Miami Valley Partnership for Fathers

SCYM is excited to be part of a grant from the state of Ohio for the next seven months, centered on strengthening fathers in our state. Our "piece of the puzzle" is premature fatherhood prevention for middle school boys - basically helping these kids understand why it's a bad idea to get their girlfriends pregnant in high school, and how they can avoid that.

As we see it, there's not a lot of programming out there that's just for guys - and if you wait until the later high school years, this kind of thing comes too late. Middle school is really a great age to be working with at-risk youth, because they have not yet made disastrous choices that are bringing them down.

So for our MVPF programming, Chris and one or two other group facilitators are going to be leading small groups in city middle schools going through a curriculum that talks about identity, masculinity, and the risks of premature fatherhood. (In words that middle school guys relate to, of course.) Please pray for us and the other partners (Urban Light, FYI, and PowerNet of Dayton, who will all be working with dads), that the programming we're starting will really make an impact in changing the cycle of premature and absentee fathers that has shaped far too many kids' lives.

Faith Bosland
Executive Director

join us in prayer

Every week in my Anger Management groups at Clark and Schaefer I ask the kids to answer 3 questions:
1-How do you feel right now and why?
2-What is one good thing that happened this week?
3-What is one not so good thing that happened this week?

It's amazing how many times the kids' feelings about their week are dictated by their fathers. Often, a boy or girl will say they had a great weekend when they got to see their dad. A high percentage of kids, I'd guess 70%, hardly, if ever see their dads. So the answer sequence will go:
"One good thing that happened was that I got to go over to my dad's house, and one bad thing that happened was that I had to leave and when I got home I got in a fight with my mom/brother/sister."

It's sad. I can see clearly the effects of the broken homes in our city. Not having a positive male figure in their lives creates an emptiness in their worlds, a sense of powerlessness. I truly believe that their emptiness can only really be filled by their heavenly Father.

As you finish reading this I ask that you pray for these kids. Ask God to make Himself known to them in real and relevant ways. And pray that SCYM can be used to show them His love in practical ways, ways that reach into the emptiness and give them hope.

Chris LeMaster
Associate Director

Teaching About Real LIfe Issues

During my small group time with the girls one week at Young Life, I took usual requests for prayer. The girls told me they had just had a classmate commit suicide, and they were taking it hard. When I later asked them what I should speak on the following week (it was my turn to speak) they all agreed that they wanted to talk about suicide and why so many of their classmates say they hate themselves. Wow. I spent all of the next week praying and researching. I felt very unqualified to talk about this, but knew this was an opportunity to really bring God into their world.

That night, nothing seemed to be going right. Kids were getting hurt, fighting, and our older kids who had been great leaders before were being uncharacteristically difficulty and disrespectful. I felt defeated before the talk even began. But Chris LeMaster came over to me beforehand, and reminded me that what I was speaking about was so important, and this a good sign that someone didn't want tonight to happen. With that in mind and one last prayer, I began to share with the kids what reasons teens commit suicide, and what I believed the real underlying reasons were. I talked to them about how God wants to take their feelings of hopelessness and lack of purpose and give them something to live for. I reminded them that no matter how bad things got, God promised to never let them endure it alone and that nothing can separate them from His love. I finished the talk with a video of a skit done to the song “Everything” by Lifehouse, in which a Christ character takes on temptations and trials that try to come between us and Him. The kids were speechless. Once we broke into our small groups, it seemed the walls were down. Even the boys were moved and had much to say about the movie and topic. It was a good night after all, and I praise God for allowing His truth to be shared.

Chelsea Howard SCYM Volunteer

How to Pet a Lion

We took our kids to the Columbus Zoo this weekend - not that the little guy cared at all, but we figured it would be a great time for our 2.5-year-old, Ada. I realized things weren't going exactly as planned somewhere around the elephants, when her serious little face just wasn't registering the euphoria I thought it would.

We made our way to the lions, where lo and behold the male lion was camped out close to the viewing area. I hoisted her up so she could see him in all his lion coolness. She took it all in, and then very matter-of-factly said, in a voice loud enough just about anyone could hear:

"I wanna pet the wion."

This was the theme of the day - I wanna pet the elephant, I wanna pet the bear, I wanna pet the monkey. Not "Wow, look at all these great things I can see," but "What can I experience firsthand?" I have no doubt that Ada's favorite moment at the zoo was climbing on stuff, and she has far more fondness for the stuffed lion we brought home than the real one.

