Bethel Mentoring Institute

Bethel Presbyterian and Reformed Church
Brooklyn, NY

The youth of Bethel Presbyterian Reformed Church often disengage from the community and ministry life of the church especially during their high school and college years.  If this trend continues, the church will be left with no younger generation to carry on its vision and mission. Our church would like to address this challenge. It seeks to sustain the interest of the youth in the mission of the Church, help them to grow in faith as they develop their talents and character, and possibly maintain their membership.  This will be done through our proposed project, Bethel Mentoring Institute.

This peer and intergeneration mentoring project emanates from our ecclesial imagination of a congregation which provides community, a sense identity, and spirituality, for youth and congregational development. It is informed by the Ghanaian proverb which loosely translates as “When the buttocks of older folks shrink, they grow at the back of the youth”.
The following constitute three key objectives of the project:

• Developing a sense of belonging among the youth and empowering them to take over responsibility from the older generation.
• Initiating intergenerational mentorship (older and youth) and peer mentoring programs among the Young Peoples Guild (YPG) and the Young Adults Fellowship (YAF).
• Using digital technology to connect youth and young adults in various locations (college campuses, homes etc.) and providing professional and spiritual development through presentations and discussions.