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If you are currently in a mentoring relationship, stop right now and think about this question: Why? Why are you mentoring? Why do you choose to wake up and poor into one or more kids and lead them into adulthood? What is the benefit to you? Chances are, you have some kind of personal story that answers those questions. Maybe you grew up in a family that was abusive and you didn’t have anybody to guide you. Maybe you grew up in the stereotypical suburban, white picket fence home and you want to pay it forward. Maybe you’re somewhere in between in that story. Regardless, you have a story. So do the coaches at Forerunner Mentoring. Each and every coach in Forerunner’s After School Mentoring Program has some kind of why behind them taking on the role to mentor students in Lake Highlands, and we want to tell those stories. Josh Manning, the editor of the You Can Mentor podcast continues his takeover this week with Forerunner’s Family Ministry Coordinator, Bailey Willis, as his guest to hear her “why” for mentoring.
Purchase the You Can Mentor book:
You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Curses
youcanmentor.com
Purchase the You Can Mentor book:
You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Curses
youcanmentor.com
Creators and Guests
What is You Can Mentor: A Christian Youth Mentoring Podcast?
You Can Mentor is a network that equips and encourages mentors and mentoring leaders through resources and relationships to love God, love others, and make disciples in their own community. We want to see Christian mentors thrive.
We want to hear from you! Send any mentoring questions to hello@youcanmentor.com, and we'll answer them on our podcast. We want to help you become the best possible mentor you can be. Also, if you are a mentoring organization, church, or non-profit, connect with us to join our mentoring network or to be spotlighted on our show.
Please find out more at www.youcanmentor.com or find us on social media. You will find more resources on our website to help equip and encourage mentors. We have downloadable resources, cohort opportunities, and an opportunity to build relationships with other Christian mentoring leaders.
You can mentor is a podcast about the power of building relationships with kids from hard places in the name of Jesus. Every episode will help you overcome common mentoring obstacles and give you the confidence you need to invest in the lives of others. You can mentor.
Speaker 2:Hey, mentors. Just a reminder about the You Can Mentor book. It's titled You Can Mentor, How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Curses. The whole point of this book is to equip and encourage mentors with new tools and ideas on how to make the most of their mentor mentee relationship. If you're a mentor, hey, go pick it up.
Speaker 2:And if you're a mentoring organization, pick some up for all of your mentors. If you would like to order mass copies, like more than 20, send an email to me, zach@youcanmentor.com, and we will get you guys a special price. But go and pick up that book. It's good. You can mentor.
Speaker 3:Welcome back to the You Can Mentor podcast. My name is Joshua Manning. I am not a normal host. I'm the editor here at You Can Mentor. And I'm here today with Bailey Willis.
Speaker 3:She is the family ministry coordinator here at 4 Runner Mentoring. She started as a great coach and has worked her way up. And she is just continuing our series on why I mentor. This is an idea that I had, oh, just a couple months ago and finally pulled the trigger on it. We are just going through some of the staff here at Forerunner, mostly coaches.
Speaker 3:But Bailey, I feel like, has a very unique perspective given that she started as a coach and has moved her way up to family ministry coordinator. So I wanted to get her on the podcast just to talk about why she mentor. So, Baylee, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Of course. What's up, guys?
Speaker 3:So, Baylee, let's do just a quick who is Baylee? Who who are you? How did you get plugged into 4 Runner? What are your hobbies? You know, all all the deets.
Speaker 3:All the deets.
Speaker 4:Yeah, of course. So I actually got plugged in a pretty funny way. As most of you know, Steven, who is our executive director, I started off as his nanny. He has a precious little boy, Ben, who is so cute, and he had just been born and was about probably 2 months old. And I was in an interview to be their nanny, and Steven had asked me if I would be interested in doing kids' ministry.
Speaker 4:And it's crazy because prior to that, actually like 24 hours before that, God had told me that I was called to children's ministry. And so it was an answered prayer and an open door that he provided an outlet for because he knew I was hesitant when he told me this. And so it was super cool to be able to see God step in and take care of that situation for me. But, yeah, I started as Steven's nanny and jumped in as a coach, as Josh previously stated. Some hobbies.
