“Thanks for coming in and have a great day!” These are the most common farewell words used at our Teen Pregnancy Center. All though they are sincere and caring words, we want to see them slowly disappear. Ok, now that I have you really confused, let me explain. Typically when a young lady comes into our center doors she is scared and confused. We generally get to spend 45 minutes with her to give her a pregnancy test, explain her options, listen to her story, and let her know that Jesus loves her no matter what. However, the staff and I want to see that 45 minutes turn into a year long relational ministry time. We want her first visit to be just the beginning of a relationship with The Center. Here are the steps that we are putting into place in order to make that happen:

Parenting classes: A weekly afternoon class that runs for 8 weeks. About 75 girls attend each year.
Mom2Mom: Our mentoring ministry that matches up a young mom to a Godly woman in the community for a year.
Hope Chest: A ministry that includes baby and maternity clothes from Josephine’s Closet, as well as needs based donations of diapers, formula, and food.

These are just a few ways that we are trying to become more relevant in their lives. These ministries provide us with an avenue to truly develop a relationship with that young lady allowing more time for them to be loved and experience the love of Jesus.

Talk is cheap, the easy thing to do is try to just save the baby and pat our selfs on the back. But Jesus was never into the easy thing. These girls need hope, they need real love, they need grace and they need Jesus. That can not all happen in a 45 minute time frame. We all need to start investing into the lives of teenagers, we need to be able to let them hear AND see Jesus.

Talk is cheap! Show them Jesus.

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is the opportunity I have to get to know new staff. During an Military Community Youth Ministries “discernment” weekend, people from all over the country gather at MCYM headquarters in Colorado Springs to find out more about working with military teenagers. These weekends are like extended interviews, both for the prospective staff to learn about MCYM and for us to learn about the staff. I have been blessed to meet some really great people, and continue to be impressed by the folks that God is bringing from all over the country who are willing to say, “Here I am, send me”! All those that come on staff are required to raise a significant portion of their salary. The great news is that the possibility of fund-raising does not seem to be deterring people from wanting to serve in this ministry! The last few recruitment weekends MCYM has hosted have been full. Those that are called to this ministry are confident in God’s ability to provide for their needs, in spite of the struggling economy. These people are my heroes. They know and feel Gods call on their lives and they ACT. This is a hard time to raise missionary money to minister to Military brats. But then again The worlds economy is not Gods economy. Keep listening for his call, ya never know!

What a great group of people. These folks dedicate their lives to some hurting kids.