From sea to shining sea.
In mid-2020 as our world, nation, and local community were dealing with the impact of the covid 19 pandemic and its mandates and lockdowns, we here at ReWritten were looking at ways to remain relevant to the current situation and continue to carry out our mission to serve the fatherless and underserved. That is when our CEO and founder, Frank Perez, decided to launch a national scholarship and virtual mentoring program for graduating and recently graduated high school seniors looking to transition into college, trade school, or apprenticeship programs. Now, all these years later we are humbled by the impact this program continues to have in the lives of fatherless young men and women across the country.
We established this program on two main ideas. First, that investing in the Kingdom means investing in people. Secondly, investing in the lives of believers is like planting a seed with faith that it will take deep root, grow, and produce fruit. With these two things in mind we sought to develop a scholarship and mentoring program that would reach out to candidates that not only professed Christ, but were also kingdom minded and giving back to the community through acts of service either in their local church or in a community based non-profit and also fit into ReWritten’s target demographic of the fatherless and underserved.
Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God as a spiritual kingdom in the Gospels and we later see in the New Testament where the idea is further developed, that it came to symbolize those who had accepted the invitation to follow Jesus. This was meant to be a community which centered itself on and practiced the core values taught by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount which focused on virtues such as humbleness, preference of neighbor, patience, peace, kindness, and compassion toward all–even one’s enemy. This established the kingdom as a community where people were valued and welcomed with hospitality and care regardless of ethnicity, gender, or socio-economic status–even the marginalized and outcast were invited and welcomed. Thus, the idea of investing in the kingdom as investing in people has become an undeniable core value of God’s global community of believers.
Firmly rooted in this kingdom minded world view, we were able to create a scholarship and mentoring program in which the investment was focused on helping to bear burdens and fill gaps that are often left behind when a father abandons his child—as is the mission of ReWritten. This support is both monetary and relational with a specific focus on academic support, discipleship, spiritual formation, acts of service, and of course help with tuition and other basic needs such as care packages, transit passes, and supplies.
The Scripture teaches us that investing in others is like planting a seed and watching it grow. The Apostle Paul tells us that some sow seeds, some water those seeds, but ultimately it is God who brings the increase. Our Scholarship and Mentoring program is rooted in this idea. We know that we cannot take the place of the earthly fathers who have left gaps in the lives of the young people we serve, but we plant and water seeds in faith, pointing these young men and women to their Father in heaven who can bring healing and restoration. The efforts in implementing this program target these gaps in ways such as helping to bear the financial burden of education and vocational training along with Christ-centered mentorship to help young men and women develop kingdom minded core values.
When we reflect back on the last several years, there are many instances where we can clearly see the impact that Our Heavenly Father has had in the lives of our participants. While they came to us originally seeking help bearing the financial burden of education and considering the mentorship and help with basic needs as a bonus, we have had more than a few testify that the check-ins, workshops, and basic needs requests were a greater blessing then they had anticipated. One participant expressed her gratitude that we were a constant support and especially enjoyed that we prayed with her at the end of each zoom meeting. Another participant, a young man, was so grateful that he could request care packages with more than just food because sometimes you just need socks. And, one particular young lady in our program enjoyed talking over with us her plans for leading bible study and being able to ask for advice and feedback. The stories of impact go on and on. Truth be told, the impact is two-fold, we feel every bit grateful, humbled and even, transformed by the opportunity to serve in this capacity. We pray for the continued growth and impact of this mentoring and scholarship program.