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    5Apr, 2022
    The Mentor Toolbox: A Handbook for Mentoring Youth

    Every young person deserves to have a caring, committed mentor in their life to listen and help them realize their God-given potential.

    For over 28 years, Breakaway Outreach has been enriching the lives of young people through a myriad of mentoring relationship contexts (churches, schools, neighborhoods, recovery programs, juvenile detention centers, youth chaplaincy services, sports coaching, re-entry and aftercare ministries, orphan and foster care, domestic violence outreach, and much more).

    In this handbook you will find a treasure trove of wisdom gleaned from the experiences of hundreds of our volunteers over the past two and a half decades.

    Mentoring Chapters

    1. Introduction: Mentoring Matters
    2. The Role of a Mentor
    3. Biblical Examples of Mentoring
    4. Mistakes and Pitfalls to Avoid
    5. Getting the Mentoring Relationship Off to a Good Start
    6. Sample Match Icebreaker: Getting to Know Each Other
    7. Give the Young Person a Voice and Choice
    8. 100 Activity Ideas for Mentors and Mentees
    9. 30 Conversation Starters for Mentors and Mentees
    10. Faith-Based Mentoring (for Discipleship)
    11. 100 “Make-a-Difference” Quotes(to keep you motivated!)

     

    Research consistently reveals the long-term positive effects of mentoring.

    • Increased high school graduation rates
    • Lower high school dropout rates
    • Healthier relationships and lifestyle choices
    • Better attitude about school
    • Higher college enrollment rates and higher educational aspirations
    • Enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence
    • Improved behavior, both at home and at school
    • Stronger relationships with parents, teachers, and peers
    • Improved interpersonal skills
    • Decreased likelihood of initiating drug and alcohol use

    (MENTOR, 2009; Cavell, DuBois, Karcher, Keller, and Rhodes, 2009)

    Mentoring has also been linked in studies to social-emotional development benefits, improvements in youth perceptions of parental relationships, and better prospects for moving on to higher education. Mentoring can help youth as they go through challenging life transitions, including dealing with stressful changes at home or transitioning to adulthood. Close, healthy, supportive relationships between mentors and mentees that last for a significant portion of time (i.e., more than one year) are central to success. Without this, mentoring programs run the risk of harming young people who are paired with mentors ill-equipped to meet the mentees’ needs. Specifically, relationships with mentors that last less than three months; where there is irregular and inconsistent contact; where there is a disconnect between the personalities, interests, and expectations of the mentors and mentees; where mentors are unprepared and lack skills to relate to youth; and where there is no emotional bond between the mentor and mentee have been found to be harmful to youth (Jekielek et al., 2002; Rhodes & DuBois, 2006). “The Mentor Toolbox” can help you, or your volunteers, become more equipped to go the distance in your mentoring efforts.

    11Mar, 2020
    2020 Global Impact Celebration at Ooltewah UMC

    “Each face is a person you helped nourish both body and soul.” 🙏🙏🙏

    We invite you to come out to the 2020 Global Impact Celebration on March 13-15, at Ooltewah UMC . The weekend will be packed with activities to help you engage in missions. Be sure to stop by the Breakaway Outreach booth to learn more about how the Breakaway global sports ministry and international camps are impacting children and strengthening communities around the world, and how you can get involved. Jimmy will also be speaking at the men’s breakfast on Sunday morning, 8am. Would love to see you there!

    Visit our Global Partnerships page to get a glimpse into what we do and where our sports ministry serves around the world.

    10Feb, 2020
    Where Will You Make a Difference in 2020?

    Where will you make a difference in 2020? Your impact can be life changing for this generation—and the next—by serving at a Breakaway youth camp this spring/summer. We have missions opportunities for individuals and teams to serve at our day camps in the Chattanooga area, our regional summer camp for at-risk kids near Greenville (Tennessee), and multiple overseas sports camps (Italy, Germany, Northern Ireland, Dominican Republic). Join us in empowering kids through communities of faith, hope, and love. Serve opportunities include being a camp counselor, leading small group Bible discussions, coaching sports, facilitating recreational activities, helping kids with crafts (VBS lessons), leading worship, preparing and serving meals, and much more. Email us for more specific details.

    17Oct, 2019
    80 Youth Discussion Questions

    Questions about life, faith, social issues, and more.

    Youth discussion questions to get young people talking in group environments or mentoring relationships.

