So I grew up in a home raised by a heroic mom

and a grandmother.

And I didn't have a dad around.

When I was five, my mom signed me up for a mentor.

And this guy, Tom, shows up at my door

and takes me to Baskin-Robbins.

And we talked.

He gets me two scoops of chocolate.

And on the way home, we're driving

in his little, blue pickup truck.

I just looked at him in this honest five-year-old way

and said, why are your legs so hairy?

And he just said, simply it's because my mother is a monkey.

And I totally believed him.

For years after, he would send me birthday cards

with monkeys on them.

And we begin to have a relationship.

And he became my mentor.

My dad wasn't around, and so Tom really

filled this critical role in my life.

And kids are looking for someone to show up in their life,

and every kid deserves a mentor.

And I think the people who mean the most to us

are those who show up in our lives.

When you show up for somebody, it says without words,

I'm here for you, I believe in you, and I love you.

It echoes who Christ is.

He is God with us.

And he gives us this promise that he'll be with us forever.

We talk a lot about how mentors win by showing up.

And anyone can show up.

And we just want people to show up for kids.

With every neighborhood, wherever you live,

there are kids who need you.

There are kids who are in waiting list for mentors.

We have over 100 kids here in Oklahoma City

on waiting lists for mentors.

They're just waiting for someone to show up for them.

And anyone can show up.

Anyone can do it.

You don't have to be fancy.

You don't have to be cool.

You don't have to be smart.

You don't even have to have a good job.

You don't have to have any of that stuff,

you just have to show up.

And as you show up for them, they slowly begin to trust you.

You begin to change them.

You become like this silent anchor in their life of someone

who loves them, who cares for them.

Who are you showing up for?

Who are you giving your life for?

For this generation to believe that God can be their father,

we have to show up in their life the same way

that Christ shows up in our life at the incarnation--

intimately, personally, consistently.

As you show up, as you begin to transform someone else's life,

you'll see their life take a dramatic turn.

And the amazing thing about it is, when you show up,

as you begin to see God use you to transform

the life of another, you'll be changed.

You'll be transformed.

Your own heart will come alive as you give your life

for the life of another.