"Focus On The Family" highlights video about orphan care by John Cragg, LIYM executive director. Click on photo of John in the left column to see video.
Newsletter Videos:
I want to be a clown -- So that I can smile all the time: I was very lonely when I couldn't get a friend to come over. The most memorable thing about my mentor is friendship! This was my best friend in my entire life!!!
I watched my father get arrested: My Christian mentor was a goofball. He was ready to do anything. He impacted my by sharing how Jesus helped him in his walk. Now I am a mentor. I hope my mentor sees the same thing in me that I saw in my mentor. I want to share the basic instructions before leaving planet earth.
Fishing for Christ: This was the first boat trip for most of the kids. Many of the kids caught big ones. Check out the video of our fishing trip with the kids of LIYM.
I Was Violent: I was very violent, I had a temper, I couldn't be controlled! My Christian mentor changed my life.
We Pray a lot in the Car: When things have come up that are difficult things, we pray together and God is Faithful. We find ourselves praying in the car. The prayer and the mentoring program helps me understand things better.
Anthony and Warren: Anthony's mother feels that there is a real connection. "The bond is so special. I don't know how it would be without the mentor." Anthony feels it is the best Christian mentoring program match every made!!!
A Mentor Speaks About Being a Mentor: After being matched in LI Christian Youth Mentoring program for three years, I still see my mentor 12 years later. Being a Christian mentor was the most profound thing in my life. Being a at risk youth mentor was like the relationship the disciples had with Jesus -- Jesus mentored them for three years.
Jesus is Everything to Me: The charming story of Cory and how he got matched with Gus. How Gus' mentoring program relationship grew into one of life long friendship and how Christian mentoring helped Cory grow to know Jesus. Cory said to Gus, "You will be my pal for ever!"
How Mentoring Works: Bad behavior is a typical pattern for at risk youth that Christian mentors can help change. Mentors can help children become a Christian to help break the pattern.
God uses my mentor: Rebecca, like many at risk youth, has abandonment issues. Her father left when she was young and she was taken from her mother. Her Christian mentor Kim has been a constant in her life and has helped deal with her abandonment issues.
Articles :
Signs of True Friendship: How friendships develop between Christian mentors and an at risk youth.
Imagined: Peter's Post-Resurrection Thoughts From A Boat: Just as he asked Peter. He asks that we lay down our guilt, our fears, our excuses and our agenda and follow Him, and to tend to His lambs -- at risk youth. Jesus asks and says to every one of us. Do you love me? Feed my sheep. Become a Christian mentor.
I Feel So Alive: The story of Courtney, one of our LI Youth Mentoring kids, and her mentor Jill. Jill was able to mentor Courtney and successfully deal with her depression, anger, hurt and fear about her parent's divorce and bring her back to God using the principles we teach in our mentoring programs.
A Letter From Jail to a Mentor: A portion of a letter written by an at risk youth who is in jail. He is writing to his King’s Courier, letter writing Christian mentor.
Jesus Said "Look After the Orphans": The story of how mentoring can help orphans. More children became orphans in 2003 than the total number of people living in NY City. This is not a matter that Christians can sacrifice to the altar of the overwhelmed mind. Christian Mentoring programs are the answer.
How many dads are we able to buy for at risk youth?: At one point in our recent history, the government treated crime and social ills by waging war on poverty. Now most social scientists realize that economics is not the key factor that predicts whether a child will struggle, but family configuration is. This is a politically incorrect conclusion because we are pressured to believe that single parent homes are just as viable an option as two parent homes.
One Solitary Life: Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.
Wonderful Lives: Remember the theme of the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life?” George Bailey thinks his life has been wasted, and an angel named “Clarence,” shows him what his world would have been like had he not been born. I got to thinking how different things might be if Long Island Youth Mentoring had not been “born.”
Donna...Look Up: As the day began, I could tell this would be a new and memorable experience for most of the kids. Most if not all, had never ridden on a train, walked around Penn Station, squished into a subway, strolled the streets of the great City and through Rockefeller Center or gazed in amazement at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This is the story of a trip to New York City with a bus of mentors and kids as well of photos of all the matches.
The Miracle of a Buddy: Denzel wanted to kill himself before he was refered to LI Youth Mentoring. Denzel’s mom told me that she could not be happier and that they already have a beautiful relationship with the mentor "Buddy". The mentor took Denzel to NYC on the train and showed him where the engineer sits and then took him to see the Christmas windows at Macy’s. Denzel came home, she said, and talked of nothing else, and then drew a picture for “Buddy.” She took Denzel to church on New Year’s Eve Sunday, and the pastor asked for prayer requests for the New Year… she said what amazed her the most, what brought tears to her eyes, was that Denzel, who at nine years old had not wanted to live, prayed that he and his new friend and mentor would have a good year together in 2007.