Speaker 4:I would say cooking is probably my favorite hobby. I love to cook, spending time with my new husband that I just got married to.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you were a Faulkner and I remember.
Speaker 4:I was. I was. So those of you may know me as a Faulkner, but I am Willis now. I also enjoy working out and finding new TV shows on Netflix.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah? What's what's the one you're currently doing right now?
Speaker 4:A current TV show. I finished I finished all the ones right now. I'm actually kind of looking for one. So
Speaker 3:What was the most recent one you finished?
Speaker 4:I don't know. Most recent one I finished. Well, actually, one of the most recent ones I finished was actually on Hulu, and it was called Siren. It's about mermaids, actually. It's pretty cool.
Speaker 4:You gotta go check it out.
Speaker 3:Siren. Yeah. That gives me, like, Odyssey vibes.
Speaker 4:You should you should go. You literally should go look at it. It's actually a super cool show.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 4:And I feel like there's not many shows on mermaids, which is interesting. But anyways, yeah.
Speaker 3:Alright. Alright. So I didn't know that. I didn't know that you started as Stephen's nanny. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And that was
Speaker 4:I mentored I mean, mentored. Well, yeah, I did technically mentor, I guess, because everything's mentoring. I and nanny been from, like, 2 months to till he was about to turn 1.
Speaker 3:Wow. I I can't believe I didn't know that. Yeah, I mean, I've known Steven forever, literally, since I moved down here. So
Speaker 4:I'm surprised he hasn't told you because he starts off with that when he introduces me to just about anyone. He'll be like, She was my nanny.
Speaker 3:There is that. Yeah. But no, well, I mean, I think part of that is just like our circles never really crossed, right? It was I met Steven through church, and I knew him as college pastor, and he was, in many ways, a mentor to me. But I didn't really get plugged in with at 4 Runner until he called me just one day out of the blue on at the end of July, and I was like, I need you to go to camp.
Speaker 3:Literally, it was just like, I have nobody else. You're the only person I can think of who can go. I need you to go to camp. And I was like, okay. So, you know, it was like those those paths or those circles didn't really cross other than through Stephen.
Speaker 3:And so it was it wasn't until I got here and started here as the site lead that I didn't even know I was starting as a site lead. I thought I was coming in as a great coach that, you know, I finally met you and really everybody else on that team, which was such a great team that year. But that's so cool that you were going in as a nanny and God had told you, Hey, like, you're going into childcare in some way, and then opened that door.
Speaker 4:And I
Speaker 3:think that's just a really cool testament of God's sovereignty and how he just gives us opportunities to live out our calling.
Speaker 4:I think it's cool too. I think it's something to even be mindful of. Like, if you're thinking about being a mentor or if you feel like God has tugged you to be a mentor and just like having a faith and understanding that, like, He's not gonna call you to something that He's also not gonna provide a door to. And so, like, there's like, anything we go through, like, he never allows a situation to happen that doesn't have, like, I always say, like an escape route in a sense or like an avenue for you to be able to step into what he's telling you to do. And so if you're thinking about mentoring, keep that in mind.
Speaker 3:That would probably be our way if you're called to it. Exactly, and
Speaker 4:that is 4 Runner Mentoring, so that's your way. There's your answered prayer right there.
Speaker 3:At least if you live in Dallas. I mean, if you live in, I don't know, Colorado, maybe find a mentoring organization. Exactly.
Speaker 4:Hey, you can mentor anyone.
Speaker 3:This is true. You can mentor. You don't even need a a formal, like, mentoring organization, like Floor Runner, to to mentor. Like, I mean, a lot of my mentors growing up were just people that I was like, hey, I can learn something from you, and I want to I want to learn that from you. Can you can you guide me in this?
Speaker 3:So
Speaker 4:Yeah. That's good.
