Amplified Spring Cycle 2017

Hello National Family!

We have just finished our spring 2017 cycle of Amplified. Amplified is a mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors. Mentors are usually local youth ministry staff, and/or alumni from various leadership programs (GPA, NGA, DONE, OLT).

Amplified is a ten week program; each week focuses on one of the five pillars of youth ministry (Connect, Inspire, Empower, Contribute, and Expand) and the mentor-mentee pair receives an email with Hoon Dok Hwe (scripture) readings, discussion questions, and a weekly action step based on that week’s topic. The pair have a 30+ minute conversation to go through that week’s email. The idea is to have intentional and meaningful conversations that nurture a personal life of faith with the support of an older brother or sister.

This is only our second run of Amplified. This cycle we had some returning participants (both mentors and mentees) as well as some newcomers, with seven mentor-mentee pairs in total.

Here are some testimonies from a few mentors, mentees, and parents who participated in this cycle of Amplified:

“ First of all, I was able to connect to a profoundly inspiring young man and that is in itself a huge gain. I am also grateful for the opportunity to practice coaching skills and be able to add value to my abilities as a mentor. The calls also gave myself an incentive to be more reflective about my life and look for things that I can share with my mentee.”

-Mentor

“I gained a new sense of myself, a newfound passion for everything I love, confidence to move forward, and a new friend and sister to connect with.”

-Mentee

“ My daughter is sharing more deeply with her mentor and is learning a lot about relationships.”

-Parent

“This opportunity gave us the opportunity to exchange some of our best practices and beliefs. It was a natural brother-brother relationship and we both learned from each other. I learned that I have just as much to learn as an older sibling figure from a younger sibling. Furthermore, when I’m in the position of younger sibling/mentee, I need to look to give as I receive from my older siblings/mentors.”

-Mentor

Personally, it was very honoring to be a part of this experience with all of these people. It was humbling to see so much mutual investment and sincerity. There were small wrinkles here and there; for example, sometimes it was hard for the pairs to make time each week, and sometimes it was difficult to get in touch. But overall, it was a very positive experience for me and the successes I witnessed make me even more determined to refine our program for the next cycle.

I received feedback and suggestions from the mentors, mentees, and parents of what aspects can be improved and I will be working on those over the summer to make the adjustments that will enhance Amplified for the next group of participants.