By Karen Pearson, Hope Church member and President, Kids Hope USA
During a Sunday service in the fall of 2010, Judy VanderWilt described a mentoring program I hadn’t heard of before: Kids Hope USA! Despite having two very small children and a part-time role at Hope College, I felt the tug of the Holy Spirit saying, “give it a try…your life has been enriched by so many mentors, it’s time to give back!” That fall I became a mentor for a second grader, and this year, I’m a mentor again, building a relationship with a first grader at Vanderbilt Academy. I’m serving alongside a dozen other amazing volunteer mentors and Vicki Rumpsa is doing a great job coordinating the program for Hope Church!
This time becoming a mentor is even more special because I’m the new president of Kids Hope USA. After more than ten years at Hope College, I felt God calling me to servant leadership at Kids Hope USA. I feel well-suited for this role because it combines education, outreach, community service, and faith. The first six months have been an exciting challenge, getting to know this incredible ministry from an insider’s perspective.
One of the blessings of these early months is that I’ve spent time with Virgil Gulker, the founder of Kids Hope USA. Virgil’s idea got off the ground in the fall of 1995, when mentors from three churches in the area began mentoring in Holland and Zeeland. Now we’re celebrating 25 years of this incredible ministry that has touched the lives of many thousands of students and mentors. As Virgil describes it, Kids Hope is “a relationship wrapped in a prayer!”
So let me describe those two parts—relationship and prayer—for those of you not familiar with Kids Hope.
First, there’s the one-to-one relationship between a volunteer adult mentor from a church and a student at a local elementary school. The students, all recommended for Kids Hope by their teachers or school counselors, are children for whom the one-to-one attention of a caring adult outside their family would be valuable for their academic, social, and emotional development. The mentors give one hour of their time during the school day, to go to the school and meet with their students. The hour together usually consists of a combination of academic work, reading, playing games, sharing a snack, and doing an art project or a craft. If this sounds pretty simple to you, you’re right, it is! Kids Hope mentoring is not complicated. It’s spending an hour a week pouring attention, encouragement, and fun into the life of a child.
The second part of what makes Kids Hope special is prayer. Each one-to-one relationship between a mentor and a student is blessed with a prayer partner who prays for the mentor and child when they meet and at other times during the week as the spirit leads. Most mentors and prayer partners connect via email, text, or a short phone call to stay updated on the child and how things are going during the mentoring hour. In one of those Holy Spirit connections, Norma Killilea, who was my prayer partner back on 2010, is my prayer partner again this year! Norma and I exchange information via emails and conversations at church about my student, how he’s doing, and how she can be praying for as we get to know each other.
According to Norma, she’s a prayer partner because “It is so easy for us, to pray and assist our own children and grandchildren.” But Norma feels called to pray for others, even those she doesn’t know well. She prays for my student and me because she knows that this hour of mentoring can have a huge impact on this child’s life. Norma is reminded of examples in the Bible of how persistent prayer gains a response. Consistent prayer is one of the keys to success for Kids Hope USA! When Norma consistently lifts us up in prayer, she is reminding me how special my child is and how much God loves him! That encourages me to be more patient, more loving, let go of expectations and just embrace the moment. Having her pray for us makes our time together more special and fun! Norma says, “Being a Prayer Partner is a GIFT!”
So, if you’ve wondered how you might use an hour of your time to make a big difference in this world, look no further: Kids Hope needs you! As Jesus said to his first disciples, I say to you, “Come and see!” Come and see how your life and your faith can be even more full of fun and meaning by joining the ministry of Kids Hope USA. Find Vicki Rumpsa or me after church, or check out the Kids Hope bulletin board in the Gathering Area for more information.