Speaker 3:Which leads us really nicely into our next question. Who mentored you growing up? Like, what did mentorship for you look like?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So I have to be very cliche and say that my biggest mentor is probably my mom. She she truly showed me and instilled in me what it looks like to be a woman of God at such a young age. And then throughout my high school years, I was homeschooled, actually. And we had a family friend named Adrienne who she mentored me, and she was really good at being a spiritual mentor as well.
Speaker 4:She took me through a lot of different healing and things that I had gone through as a kid and helped me get deliverance from a lot of things. And so she was a big one, and then I have another spiritual mentor who happened to be all of these, honestly, were moms of my best friends. So she was a big one as well who was just spiritually there for me and constantly got me through a lot. As a kid, I feel like it's hard to go to your parents sometimes about, like, things that you go through, especially if they're tied to it because my parents got divorced. And so there's some things that is just not easy to go to your mom about or your dad about when they just got divorced.
Speaker 4:And so I feel like those 2 women were really
Speaker 3:Safe spaces.
Speaker 4:Vital, yeah, vital people and positions in my life that got me to where I am today. So, yeah, those are probably the top 3.
Speaker 3:Gotcha. So your mom and then kind of the moms of 2 really good friends of yours?
Speaker 4:Yep.
Speaker 3:All right. And were these do you think these were like co or all at the same time, or was it kind of a sequence of, like obviously, your mom is throughout your life, but the other 2, was it, like, one and then the other, or was it almost kinda more of, like, group mentoring in reverse?
Speaker 4:I'd say they were all around the same time. I didn't really have necessarily a mentor aside from my mom, like as a young, young child. My dad was in the military, and then they were youth pastors when I was young. And so I was kind of always in the flow of things because they were youth pastors, and so they were kind of my pastors as well. And so I didn't have any specific mentor as a young, young child.
Speaker 4:That all happened around the age of, like, 13 to 15, and then my parents got divorced when I was 15. And so that's when, like, I really needed a mentor. And that's somebody to to talk to. Yeah. And that's when those women kinda stepped in more.
Speaker 4:But they were kind of, yeah, I would say all around the same time. I moved to Dallas when I was 18 and went through a lot of life and from San Angelo, Texas. Yeah. So I'm from San Angelo. It's a small little town west or city, I guess, considered now.
Speaker 4:But I moved to Dallas when I was 18 and was going through a lot of pain from the divorce and just different things that I've experienced and stepped away from my relationship with God for a while and which is a whole story in itself, but I came back when I was probably around 20. And I had a spiritual mentor at the church I went to, which was Shoreline, and she is who helped me step into children's ministry. And so, like, as a young adult, I had a different mentor, if that makes sense, than who I experienced as a high school student.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And I I think that makes sense. I think that, at least from what I've seen, like, outside of a formal mentoring organization, that seems to be pretty common. I mean, that was my story. Like, I had specific mentors in specific seasons, like God putting these specific people Mhmm.
Speaker 3:In my life for specific needs. And then, of course, you know, my story is very similar where I did leave the church for a good 4 or 5 years between about 16 21, 22. Actually, it wasn't until I moved to Texas, really. Like, I was doing my own thing for, now that I think about it, a good 8 years. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And, you know, just
Speaker 4:It's a hard age.
Speaker 3:It's a hard age, man. But, yeah, I was just like I had left the church. I honestly was searching. I was looking for something, but not really knowing what. And then, you know, I when I was 24, like, God was like, you're moving to Texas.
Speaker 3:And I'm like, why? What is in Texas? I don't know anybody in Texas. And he's like, just go. And I was like, okay.
Speaker 4:I guess I'm moving to Texas.
Speaker 3:And then 6 weeks after I moved down here, and this is literally the only time I've clearly heard his voice, like, actual voice. I woke up on a Sunday and yeah. The first thought in my head was, you said yes to coming down here. When are you going back to church? And I was like, well, it's 12:30 on Sunday, so I guess next week.
