings involve spending quality time with kids through activities like park visits, fishing trips, trail walks, indoor recreational venues, lunch discussions, cookouts, attending Sunday church services, engaging in volunteer work, and participating in special local events. These experiences allow us to broaden their horizons and demonstrate that there is more to life. It is during these moments that we can effectively mentor and guide these children, intervening to address negative behaviors and teach them about the fruit of the Spirit.
Our primary goal is to mentor them by helping them understand their identity in Christ, a task best achieved through personal connections. Just as in a large church where one learns on Sundays but truly grows in smaller groups, we strive to establish deep relationships with the children we mentor. Reflecting on the example of Jesus, who imparted teachings to crowds but formed intimate bonds with his disciples, we recognize the importance of these personal interactions in guiding and nurturing the youth we serve.
Matthew 28:16–20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
May these children will catch fire they can not contain and spread that throughout their family, community, city, state and the nations!