    1. What does it mean for you to be created by God? How does that play out in your life, or does it?
    2. What is hard about accepting yourself?
    3. How would you describe your personality?
    4. Do you find you are harder on yourself than other people? Explain why or why not?
    5. What is one question you would like to ask God in person?
    6. What are the things that you like about yourself and what do you not like about yourself. Explain why?
    7. What do you think is the purpose of the Bible?
    8. Is it hard to change? Explain why.
    9. If there is one thing you could instantaneously change about yourself, what would it be and why? What’s preventing you from working on that change (if applicable)?
    10. Is prayer important to you? Why or why not? Is it hard or easy for you?
    11. Who is one person you would like to go back in history to interview? Why?
    12. What kind of things do you tend to worry about or get anxious about?
    13. How do you feel when another person notices a quality or attribute about you?
    14. Who are your role models and why?
    15. Do you think people live in poverty because of their own decisions or because of uncontrollable circumstances that happen to them, or both?
    16. Is there a biblical character you identify with and why?
    17. Do you act differently in certain situations than others? Do you act differently at school than at church? Different at home than with your friends?
    18. How do you deal with pressure or stress?
    19. What are healthy ways to deal with stress/pressure?
    20. Do you have a pet peeve that makes you irrationally angry? Why gets under your skin?
    21. How would you describe good leadership? Would you call yourself a leader? Why or why not?
    22. Do you think the Bible is relevant to your life, why or why not?
    23. Why do you think we have so much anger in our society?
    24. Do you feel pressured to be someone that you’re not? Explain.
    25. Why do you think some people bully or attack others? What is their motivation?
    26. What is your biggest fear? From where do you think most people draw their self-esteem? What gives them identity?
    27. If you’re feeling down, what cheers you up?
    28. Do you think you’re a patient person? Why or why not?
    29. How does it feel to not have what you want when you want it?
    30. Is it easy for you to work towards a goal, or do you get frustrated and quit quickly?
    31. Have you ever set a long-term goal for yourself to work toward? What was that experience like? (Examples, improving in sports, music, hobby/activity, academics)
    32. Do you set realistic expectations for yourself? Explain.
    33. What qualities make someone a good friend?
    34. If you were standing before God and He asked you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” What would you say?
    35. Who would you die for?
    36. Do you consider yourself a good friend? Explain.
    37. Do you sometimes think you’re capable of doing more than you are?
    38. What’s it like to get in over your head in a situation and not be able to solve it yourself?
    39. What is the one thing that motivates you the most everyday?
    40. What is something that demotivates you, or zaps all of your energy to make progress?
    41. If you had a terminal illness and only had six months to live, how would you spend your time?
    42. Do you think Christians are easily recognizable to others? Why or why not? Should they be?
    43. If you could change one thing in the world for good, what would it be?
    44. Do you think you’re the same person in your social media that you are in person? What is different?
    45. Why do you think people go to church, or should go to church?
    46. What kind of things do you willingly post about yourself on social media?
    47. What is something you wouldn’t post about yourself on social media?
    48. Have you ever thought about what God’s calling is in your life?
    49. What does it mean/look like to have healthy relationships in your life?
    50. Can you think of any biblical examples of healthy relationships and what can they teach us?
    51. What makes relationships hard?
    52. Do you find yourself giving up on relationships or people when things get difficult?
    53. When a relationship has an issue—what techniques or problem solving strategies do you like to use? (Example, having an intentional conversation about the issue, writing a letter, bringing in a mediator, etc)
    54. Do you feel you are good at conflict resolution? Explain.
    55. What’s the most important element of a good relationship to you and WHY?
    56. Do you find yourself to be confrontational or more passive when conflict arises?
    57. What does the Bible mean to you?
    58. Have you ever lost someone, either through death or a broken relationship that was important to you and you’ll never get to talk to them again? What has that experience been like for you?
    59. How do you feel when someone tries to get you to do something you don’t want to do?
    60. Why do you think some people brag or exaggerate about themselves? What do you think they’re hoping to accomplish?
    61. Why do you think people talk badly about other people sometime? Why put someone else down?
    62. Which best describes you during conflict among friends and family—a peacemaker, a fighter, a defender, an instigator, or a hider? Is there another way you’d describe yourself?
    63. Among groups of friends, are you the person who comes up with ideas about what to do, the person who goes along with what everyone else is doing, or a combination of the two?
    64. Have you ever held a grudge against someone? What was that experience like for you?
    65. Why do you think some people give up on life?
    66. Are there certain people you don’t like following on social media? Why?
    67. How often do you read the Bible?
    68. What do you think when you hear someone making fun of a group of people different than them?
    69. How does someone follow Jesus? What does it look like?
    70. What confuses you about prayer?
    71. What is social justice to you, and do you think it is important?
    72. What does equality mean to you?
    73. What could you do, as a young person, to help improve the life quality of someone in need (Go-Fund Me, Kickstarter, could lead into mission ideas).
    74. How often do you help others? How?
    75. Have you ever taken part in mission or served others? What was the experience like?
    76. How would you like to be remembered? (Your legacy)
    77. How do you show Jesus to people who are different than you? What are actual examples from your life?
    78. Do you find most of your friends are similar to you or different?
    79. What is a good way to get to know someone different than you? Think situations or conversation topics.
    80. If you could take away someone’s pain, whose would it be?