Speaker 3:And that's how I found Antioch and got plugged in with Steven. And he was my college pastor originally, so that's long before he came to Forerunner. But, yeah, it's a very similar story of, like, leaving the church and then finding your way back and getting just poured into by a spiritual mentor. So thank you for sharing that. Like, I didn't realize we had such similar stories.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah, of course. I mean, realistically, you, like, begin to the question really begins to make you think of, like, who has mentored me? And, honestly, like, who I am today is the accumulation of tons of people. I'm like even Steven.
Speaker 4:Steven has been a huge mentor and showed me what it looks like to be a man of God and a good father and just being able to live out someone who truly loves well. Beth has been a mentor when it comes to my career even and how what it looks like to truly, like, step into ministry. Mhmm. And just there's just so many people around me, my sisters and friends, family, and just people God has brought in my life who has helped me in in such a big way. And so I think that kind of goes into what we were saying earlier, just like you truly can be a mentor.
Speaker 4:Like, no matter who that's to, if that's a younger sibling, if that's a younger friend or someone specific from an organization, I think that you realize that one person has so many people who actually impact their life. And that's definitely my story.
Speaker 3:And maybe you're even being a mentor without realizing that you're being a mentor.
Speaker 4:Exactly. You probably already are a mentor. And you
Speaker 3:don't realize it, so surprise. Think about that. Think about who in your life you're pouring into, and that's a form of mentorship. So with that, like, how has being mentored by your mom, by your friends' moms, by the spiritual mentors coming back to the church, how has that changed your life? Like, how has each one just kind of poured into you and steered you down the right path?
Speaker 4:Yeah. And so something I always say, like, I feel like sometimes there is a weight that is on mentors to get whoever they're mentoring to a specific place or help them do certain things. And I think that allowing that weight to be pulled off of you is super important because, realistically, when I think about it, they truly just helped me learn how to become a woman of God. They taught me who Jesus was, and my relationship with Jesus has done the rest. And so, like, realizing that He is, like, God is our ultimate mentor, realistically.
Speaker 4:And I think that if you go into mentoring truly knowing that, it alleviates the weight of feeling like you have to get your mentee somewhere. Realistically, you just show them Jesus. You just show them the heart of God and help them and lead and guide them into what that looks like and how to build relationship with God. And I think that all of my mentors have done that really well in specific things in different areas. And so that has been huge because they helped me with my relationship with God.
Speaker 4:And, realistically, God's done the rest, to be honest. Like, past that, I can't give anyone else credit besides God because he truly is the best mentor. So
Speaker 3:Kind of a similar idea of, like, God's opening doors. Yeah. Yeah. Just opening the the doors through the mentors Mhmm. To new things, to to fulfilling your potential, right, which is our whole mission here at Foreigner is to help our boys fulfill their potential.
Speaker 3:So cool. Alright. So I'm gonna throw a question in that. It wasn't on the list.
Speaker 4:Of course.
Speaker 3:You are the family ministry coordinator right now. Mhmm. You started as a grade coach. Right? A grade coach, non instructional?
Speaker 4:Yes. A grade coach.
Speaker 3:What is exactly the difference? Like, what is the difference in the roles other than one's part time and one's full time? What's the difference between the roles? How has your progression at Forerunner evolved over, what, the last 2, 3 years?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So as a coach, I was hands on with the boys. So in a sense, it's kind of like a teacher is the best way to describe it to someone who doesn't know a whole lot about 4 Runner. We basically just helped them in their education. We helped them know more about God.
Speaker 4:We helped them learn different stories of the Bible and who Jesus truly was and what he did and that they can truly reach their full potential despite what the world says. And so being a mentor in that position, I was truly living out kids' ministry. And I was being and showing them an example of what it looks like to be a child of God and someone who pursues the heart of Jesus. And so, to be honest, there isn't much of a change for me specifically. I can't speak for what anyone else would be like in this position, but I would say I'm the same mentor to them now as I was then.
Speaker 4:I still go see them. What happened? Yeah. I'm like, I still go see them every day. And so I'm just not their primary person.
