Mentoring Our Boys –

I just had a conversation with Juergen Kneifel, a board member of the Christian Association of Youth Mentoring (CAYM.org). Among other things, we talked about one-on-one mentoring vs. small group mentoring. He specifically liked the association of mentorship within organizations like the Boys Scouts and the Royal Rangers or as part of school programs.

Here are a few points to be made with regard to mentorship:

Over half of today’s boys will not have their biological father living at home by the time they go out on their own after high school graduation. This brings about a significant void in the lives of these young men. Without the mentorship of a father-figure, these fatherless boys will miss that important relationship with a man. Many of our boys are not becoming authentic men as a result.

One-on-one mentoring can offer the best hope of filling that void. There are men who are called into this kind of commitment. They offer these young men the hope they need as they learn authentic manhood from their mentor.

Some changes in our culture, however, have caused these one-on-one relationships to have some unique challenges today. Because of criminal acts by some mentors in the past, and in some cases, the mentees, background checks are now required. Time spent together must occur in public places. Other trusted adults must often observe or participate as a witness to avoid inappropriate acts and false accusations. One-on-one mentoring, with these new challenges, has become difficult to accomplish.

Here’s the beauty of small group mentoring:

Some of these challenges are solved within the design of a group program. While background checks are still helpful, the inappropriate acts and false accusations can be avoided, if not stopped all together, by having the mentorship relationships occur in a small group setting.

Whether it’s in the Boy Scout program, Royal Rangers, team sports, church youth group or after-school programs, or a dedicated mentoring group, these important mentorship relationships can still be accomplished. But there is an added benefit of accountability as well as the advantages of group activities and discussions. In addition, fathers can participate with their own sons as they develop mentorship relationships with the fatherless boys within their circle of influence.

Take a look at the Vision-Mission-Method statements for Squires2Knights Ministries. See how we are offering ideas and resources to solve these challenges and maximize mentorship results for the next generation of men.

Posted on December 18th, 2009 by Jeff Purkiss
Filed under: Cultural Issues, Fathering/Mentoring