What Mentor Teams Do...And How Their Congregations Benefit

What Mentor Teams Do...And How Their Congregations Benefit

what mentor teams do

·Help families restore their sense of self-respect, self-reliance, and hope.

·Help families reclaim their dreams of a better life.

·Help families assess their own strength and needs, reflect critically on how they arrived where they are, and determine what will help them move towards self-reliance.

·Help families develop their own long-term and short-term goals.

·Help families gain access to the services they need to reach these goals.

·Encourage families to develop their own strengths as they move towards their goals, including developing and practicing needed skills.

·Encourage communities to support families.

how congregations have benefited

·They became less divisive and more close-knit as they work together to help a particular family during a difficult life transition.

·They came to a totally new understanding of poverty as they saw first hand some of the tough realities parents and children faced on a daily basis (no car, no extended family support, inadequate child care, inadequate income, etc.)

·Team members realized their own lack of knowledge of poverty and welfare, and had a safe place within the team to talk about racial, class, cultural and educational differences.

·Team member who had previously felt overwhelmed and immobilized in the face of poverty were able to make a difference in the life of a specific family.

·Hope replaced cynicism and feelings of powerlessness as congregations witnessed positive change in the lives of individual families in poverty.

·Congregations rejoiced in feeling that they were “walking the walk” as people of faith rather than just “talking the talk.” 

·Team members gained an appreciation of their family members’ courage, resilience and perseverance as they witnessed the family overcome tough barriers.

·Team members developed strong relationships of support with one another as they walked together with their family.

·Team members learned to relate to families in need with compassion, empowerment and mutual respect, rather than with pity and condescension.

·As families faced challenges, sometimes they overcame them, and sometimes they didn’t.  Team members and families walked together on this journey, helping each other persevere and developing a strong life of faith in the process.