10 January, 2025

Church “˜Blessing Teen Parents” from Area Schools

by | 28 July, 2012 | 0 comments

By Jennifer Taylor

Church members, community members, and teen moms contributed items to the clothes swap event.

When Caleb Kaltenbach became the senior pastor at Valley View Christian Church (Dallas, TX), he challenged members to get more involved in local outreach.

“My wife, Marla, and I led a life group and began discussing what we could do,” says John Latvatalo, an elder at Valley View. “My daughter, who is a teacher, told us about a teen mom who was struggling to stay in school. We wanted to help but didn”t know where to start.”

The couple contacted the school district”s parenting program, planning simply to give money.

“But the school told us these girls really need to stay connected to a peer group,” Latvatalo says. “They lose touch with friends, feel alone in their struggles as young mothers, and drop out of school. We decided to find ways to encourage them.”

The Latvatalos and their life group held a simple event at the church, with food and games and volunteers to care for the babies. Four girls attended. Eighteen months later, the ministry””now called “Blessing Teen Parents”“”welcomes as many as 65 teens from five local schools to its monthly events.

“It”s very simple, but they love it,” Latvatalo says. “We hold the gatherings one Tuesday night a month from September to July. Each month is something different: a spa night, a Christmas party, a baby shower, a picnic and clothes swap. In the spring we have a celebration for the girls who are graduating.”

Encouraging the teens to finish high school and pursue further training is a key focus for the ministry; they”ve used donations to create scholarships and received permission to present them at the high school”s awards event.

The BTP volunteers are also building relationships with the teen fathers, sharing pizza and playing basketball with them in the church gym while the girls enjoy their monthly event.

“In many cases these guys want to be involved and want to be good dads, but they”re just kids,” Latvatalo says.

He says the ministry tries not to replicate the good resources already provided to teen moms by the schools, local agencies, and other organizations.

“We also struggled a bit with some volunteers who liked the idea of the ministry but wanted us to focus on teaching abstinence,” he says. “We invite these kids to church and we don”t hide our faith, but our job is not to preach. Maybe they”ll begin attending services, or maybe they”ll just remember there was a church that loved them. Our ministry is providing a place to belong and be loved.”

www.vvcc.org

“”Jennifer Taylor

 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

I Binged Joe Rogan This Week …

After binge listening to the Joe Rogan podcast, Tyler McKenzie offers a few insights he gained from his listening experience.

The Army of the Anxious

Anxiety and depression are increasing in America, particularly among the younger generation. It’s time to revisit what the Bible says about worry.

We Have Been There Before

God has helped us in ages past, and he won’t forsake us in the new year ahead.

A Raccoon, a Mayor, and a Rural Revival

The historic First Christian Church of Monticello, KY, has experienced growth and revival under the ministerial leadership of Joe Tipton.

“The Opening Year”: A Christian Standard Editorial from 1875

In his editorial for the start of 1875, Christian Standard’s founding editor, Isaac Errett, offered 5 suggestions to his readers that will enable them to “consecrate” themselves anew to Christ’s service in the forthcoming year. Though Errett’s suggestions are nearly 150 years old (originally published on January 2, 1875), we believe his comments are just as valuable today as they were when they were first published.

Follow Us