Speaker 4:They have other coaches now and other people who are able to pour into their lives as much, if not more, than I did, hopefully. And now I think the biggest thing is instead of me being focused on just the child and reaching the child, I now can pour into the whole household. And I think something that has been such an honor and blessing is being able to truly help the moms who have raised the boys that I love so much. And I think something I've always said to the moms is, like, y'all have given me so much by allowing me to love your kids, and so this is, like, my way of giving back to you. Because, realistically, like, I've been their mentor, but they've been my mentor.
Speaker 4:Like, they have yeah. They have they've truly showed me, like, the love of Jesus and so much of scripture when it talks about having a mind like a child and a heart like a child and God's heart for His children. I think that that has truly changed who I am now because I've been been able to see that and watch that in real life through these kids. And so realistically, like, they've changed my life for sure, like a 100%. And I think God has given me an opportunity to be able to pour back into the moms who have allowed me to do that.
Speaker 4:And so the importance of just having the whole household after the heart of Jesus and in pursuit of God's love and His grace and His goodness is so vital when it comes to being able to help these boys reach their full potential. And so that's really the only change that I personally feel like is now I get to pour into the whole household for most of it, as opposed to just the kid. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Love that. Especially since that kind of promotes the idea of unity within the church, but also, like, unity within the family unit. Right? This idea of, like, yeah, we're pouring into the boys, you know, 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, at least for k through 6.
Speaker 3:For junior high, it's 10 hours a week. But, you know, 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, we're pouring into the kid. We're teaching them, you know, practical skills in terms of, you know, reading and writing and math and and academic success, but also biblical knowledge and personal relationship with Jesus and those foundational principles. Mhmm. But if we're the only ones doing that, then how much support truly is there?
Speaker 3:I mean and yes, God can do anything and makes ways and has reached people with a lot less. But at the same time, it's like, if we can if we can support mom, if we can support the family in that and encouraging them into their own faith, then now, all of a sudden, we have the kid being supported at 4 Runner as well as being encouraged in their faith and their walk at home by a mom, who is already a pivotal person in their life. Yeah. I just I love that idea where we're kinda we're hitting it on all fronts and encouraging the student to fulfill their potential, both in program and outside of program.
Speaker 4:Yeah, of course.
Speaker 3:So great. So how has being that kind of mentor, both a grade coach and a family ministry coordinator, how has that changed you? You know, we have this idea that relationships change lives. We usually use that in reference to the kid and that we are pouring into the kid and that they their life has changed because of that, but it it's a two way street. Right?
Speaker 3:Like, they change us just as much as we change them. And you've already alluded alluded to it a little bit, but let's dive deeper. How has how has mentoring changed you?
Speaker 4:Yeah, of course. Something I always say is, like I said before, they truly changed me. And I think that that goes into my relationship with God. When I say that, that's what I mean, of like, they've shown me so many different sides of Jesus that I haven't experienced prior to working with them. And being a mentor, honestly, will always be one of my life's greatest joys.
Speaker 4:And we are called to raise leaders and to make it on earth as it is in heaven. And there is an undescribable satisfaction when you're living out what you're called to do. Like, no one can can put words to to what that feels like when you're actually doing what God put us here to do. And so that alone is life changing, realistically. Joy.
Speaker 4:Yeah. There's there's nothing as comparable. And so you don't have to be told in an honorable voice, Hey, you are supposed to be in kids' ministry, or you are supposed to pour into a woman's ministry or even a father ministry. Realistically, we're all called. Like, everyone's called, in a sense, to mentor because we're all called to raise leaders to make it on earth as it is in heaven.
Speaker 4:We are called to make disciples. And so don't wait to, like, hear, Oh, hey, you're supposed to be a mentor. You're already told that by being a child of God. You know what I mean? And so naturally, by doing that, no matter who you're mentoring, you are going to have an undescribable satisfaction of knowing that you're doing what God put you on this earth to do realistically.
Speaker 4:And so there's not really words. There's not really words. It's not a good answer to tell you how much has changed me because it's something that you really have to experience in order to understand what I mean when I say they changed my life. And mentoring in general has changed my life. Like, I will never stop being a mentor or finding someone I can mentor.
