Breaking the Fatherless Cycle

Former gang member and drug dealer Deangelo "DD" Person has lived out the mission of UTM for over a decade. Having broken the fatherless cycle through the power of Christ and life-on-life discipleship through UTM programs such as the ROCK and ManUP, DD devotes his life to being a godly father to his kids and mentoring urban youth within UTM. This includes his nephew Jamari. With Jamari's father in prison for the next 15 years, DD stepped in to fill the daddy gap so that Jamari would have a father as he grows up to be a man. DD also discipled Lil' DD's best friend Victor, who has grown up without a consistent father in his life. Last May, both Lil DD and Victor graduated from Northpointe Christian. Lil' DD attends Indiana Wesleyan where he is studying youth ministry, while Victor recently started a landscaping business.

DD is just one of many examples of how God is using UTM to break the fatherless cycle. Through life-on-life mentoring relationships and programs of UTM, fatherless urban youth and young adults are discipled into Christian leaders, equipped with social-emotional, educational, and economic tools, and connected to social networks of people and resources (social capital) that break generational cycles of fatherlessness.

Will you join UTM in our mission to break the fatherless cycle? As Father's Day (June 16th) and National Fatherless Children's Day (June 23rd) approaches, please join us in recognizing the 18.3 million children in America who are growing up without a father in the home (1 out of every 4 children) and the men who grew up fatherless such as DD who are raising their kids to be Godly men and women.

We welcome volunteers who are willing to be life-on-life mentors for fatherless and under-resourced urban youth. We need prayer partners who will faithfully lift UTM in prayer. We need financial partners that will support UTM through monthly support, one-time gifts, and year-end giving. Here is how your financial gift will make a direct impact:

• A one-time gift of $500 covers the expenses of a weekend camping trip for 10 teens and their mentors.
• A one-time gift of $200 sponsors an under-resourced urban youth to attend KAA Camp near Branson Missouri where they will experience God in a culturally relevant urban context.
• A monthly gift of $100 directly connects a fatherless teen with a Christian mentor in a Life-on-Life relationship!
• A one-time gift of $50 covers the registration fee and uniform for a fatherless student with a UTM team at a weekend basketball tournament.

Will you consider partnering with us today to help us continue this life-transforming work?