The first time I travelled to Knoxville, TN it was to meet with a possible first Kids Hope USA church in Knoxville. It was 2005 and at that point, there wasn’t a single Kids Hope USA program in the state. We were just hoping for one church that would step forward. And we found one! An amazing downtown church wanting to build a relational bridge into the community.
The second time I travelled to Knoxville, TN it was to spread the vision. It was 2007, and the partnership was going so well other schools were asking for a church to partner with them. Amazing! Out of that second visits more and more churches decided they too wanted to care for kids through a mentoring partnership.
The third time I travelled to Knoxville, TN it was to celebrate. Now with 10 church-school partnerships, Knoxville is one of our strongest areas of the country. Collectively these churches mentor over 200 children. Churches range in size from young church starts to some of the biggest churches in the country, collectively averaging 25.1 mentors per program. Wow!
The fourth time I travelled to Knoxville, TN….is this week! Thanks to the amazing leadership of the Kids Hope USA Directors, they have invited 64 churches to a special luncheon to learn more about partnering with their neighborhood school. 12 schools are asking for a church to partner with them for the sake of the kids. 12 schools are asking churches to share hope and love. How inspiring!
I have a feeling we will have much to celebrate on my fifth visit.