Speaker 3:Right, and finding somebody to pour into in
Speaker 4:some way. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:You shared a story in in our company Slack, what, a couple days ago, something like that. Just I think it was you, of the mom that reached out about her kid coming home. Maybe that was Caitlin. Was that Caitlin? I don't know.
Speaker 3:I saw it. Let me look. That was the one where the kid would come home and teach their whole family, like, everything they'd learned about the Bible that day.
Speaker 4:That wasn't me.
Speaker 3:Oh.
Speaker 4:I don't think it was me. That used to happen back when I was a coach. But
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 4:Do you have
Speaker 3:any stories of that?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So I've had different moms tell me let me think of some good ones. I've had moms tell me, like, in general, like, if they're going through something or they'll, like, mention something to their kid, and their kid will be like, Mom, can I pray for you? Like, god god is a healer. Coach Bailey said god listens and, like, things like that.
Speaker 4:And so being able to realistically realize that, hey. The words that we're pouring into these kids, like, they listen, they hear. And all we're doing is being an example and showing them the power that they already have. Like, we're not actually empowering them. They already have the power to do that, to change lives, to pour into their families and to be the leader in their family.
Speaker 3:Or just opening the door.
Speaker 4:Yeah, exactly. Opening the door, that's my favorite line. But yeah, so they're already powered to do it. They're already empowered to do it. We are just reminding them and showing them and teaching them that they do have that.
Speaker 4:And so it's been cool to be able to see moms come and tell me, like, hey. My son prayed over me today, and I don't know where he got that from or what inspired him to do that, but he did. Or I've had moms tell me that boys will come and share Bible stories and things that they know. I even had this one specific kid who was doing it at school and was sharing Bible stories and stories that happened and who Jesus was and what he did to his friends at school because he was confident that that's what he knew. And so, yeah, it's been it's been super cool to see, like, the small everyday impact lead up to them having confidence to share the gospel Yeah.
Speaker 4:And be able to show the love of Jesus to other people because they're mentoring other kids and their moms.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And those can actually be the, like, the stones of remembrance that we hold on to. I mean, that's why we have a stories channel in our Slack. It's so that we can go back when we're feeling down, when we're feeling discouraged about, oh, my kid's not getting it, or I've explained the same thing 500 times this year, or whatever. It's, you know, we're feeling down.
Speaker 3:We can go back, and we can look at those stories and be like, no. We're planting seeds. These are the seeds that we're planting, and God's watering them, and they will eventually bear fruit. We may not see that Yeah. At least in that specific kid, but it will bear fruit in maybe a year, maybe 5 years, maybe 10 years, maybe 20 years.
Speaker 3:Right? And then they'll find you and reach out and be like, hey. Just wanted to let you know, like, I'm where I am because of you and what you invested in me. So, I love those stories. I always love hearing the stories of just how kids are taking what's been poured into them and then turning around and pouring that out and making their own disciples.
Speaker 3:And we're talking about kids that are k through 6. Right? 5, you know, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, all the way up till, like, 10, 11 is who you worked with. I worked with junior high, and so that presents its own unique set of challenges. But, you know, there are still those stories.
Speaker 3:Like, we just had a kid a couple of weeks ago who had been in program. Like, he enrolled in program a couple of weeks ago and then 3 days later accepted Christ. Yeah. And and our our grade coach in the junior high led him in the prayer of salvation. And, like, that's a story that I will hold on to for a very long time of, like, what we're doing is working.
Speaker 4:Yeah, of course.
Speaker 3:Maybe not always that quick of a timeline, but it is working.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I remember a story. Someone told me, I believe it was Zach, honestly, And he was saying about how there was this boy that he had mentored who, like, never he was like the one kid who never acted like he was like, Zach had made an impact on him or who I'm pretty sure it was Zach, but that he was impacted. And when he was a late adult, they had ran into each other at the gas station or something. And this man came running up to him, and he was like, What in the world?
Speaker 4:And he said, Hey, you're Coach Zach or whatever.
