Tyrone Flowers knows firsthand the challenges that at-risk children face in our culture today.
His father was murdered when Tyrone was ten years old. After his mother made it clear that she didn’t want to be a mother, he lived with his grandmother and her 12 children. While she worked multiple jobs, Tyrone was raised by teenagers who were 10 to 15 years older than him, exposing him to drugs, sex and alcohol at an early age.
His senior year in high school he got into a verbal confrontation with a basketball teammate. When the conflict escalated, his teammate pulled out a .357 Magnum and shot Tyrone three times, hitting him in the shoulder and neck area. A bullet nicked his spinal cord and paralyzed him.
For a time, Tyrone wanted revenge – either kill the guy or put him in a wheelchair. But then he discovered that he couldn’t outrun God. In order to do right, he couldn’t do wrong. No matter what we go through, we can choose who we’re going to serve. Tyrone chose to forgive.
In 1993, Tyrone started a ministry called Higher M-Pact after he felt God leading him to disciple other troubled teenagers. The organization helps identify high-risk urban kids in the Kansas City, Missouri area and offers skills training, mentoring, spiritual discipline and a vision for their potential as future leaders.
Tyrone is joining me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly to share his remarkable journey and share how God led him to reach back into communities to help at-risk children to know that there is a God that loves them. Listen on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, or on our free phone app.
You may also be interested in a free online booklet we’ve written called, “Coming Home: An Invitation to Join God’s Family,” which explains what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Many of you are in a position to ask, “Lord, what can I do to help these kids because I was one of them?” You can participate with Focus on the Family through our Wait No More program. Even if you don’t feel led to adopt a child yourself, there are other ways to engage if you’re willing. Your gift can provide a child entering foster care – who often leave home with few belongings of their own – a suitcase, a teddy bear, and an age-appropriate Bible. Click here for more information or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459). We’ll help you discover what you can do to step into the life of a foster child in the name of Christ.
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