Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
A Tennessee father’s innovative program to find godly mentors is transforming young lives through character development and life skills.
Craig Thompson, a father of six, gave his son a gift that would have a profound influence on his life when he turned 13.
“What I needed to give my son for his birthday was the opportunity to meet with men from all walks of life who were of noble character,” he told The Epoch Times. “Men who would talk with him not just about business or money or investing, but who would share wisdom about life itself.”
He began writing down the names of potential mentors for his firstborn, David, with the idea of proposing that they spend one day with his son to teach him some skill or life lesson. As they started to respond, he began scheduling one mentor per week, beginning on the week of David’s 13th birthday. His goal was to schedule 52 mentors over 52 weeks so his son would have a whole year of mentoring.
(L) Craig Thompson and his wife, Deanna. (R) Two of their children in their mentoring experiences. Craig Thompson / WalkwithGod.com
It was a success. Now, 14 years later, he has continued the tradition with three of his other children and is preparing a mentoring program for his fifth child, who will turn 13 in January.
“I try to find company owners, retired persons, employees, homemakers, teachers, business professionals, authors and other types of genuinely different people,” Thompson said. “Mentors from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds can love God with all their hearts, and they can impact my child with a life lesson that we as parents have not considered or remembered.”
Thompson said mentoring gives young people a renewed sense of purpose and direction in their lives, similar to what successful youth mentoring programs across the country have demonstrated.
“At the base level, we have seen that this year of mentoring delivers a reproducible maturation in each of the children who have gone through it,” he said. “Unlike many of the other youth who are in the 13- to 14-year age group, the children who have gone through this mentoring program begin to think about life and their future in a new way.”
Since making his first mentoring program, Thompson has written several books and guided many parents in finding mentors for their children. His approach aligns with proven mentoring strategies that focus on building character and faith in young people.
“Asking other people to mentor your children is an exercise in humility,” he said. “I have reached out to men and women, because I realize that I do not have a complete grasp on serving God, living life fully, running a business or even being a husband and father. If you are willing to admit this, then you can more freely begin to look for mentors for your own children.
“If you are not intentional in mentoring your children with godly men and women, know that the world system will provide plenty of mentors to corrupt your children. Commit to something positive, and commit to making a start in your own family.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
