In light of the tragedy Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, we are inviting Nonprofit Street readers to share their perspectives on what we can do to make sure another event like this never happens again. The following post has been submitted as a guest blog post, offering a perspective on what we can do. 


by Dean Cowles, founder of CityConnexx

“He who spends the most time wins.”

One of my mentors, Tom Tillapaugh, founder of the Denver Street School and National Network of Street Schools, gave me this simple yet compelling piece of advice when I first had lunch with him over 15 years ago.

I’ve lived by that advice ever since as the Lord has helped us start several at-risk youth organizations and urban church ministries across the years.

That simple sentence rings all the more true with every passing tragedy involving troubled teens and young people who continue to unleash unbearable agony and tragedy in shootings all across America.

Here in Denver we experienced that in the Theater shootings in Aurora this summer. Over a decade ago we were shocked at the Columbine killings that sadly started an all too familiar pattern of these types of violent, senseless acts. And now the most recent one at a Norman Rockwell scene of a quiet school called Sandy Hook in rural Connecticut.

This is not just an urban problem with at-risk kids. It’s a prevailing problem with all our kids, yours and mine. In my own home, I had to pull the plug on violent video games that were dominating the minds and time of sons and cousins. (Note to all parents, teachers, guardians. You can do something—pull the plug and cancel the Internet access. Don’t worry about the backlash, there could be worse outcomes if you don’t and somehow those of us over 30 made it fine without those games, movies, and other assorted negative stimuli.)

Back to that great piece of advice, “He who spends the most time wins.”

Tom was just letting me know a universal, tested truth. If we spend more time and energy and love and supervision with our kids than gangs or violent video games or you name it, then the equation for success is simple.

We win, schools win, society wins, God wins and Satan loses.

That’s part of our goal at CityConnexx. We just want to invite you and those like you to volunteer some of your time, talents, and energy to “spend time” with troubled youth. That’s why mission trips are so key to this strategy.

When groups commit themselves to sacrifice their own time and money to serve and just “hang out” with kids, guess what? Those kids won’t be bored out of their minds hanging on corners, or fantasizing on computer screens, or going to fields for target practice or any number of other destructive things.

Granted it’s nearly impossible for any parent, teacher, church volunteer to be there 24/7. However my experience and gut and studies tell me that those kids who have more adults and mentors in their lives are much much less likely to commit these kinds of crimes.

So what’s your next choice, your next decision? Go and volunteer at your local school. Organize a mission trip that will ignite in others the will and passion to go back home and serve. Each church adopt a school and be sure there are strong men acting as a deterrent and source of assurance everyday to greet teachers and children leaving the message that “we won’t leave here today until you do.”

Alive, well, laughing, living, breathing, growing in stature and wisdom.

“Spend time, not much else matters.”

 

Dean Cowles

Dean Cowles is founder of CityConnexx, sponsored by Compassion International, which encourages groups to serve on mission trips all across America. Dean was also the founder, director and pastor of Crossroads of the Rockies Urban Ministries in Denver. Dean is also an alumni of JVA Executive Director Training. Dean and his wife Dr. Cheryl Cowles OB/GYN love to go on mission trips around the world. They will be in India next month on a medical mission trip.