One Is A Large Number

One is a significant number according to Kids Hope USA. They partner one elementary school with one church to mentor at-risk students. A mentor from the church spends one hour a week with one child. The mentor is there only for that one child. While this may not seem a very efficient use of labor according to modern standards, it is the defining strength of this program.

When the church begins the partnership, it makes a great commitment to the school and to the students. The church hires a part time director for their partnership, involves the Pastor, and recruits and screens a mentor for each child that is selected, and then a prayer partner for each mentor-child pair. Churches also agree to abide by the separation of church and state.

Although there is no direct evangelism in the schools, according to Dr. Virgil Gulker, the Founder of Kids Hope USA, the “authentic Christian love modeled by the mentor touches their lives.” They gain self-confidence and learn better because of that one hour a week.

Mary Dewitt, Director of Kids Hope at Harderwyk, has witnessed the benefits of the program first hand through their church's11 year partnership with Lakeshore Elementary students. Dewitt says that the relationships formed between the 40 mentors and the students help to bring about not only academic improvements, but also social, behavioral and emotional improvements.

The church's commitment doesn't simply end when the final school bells rings either. "Harderwyk also runs an extended Kids Hope Ministry, called After School Recess, where Kids Hope kids, with the help of additional volunteers, spend Wednesdays after school here at our church, working on homework, staying for supper, and then attending the Community Night activities," Dewitt added.

The students are not the only ones that are transformed. Gulker also believes that this type of work benefits the church. By witnessing and ministering in this way, the church itself becomes stronger.

Most of the elementary schools in Classis Holland have Kids Hope USA partnerships, and there are around 200 partnerships in Michigan alone. Partnerships also exist in around 26 other states, and Australia, through an agreement with World Vision. For more information, visit kidshopeusa.org.