Since it was far beyond normal expectancy that such a proportion of all youth was similarly disadvantaged, early writers saw broken homes to be an important, if not the greatest single proximate (causal) factor in understanding juvenile delinquency.  G. B. Mangold, Problems of Child Welfare (New York: Macmillan Co., 1930), p. 406; Mabel Rhoades

Since this was written, the problem has grown dramatically.  In 2004, the problem of babies being born into fatherless homes no longer hovers below  5%, but it has exploded to the point that 34% of all babies born in this country were born to families with absent fathers.  Now, most studies point out that 85% of all kids in jail come from fatherless families.  But the cost of fatherlessness is not limited to the jail.  fatherless kids are:  

• Twice as likely to drop out of high school.
• Three to four times more likely to have emotional or behavioral problems.
• Two to three times as  likely to give rise to teenage pregnancy.

Is this a problem for the government to solve?  Should we tax families more, requiring mothers and fathers to be out of the homes working longer hours; so that “We the government” can take care of this problem?  Keeping a child in a psychiatric hospital currently costs taxpayers over a hundred thousand dollars per child, per year.  Putting teens in jail costs taxpayers in New York $55,000 per child, per year.  This is a huge problem; yet, it is one that will not be solved by government programs – big or small. A problem that is caused by the loss of a primary relationship –  e.g. a missing Dad -- must be addressed and solved, by the establishment of new, positive personal relationships.  Governments can do some things well, but creating warm personal relationships is not one of them.  Creating loving personal relationships and wholeness where there is brokenness is a fundamental calling, and task, for the Church of Jesus Christ.

The army of hope
16 million men and women served in the US military during WW II.  On any Sunday morning there are between fifty and one hundred million people attending Christian Churches in America ().  Many of those who attend understand that God has a special heart for the troubled, at-risk and fatherless kids.  God simply calls these kids “MINE”!  In Psalm 68 He says that He is the Father of the Fatherless.  Christians are perfect for the job of being a friend and mentor to the fatherless because we are called by the Spirit of God to those things which are close to the heart of God.  Christians can be effective in healing the broken hearts of the fatherless because they bring the Spirit of THE Father along with them.  This is a winable war.

The following is just one example: The transformation in this family in every category is amazing.  The church has embraced them as their own.  The mom said,  “We needed a role model and we did not have one.  We needed a whole new mindset.  We were negative and depended upon yelling to communicate.  Now we have four positive Christians to show us the way.  Everything is different.” The eldest son said, “You can’t be around Tony long and stay negative.  Tony wants me to be the President of the United States.  He really thinks I can do it.  I don’t, but I do believe I can make a difference in this world.  Three years ago, when he started talking like that, I thought, ‘What difference can one person really make?’  Now I know one person can make a difference.  I see the difference he has made in my life.”

These kids needed to experience long-term unconditional love before they were willing to open their hearts.  They had been hurt too often.  They needed to witness truth lived out before them, before they were open to hear basic truths.  God is at work in these hundreds of young lives, and He is using Christian mentors as His instruments of change.

This position is born out of years of experiencing God use mentors to accomplish His purpose in young lives.  Long Island Youth Mentoring is entering its 25th year.  In the last year we have maintained and grown a mentoring ministry to our current level of over three hundred mentoring relationships.  We have also helped launch a national ministry that in the last twelve months has trained and helped to start eighteen new Christian mentoring ministries around the nation.

Mentoring is the only methodology that consistently, and reliably, helps troubled youth negotiate the dark hallways of fatherlessness and ushers them into the light of productive citizenship.  When a Christian commits to mentor a child, he commits to spend two to four hours with his assigned youth each week for a minimum of one year.  83% stay on for the second year, and over 70% see the third year through to it’s completion.  

 A controlled study done by Public/Private Ventures depicts the results statistically :

• Mentoring reduces:

 –     Drug abuse by 46%
 –     School drop outs by 52%
 –     Teen pregnancy by 35%
 –     Violent behavior by 52%

It is time to stop looking to attach blame and to instead attach a mentor to each of these kids.  We first must recognize the reality of the growing problem and what this can mean to our nation.  Then we need to wake up that sleeping giant called the Church.  The Church is more than the pretty white building in the middle of town where people get married, baptized and eulogized.  The Church is the body of Christ, and the answer for this cultural cancer called fatherlessness.
   
If your church does not have a mentoring ministry to your fatherless kids, call us at 631-242-5101.  We will either help you by recruiting and training your people to mentor these kids or we will train a group in your church to run your own mentoring ministry.

Please know that this critical work needs your financial and your prayer support.  The stakes are high, the results are eternal, and the opportunities are huge.  Please Pray.  Please Give.  We recently hired a new case worker so that we can reach the kids on our waiting list.   Yet giving in the last two months has dropped inexplicably.  Money is really needed now.†

John M. Cragg

Executive Director

Long Island Youth Mentoring