As I reflected on Ada's toddler entertainment values, it struck me as parallel to the kids we meet and their perceptions of God. Most kids I know are unimpressed - or more accurately, unchanged - by a God they see only from a distance, no matter how great and impressive he is. They are craving to experience God - not just for a moment, but in the real life of every day, in the gritty, unglamorous world they inhabit. No matter how great we think the view is, if they are not changed, then the view is not enough. Many of these kids already believe in God - but what does that mean when they feel like punching someone, or like they'll never amount to anything?

How do kids experience God up close - how do they "pet the lion"? Through people who have Jesus in them, who are willing to get up close with kids. The grandparents, college students, moms and dads, ministry workers who will befriend a kid, show up, walk with them through daily decisions, share their life story, and shine the light of Jesus on the chaotic world we live in.

It's not that kids just want to pet the lion. They need to pet the lion. You heard me - they need to. I can't help but think of Aslan the lion, the Christ figure of the Narnia Chronicles. "Safe?" says the Beaver, about Aslan. "Oh, he's not safe! But he's good."

So many kids need to experience the fierce goodness, the life-changing power of God. Not see it - experience it. It does not happen in a flash; it happens in common, everyday moments. But when it happens, that is when kids truly begin to grasp and own what it means to have faith in an awesome, powerful, kingly, yes - lion-like God.

Faith Bosland
Executive Director

GirlPower

Along with several other SCYM programs, GirlPower kicked off this past week for Clark and Schaefer Middle School kids. This is the fifth session (summer or semester) we've run the program, which is a partnership with the YMCA and focuses on health, beauty, fitness and self-esteem. I remember when the idea for GirlPower first came about, and I sensed right away it was a "God thing," just a gut feeling that this was a program we needed to create. The previous school year, I had met so many kids from Clark who had suffered the loss of a parent or loved one, it was almost unthinkable. Only in middle school, these kids were already bearing pain from accidents, illnesses, sometimes just really bad decisions - drugs, alcohol, recklessness. The saddest part to me was how many of these situations were avoidable, if only the person involved had had a healthier lifestyle.

It's almost always on my mind that these kids are, statistically speaking, going to repeat the mistakes of their families, unless somebody helps them find something different. That's how GirlPower came about. The thought was, what if we help girls develop healthy lifestyles - not just learning how to exercise and eat right, but also make good decisions and have healthy relationships, all from the foundation that they are a person valued by God.

So, twice a week, a group of middle school girls gather with a bunch of volunteer leaders from Wittenberg University to exercise, cook, talk, journal, work out problems, have fun together, and a host of other great activities. Aubrey Herbst, who's our new GirlPower Director this fall, says "The pressures of middle school kind of just disappear when they're at GirlPower." Girls who have learned to deal with relational problems by arguing, fighting, and spreading rumors instead find a safe place to talk things out and bond with others that they normally wouldn't hang out with.

Can you tell this program has a special place in my heart? I hope we can bring some more good stories over the semester about cool things that are happening at GirlPower. This is the kind of stuff that we're all about, making a real difference in one life at a time. The impact happens little by little, over time, and it doesn't always work out the way you want it to. But I truly believe that we're in the right place and doing the right thing.

Faith Bosland
Executive Director

Ox Roast update

So, last Saturday was our infamous Ox Roast. It went really well. Over 340 people, great weather, and just an overall successful end-of-the-summer party (minus the OSU slaughter). This was my first Ox Roast and I am truly thankful for the many people who sacrificed their time to help out. In the end, the Ox Roast is not about the Mule Skinner band, or 30 ft. Moonwalkers, or even the delicious smoked beef. In the end, the Ox Roast is about communities coming together to support Kingdom work. There was a point in the evening when we began to run out of water bottles. With only a few water bottles left and a line stretching out to the parking lot we knew we needed to get some more. Thirsty people with no water. In a lot of ways that sums up the situation and life experiences of many of the kids we reach out to, thirsty and in need of water. Like Jesus said to the crowds that gathered around him, we know that physical thirst comes back only a short time after it is quenched. A spiritual quenching is different. Jesus says that he has spiritual water for these kids that will satisfy their souls forever. When we ran out of water at the Ox Roast a few people rallied together to take care of the situation. This is exactly what we are trying to do at SCYM, work together to see the love of God transform lives. It is not like selling merchandise and it takes more foundation than building a house but we believe that God can bring new life to the kids of our community and quench the spiritual thirst in their souls forever. Amen.

Chris LeMaster
Associate Director, SCYM

Ox Roast Images