Speaker 3:Which, if anybody's ever seen Zach, would be very obvious if
Speaker 4:you guys succeed. And so he was like, Hey, you're so and so. And he was like, Yeah. And he's like, I'm so and so. Like, I don't even remember what the name was, but he was like, I just needed to tell you, like, thank you.
Speaker 4:Like, you truly changed my life, and I'm here now, and I'm doing all these things. And I'll never forget, like, him sharing that story. It's like this man was I think he was dead, like, he was in his thirties now.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:And he was the one kid you never thought you were changing. You know what I mean? Like, he's the one kid who you're like, there's no way I'm actually helping this kid. But those are the ones who end up remembering and thinking of you whenever they see success in their life or they see God move. And so just something that I've I always think of too is, like, the small seeds that I'm planting now may not actually show up in these kids' lives until they're 30.
Speaker 4:But one day, it's going to show. Like, one day, it's going to live out. And yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, these stories are powerful stories. So, alright. Well, we've talked about who Bailey is. We've talked about who mentored you, how mentoring has evolved a little bit, but as as you've stepped into new roles at forerunner, which, sadly, you're leaving us. What's going on with that?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So my husband is trained to be in the Olympics, be cheering him on. His name is Maxwell Willis, so look for his name.
Speaker 3:What sport?
Speaker 4:And track and field. So he is going to be training and traveling, and so I we've been praying about this, and I am going to be his supporter and his helper and help him get to where he wants to go because it is now our dream. And then I also am writing a children's book series.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 4:And God has been putting out on my heart for a while now, and so I'm looking for an opportunity to be able to have a more flexible schedule so I can do these things. But yeah.
Speaker 3:What's the what's the series on? Is it, like, a fantasy or biblical stories?
Speaker 4:No. It'll be it's a children's book, so it'll be kind of like telling a story of, like, there'll be multiple kids involved, but it basically is just going to be a book to where kids can read and relate to things that they're going through and ways that they can be empowered by that. So it'll be, like, still a cartoon feel. And Maxwell is actually an incredible artist, and so he's actually doing all of the art Wow. And graphic design for illustration for my book, and then I'll write it all.
Speaker 4:So it'll be cool. Yeah. You'll have to you'll have to keep a lookout for it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Well, when it when it comes out, we'll update the show notes with the links and
Speaker 4:Okay. Sounds good. We'll do another podcast.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Exactly. We had Tajan last week, and he has did you know he has, like, two books of poetry? Mhmm. Why am I the only person who didn't know this?
Speaker 4:But He is a man with many talents, that one.
Speaker 3:He is. So we've dropped the links on on his books. We'll we'll make sure to drop the links on your books.
Speaker 1:And Sounds good.
Speaker 3:We're just gonna have a whole crew of bestsellers.
Speaker 4:Like There we go.
Speaker 3:We got Taz, we got you, we got Zach wrote a book. Steven's got a book. We know Steven has a book somewhere.
Speaker 4:He's got it in his head. He needs to put it on paper.
Speaker 3:Yeah. That's that's the thing. Wow. Alright. So the last question, and then we'll wrap it up, is what is the why behind mentoring?
Speaker 3:Like, why do you mentor? What is, like you know, when somebody's like, oh, you work at 4 Runner. That's so cool. Why do you do that? Why do you mentor, and why will you be continuing to mentor even after you are sadly no longer here and traveling the world with Maxwell as he goes to the Olympics, God willing?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So I would say, like, my biggest thing I always tell people when they ask me, like, why I do what I do in general, is simply to be a bridge that connects people to Jesus. And that's something I always say is, That's my only position. That's all I can do, is to just be a bridge that helps people get across to where they're going. A quote that Darius actually shared before, I'm pretty sure it's by Tupac, was, I'm not going to be who changes the world, but I will spark a light in a generation that will.