Misfit Missy: Sandy is ten, big for her age and seemingly unaware that her joyfully, yet aggressive ways are not received well by her peers. She has no friends, and is desperate to change that. Sandy is one of over a hundred children on our waiting list for a mentor.
Unspoken: We have contact with so many troubled young people and their families, yet so often those we deal with are not willing to reveal what it is that troubles them. You will read about one young woman’s pain in the form of a poem she wrote and sent to her mentor.
And who is my neighbor…?: Our neighbor is the young boy who thinks he must have done something wrong because his mom died and his dad walked out on him and his three siblings. Our neighbor is the girl who cut out of school for a month because she was afraid that if she did go, people would be able to see right through her and know that her father was sexually abusing her. Our neighbor is a brother and sister who are floundering among nine other kids in a foster home because her mother signed herself into rehab but she keeps ‘falling off the wagon’. Spend time as a mentor with one of these children and find the rewards of being a mentor.
Pig Face: A Christian mentor is a window for a child, to view personal life possibilities and to see their value in God’s eyes. One day, Shelly told Joanna that the kids at school make fun of her. “They call me “pig face.”
Second Son: As I got out of my car, I was deeply aware of what I was walking into. I felt a tiny tinge of the pain that the family must be feeling and even that was difficult to carry. All I could think was; “I cannot wait until I can get back into this car, go about my day and forget the pain that this family is experiencing.” We can not expose fatherless at risk youth to the Christian example by planning events. These blessed ministry opportunities take place at the times and places of God’s choosing as our mentors faithfully “pray up” and then show up to share their lives, and God’s love, with our kids -- Christian mentors spend just a few hours each and every week.
Fatherlessness, an Epidemic -- The Cancer of our Culture
News about Christian mentoring programs : Recent news about mentoring programs around the world.
Photos from Long Island Youth Christian Mentoring trip to Radio City Music Hall: Field trip with mentors to Radio City Music Hall is always a holiday favorite!
Long Island Youth Mentoring Program Success with At Risk Youth in Public Schools Based on Support of Local Churches
LIYG Christian mentoring program for at risk youth and pen pal prison ministry have been successful because of the local church. Our churches have supplied mature man and woman of God. They have invested their time, energy and money in one-on-one relationships with at risk children. It may be a surprise to you that many of our most vocal supporters are the local public schools. They have at times had a hard time warming up to a "Christian mentoring program" but our success has typically turned their heads. Those who have tried a few of their most disruptive at risk youth with us become commited to our mentoring programs.
The need for Christian mentoring programs and pen pal prison ministry is growing daily as kids go homeless, with single parents and other social issues. Programs using one-on-one mentoring, reading assistance, support for pen pal prison ministry, and our other programs needs your help today. Please look into these opportunities with a prayerful heart. We need both your time and your gifts to keep LIYG's Christian mentoring program growing strong.
Christian Youth Mentoring Program's World Wide Reach
In 2001 we started receiving calls from churches and ministries across the nation. Our President, George W. Bush, was encouraging the faith based community to use the most effective known strategy to reach out to our nation's fatherless at risk youth; mentoring. In response to these calls, we started the "Christian Mentoring Institute". This national effort was a challenge to us financially, but it excited us to the true potential of the methodology that God has entrusted to us. Dozens of new mentoring ministries were started. Many have been established in churches around the nation, ministering to the children of their single parent families, while others reached out to their communities, duplicating what God has done here on Long Island through a Para-church ministry.
After a couple years we met up with leaders of mentoring ministries around country. This group of national leaders joined forces to start the Christian Association of Youth Mentoring. We merged the Christian Mentoring Institute into this ministry. Now it is being well run under a separate board of directors. However, we remain great partners on this mission field to the fatherless.
Testimonial:
 Dear John,
Last weekend, Bette & I were privileged to attend Jonathon's graduation from St. Leo University in Florida. John, I can say without exaggeration, that my experiance with Jonathon has been one of the most meaningful efforts with which I have been involved in my life! And the amazing thing is, showing love and concern for this nine year old and for the next 13 years was one of the simplest things possible! I don't know how to explain it any other way; it simply involved letting God work through you. John, I wish to thank you and your staff for making this most meaningful relationship possible through God.
Robert (Bob) Jack
Earlier letter from Johnathan
Dear Bob,
Thank you for being a great friend and role model for the past 9 years. You are always telling me what a great guy I am, but alot of the good traits I show are what I learned from you. You really are an awesome friend... Well buddy, I am hoping you have a happy Birthday!
Jonathan
Please think about joining our Christian mentoring program for at risk youth.
Contact us at (631) 242-5101
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