The measure of any ministry is the lives it has changed.
A young man attended a local ministry for youth. He found food and mentoring there. Because of the encouragement he received, he finished high school and got a job.
But when he came home one day, he found his clothes in plastic bags on the front porch. A life door had closed to him.
His success threatened the household where he’d grown up. If he stayed, the family would lose benefits.
He turned to the ministry that had fed and mentored him into success. The ministry leader Dave Taylor was frustrated to see that no program offered help to someone without addiction or mental health issues.
Dave spent the next few years working to open Lionheart, a home for young men who “age out” of their own families and find themselves with no place to go. Now they have a place.
Lionheart is an 18- to 24-month long program that provides a home, food, training, transportation, and mentoring. High school graduation is required, so kids in the youth ministry can see that they can have independence–if they work for it.
Lionheart teaches young men how to make electrical, plumbing, and carpentry repairs–so when they get their own places, they can take care of them.
Lionheart teaches wise use of money through Financial Peace University.
Lionheart teaches interview skills so these men can find work.
And Lionheart helps them save money, shop for cars, find apartments. Lionheart gives them the beds they’ve been sleeping on when they go to their new places. They can leave with a bed, a dresser, a desk, a toolbox, and up to $7,500 they’ve saved from working.
Lioness, for young women, is set to open in a few weeks.
And the young man who found his clothes on the porch in front of a closed door?
He works at Lionheart. He stands before the open door to help other young men in a bad situation move to a better place.
The measure of any ministry is the lives it has changed.
That young man is one life changed through the ministry of The Door. Dave Taylor leads that ministry. He conducted the wedding ceremony when that young man married his life’s love.
Dave Taylor. Now there’s a lionheart.