Speaker 4:And so that's kind of something that I just really love that quote because I am okay with not being who changes the world. But one thing that I won't settle for is not doing everything that I can to spark a light that will. And so that goes into whoever I mentor, the kids that I mentor, my personal own kids that I will have one day, and just in general, like, being able to encourage and spark just a fire in the next generation that truly has such a heart for Jesus and knows how to live with the weight of the world and knowing that they don't have to carry it. And so that's kind of my why is just what I can do to be able to help the next generation be who they're called to be and reach their whole potential. And so, yeah, that's that's what I'm going with.
Speaker 3:Because well, because that is a thing. Like, I think the, you know, the the current generation or the newest generation or whatever gets kind of a bad rap of, like, you know, oh, they're so whatever liberal or, you know, so focused on identity or whatever it is. But I think people don't stop to realize that there is truly a generation out there that's coming up, that's going to take over the world, you know, 20, 30 years, and that they are on fire for Jesus.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Well, I think too, like, there's a reason it's talked about so much of the next generation, and I think that's because people are realizing that it's gonna be powerful.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:And so I think something that has always been huge for me is, like, God has given me a gift to think eternally. And I always tell people that, like, if I can encourage anyone, it's just like, have an eternal mindset. Because when you do, there's, like, literally nothing in the world that can stop you and bother you because you know that this is not your home. Heaven is your home. And so that's kind of my goal in raising a mentor is to think eternally.
Speaker 4:Like, think, hey. Like, there's literally nothing in this world that you cannot do, that you can't get through. Yeah. And so, yeah, that's kind of something that I'm passionate about, of being able to help them have eternal mindsets. Because if this next generation has eternal mindsets, it's game over, truly.
Speaker 4:Yeah. It really is.
Speaker 3:Game over.
Speaker 4:Yeah. There's, like, there's no stopping them. And so, yeah, that's the light. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, Bailey, thank you so much for joining us today. We are very sad that you're going to be leaving in a few very short weeks. I know, like, you've been just a a game changer in my own experiences at 4 Runner. I remember last year, it was early in the fall, where you guys were cleaning up. I'd come over to k through 6 to just say, hey.
Speaker 3:And then we talked about like, I had asked a question of something that had happened in program. I was like, hey. I'm dealing with this. Like, what do I do? How do I help you?
Speaker 3:And then it's so cool because Quinn actually snapped a video. I think you've seen it. Right? Mhmm. Quinn snapped a video and it was like, you were just like, do this, do this, do this.
Speaker 3:Like, think about these things. And very much it was literally like think about the eternal mindset. Yeah. And pouring identity into them and giving them a vision for the future. And it's one of my favorite interactions from us because it in my mind, the phrase has always been mentors mentoring each other.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Right? It's, you know, me being coming
Speaker 4:in with
Speaker 3:0 experience. And I'm like, now I'm in charge of an entire, you know, program Yeah. And facilitating that. And I'm sitting there going like, I have zero experience how to do this. So I'm very much learning God by feet.
Speaker 3:And so it was it was just so cool to be able to come in and just be like, hey, Bailey. Like, I know that you don't work with junior high students, but how do you do this? And then to even think about that, like, that was your 2nd year.
Speaker 4:Right? Yeah.
Speaker 3:And your 1st year was very similar to mine in just like the hardship and the and the just everything that you had to learn how to do. Right? And even just having that like year of wisdom, you're like, this is what I do and this works really well. Yeah. And so that's that's one of my favorite memories.
Speaker 3:I'll you know, another one of those stories that I'll hold on to. But, yeah, thank you so much for joining. Do you have any, like, last words of encouragement for the listeners?
Speaker 4:Yeah. My biggest encouragement is God just needs your yes, realistically. And you don't need anything, like he says in the bible with the story of Goliath, you do not need anything more than what you are and what you have right now. All you need is God's blessing Yeah. On what you have.
Speaker 4:And so continue to say yes. He will open the doors, and he'll provide everything you need to be who you were called to be. So, yeah. Thank you guys so much for listening.
Speaker 3:So good. So good. Well, listeners, we hope you left encouraged today by Bailey's story. If you missed everything else, we hope that you hear this one and final thing. You can mentor.
Speaker 3:See you. Have a good day.