While serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, Donnell Ford's chaplain took one look at the young man and gave him a new name: Mighty Man of God! Donnell had been involved in church most of his life, but he didn't feel like a mighty man of God at the time!
But the chaplain continued to encourage him and model what a servant of God looked like and what he did. Just as the Apostle Paul went to Arabia following his conversion, Donnell began to read and study God's Word at his station in Iraq. And in short order, Donnell was called to step in when the chaplain was away and preached his first sermon.
That encounter was a life changer for the pastor of Full Faith Community Church and the founder and leader of the Mentoring Program in Magnolia Public Schools. In some ways, he is doing today what that Army chaplain did for him years ago. He saw something in that young man and worked with him to bring it to pass in his life.
We sat down in the pastor's office at the church he began to plant in Magnolia two years ago and Donnell shared with me his philosophy of mentoring students. Students struggling with poverty, broken families, hunger, drug use and peer pressure need someone who believes in them. He and his fellow mentors, alongside dedicated teachers in our public school system, work to make that difference.
It's been said if you see a turtle on a fence post, you can be sure that someone put him there. That's what a mentor does. One definition says "a mentor is a person who supports, advises and guides another. They take time to get to know the one they are guiding as well as the challenges they are facing, and uses their experience to help that person improve."
Hear his story and you'll be moved to become one of those people who makes a difference in the lives of others. We all need someone who believes in us and pours into our life. Take a listen and become one yourself!
An inspiring episode! This one really touches home!
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