This ministry grew out of a
What's the problem?
(1) Tweeners have limited exposure to the Bible and seldom read it on their own.
(2) If a tweener can't read, he'll never read the Bible, and
(3) Tweeners don't have much of a chance to discuss values with an adult.
So what's the solution? Find help. Easy to say; difficult to do!
(1) Parents? They're already involved and on over-load.
(2) School? They can't - won't - or shouldn't.
(3) Church Sunday school/youth staff? They don't have time to meet one-on-one.
One Sunday morning I walked into church and saw lots of gray hair. It was like God said,
"This is it! Retirement is not a biblical process." I remembered the Bible verse, "Why sit we
here until we die?" These lepers decided they could either sit and do nothing and die OR
get pro-active and check things out and face the possibility of death.
What do we have to lose if we try something new?
The problem is how!
It has to be easy or senior citizens will NOT volunteer to spend 45 minutes a week with a bundle
of energy wrapped in the body of a reluctant tween-age reader. So here's the scoop . . .
(1) Seniors don't want kids to fail, so . . .
(2) Let the senior and the tweener read together one chapter of a pre-selected book per week.
It's a shared responsibility. Kids hear how words should flow together, and seniors give their full
attention to their mentee. (A novel experience for many children!)
(3) Seniors are concerned with facts so there are 3-6 questions (with answers for the mentor)
about the chapter they just read.
(4) Seniors have life-time experiences to share. There are 3-6 discussion questions to elicit
opinions from the mentee and thereby provide the opportunity to discuss values. Since you're
asking for opinions, there are no wrong answers.
(5) It's not a class with assignments. It's mentoring - sharing and guiding the way to enjoy reading.
It's also a way to develop an intergenerational friendship. Kids need help; seniors want to be needed.
It works!
Nappanee (IN) Presbyterian Church implemented the program in January, 2007. Matt and Trish
Price are the youth directors at the Nappanee Presbyterian Church where the pilot was implemented
in January, 2007. This is their evaluation of the ministry:
"In our church Tweener Time Mentoring is highly successful. It's brought some kids out of
their ‘shells,’ it's created wonderful relationships, and it's motivating kids to come with excitement.
I recall a day when one of our tweeners arrived before his mentor, and the tweener was
concerned about where his mentor was. So we chatted about how things were going.
The child spoke of how he knew classified information . . . well not really, but it had been
classified during WW II. His mentor had made history come alive. He was sooooo excited and
animated in his talk. When his mentor arrived, he gave him such a loving and warm reception. It’s
not a reception I've ever received, and I've been his Sunday school teacher for 4 years.
Recently a parent expressed her excitement over Tweener Time. Her son is not a bad
reader; he just doesn't want to. This program fit them perfectly. In my opinion it's the fact this child
has someone's attention, someone who cares, and someone who is happy to do this with him for one
hour each week. There's not the pressure of homework, and it's not every day.
There is a girl who is so excited about coming each week. She's quick to tell me about the
things she's learning from her mentor. It's amazing that God - through Tweener Time Mentoring -
put these two together, and they are encouraging each other.
One thing I notice each week is the smile on the faces of both the tweeners and the mentors.
There's nothing more satisfying than seeing that and knowing that our tweener ministry is well worth it.
I can't say enough about this ministry. It's a blessing for our child as well.
We are a blessed church to be able to make a difference in the lives of so many children.
The biggest commitment to this ministry are the mentors and someone who is "on fire" for children.
Someone has to know the kids who are going to be mentored in order to effectively match mentor
and tweener.
I think the major misconception of the ministry is that we are working with ‘bad readers.’
These kids are not bad readers; they just don't like to read. So seeing our progress is seeing a
wonderful thing. I wish everyone would take the time to come and view the way things happen
and enjoy the blessing with us.
This is the most effective thing we have done in 11 years of youth ministry."
For more information contact: Dr. Marvin G. Baker, President, Tweener Ministries
701 E. Main St., Warsaw, IN 46580
574-269-6100 or info@tweenerministries.org
