Bridges for Youth

Its a month of thanksgiving and a time to give thanks to God for the miracle that is Bridges For Youth.  I have not been able to find adequate words for what God has done at the Bridges For Youth Centers. Perhaps I will be dead and gone before people see what the hand of God has planted and given to the hurting children of our area.

Three weeks of financial strain on the Bridges For Youth ministry has lead me to seek God for what direction to take now. By the grace of God we have been able to expand our services from one neighborhood center in 2001 to the present 5 centers in 2008.  Every week, spare only a few, since 2001 we have not known were most of our monthly needs would be met. Our last Bridges for Youth center was planted in Marshfield in 2006. 

Our vision has been to passionately move forward in planting centers throughout Southwest Missouri and across the United States.  The vision , passion and tremendous needs among our youth remain intact to this day .   God has given us the knowledge of how to plant a Bridges For Youth Center and how to staff it to his glory.  In the short 10 years since we have operated the National Bridges For Youth center, we have seen the tremendous fruit and hope that our presence brings into the lives of young people and their families. The only missing ingredient that hinders us from moving forward is a donor base that understands and supports the valuable work we do at our centers.  

Our “A Place Like This” vision has already identified three neighborhoods in the Springfield area and numerous surrounding small towns in Southwest Missouri were a Bridges For Youth center could make a profound and immediate impact.  A 5th neighborhood Bridges For Youth in Springfield could be a reality within the month, but we must first address the need for new donors  who will sustain our current work with kids.

Monthly and one time gifts alike sustain us. The amounts or methods don’t matter as much as the acknowledgement that you want to partner in what we do at Bridges For Youth.  Several of our donors have expressed that we are fiscally conservative with our budget and that we stretch dollars further than is humanly possible.  One donor described out day to day existence to be like the story of the ‘fishes and loaves’ in the Bible.   Assuredly God has multiplied what has been received to sustain us, as well as bringing the emergency provisions in a timely fashion.

The simple truth is that your donations, prayers and spreading the word about our work with kids, are needed to gird up our current 5 youth centers immediately.  Today, November 5th, we need to have 338 more kids who are already attending our programs.  It is easy to sponsor a kid and its only $120 for a whole year.  Kids, ages 6-18, are able to attend the Bridges centers at no charge.  Two of our Bridges For Youth Centers even pick up kids at school now.   The kids are greeted by strong adult mentors who nurture and play with them each day. 1005 kids were served in the last school year.

Two kids can be sponsored by a $20 a month gift. Five kids can be sponsored by a $50 a month gift.    Our Goliath Slayer giver can make a profound and needed impact by commiting to sponsor 100 kids by donating $1000 a month.

I invite you to prayerfully consider sponsoring a child, praying with us for full funding, and helping to spread the word about the work we do with kids.

Something has always seemed strange to me as a Pastor.  There are a quantity and diversity of needs that Billy and Susan present as you encounter them each day at a Bridges for Youth center.   Approaching these needs as a caring adult, you want to fix and repair all the needs.   Jesus would not be wanting any of these little ones to suffer and neither did we. Anyhow, in the midst of all the problems that kids carry with them, we discover it is impossible  to check very many of their needs off of a list.

Billy is eight years old and has a voice that is like a roaring lion. His voice never lowers but resounds with a thundering quality that demands attention.   It takes a great deal of patience to communicate with Billy without getting into a shouting match.  There is no argument here between the adult mentor and Billy, only  an intensive encounter so that Billy can determine how far you are willing to go in reaching out to him.    Billy is wondering, “Is this adult just like all the others?”, and “Will he abandon me also?, just like all the other adults in my life.” Fatigue starts to show on the adult mentor, but strangely, to Billy anyway, this adult is strangely staying the course. Billy will not admit it until months later, but this adult mentor has become a strong influence and encouragement in his life.   Problems and challenges that Billy faced were constantly being communicated to staff, and it had occurred to Billy more than once that they were like family to him.   Billy had problems and needs that staff were able to remedy almost immediately by having a nurturing relationship with him, and then there were those other problems that had to be surrendered to God.   Not unlike hundreds of other kids in the area, Billy’s father was not a part of his life, and he was being raised by his mother.    Billy had a great mom, but she couldn’t replace the abandonment and hurt of a dad who apparently wanted nothing to do with Billy or his two sisters. Few worked harder than Billy’s mom to provide, but often it just wasn’t enough and the utilities would be cut off or they would get way behind on rent. As adult mentors and Christians we discover that we help in these situations by surrendering the impossible to God, and then we watch as God responds to our cries for help.

Susan was so quiet and shy when we met her that it took a lot of  time to get her to open up. A 12 year old, Susan had what I would say was a very difficult life. You could see in her eyes what she was thinking as she looked into the adult mentors eyes, “Can I trust this person with my hurt?”. It would be two months later before Susan had the confidence to share, and then the trust and healing started to show after that. There were some very hard truths that were hidden in the recesses of Susan’s heart.    The recurring thoughts of worthlessness were triggered by rememberances of an abusive father who was no longer in her life.  The undignified assault on her was enlarged by a mother who did not care about her and who was in jail for drug use. Susan was now living with a relative, and was the only option outside of foster care. Her visits to the youth center and talks with the adult mentor became cherished moments in her day.   Susan had a chance to dialogue with a favorite staff member about the days events, and the love that she received would give her renewed hope.  Always greeted with a hug when she arrived, Susan had a sense that these people were like Jesus to her.  Susan would become talkative and comfortable at Bridges after a few months. Susan’s  severed relationships with both her mom and dad continued to stir hurtful feelings. The harsh  reality of what had happened to Susan were not lost in the daily conversations with Bridges staff. Impossible for a human to fix or repair we surrender Susan’s troubles to God.   God will be attentive to Susan’s cries for healing and there will be a victory.

These above are not real kids, but real problems that the kids we see deal with each day.    The stories are a reflection of how a simple little youth center with a loving, caring staff can make a positive impact on kids.  All this, not through our own strength, but through a surrendering to God and His omnipotence and love for His children.

 Pastor Steve Hare