| abstract | Belton Creek Baptist Church is a faith community that seeks to do the will of the Lord. The absence of the young Black men fulfilling their roles in their homes and faith communities has noticeably become a major concern within Black churches. Broken homes and communities lead to broken relationships. The struggle of broken Black men to return to his faith community is a plight that if left unattended leads to perpetual violence and destruction. The brokenness; Black on Black crime, high incarceration rates, minimal to no education, high pregnancy rate with unwedded couples, poor to no vocational job training skills, and a low value of self-worth are examples of the brokenness Black men have come to learn as a way of life. The Project Director undertook the challenge to develop opportunities to equip the faith community with the tools through workshops to become more engaged with broken Black men. The initial task was to show the faith the community the role they play in the departure and denied return of Black men by discriminative behavior that perpetuates isolation. Through surveys and questionnaires, the project manager sought after evidence that the Black church bears major responsibility on the demise of the Black family by the continual pushing away of the Black male. This thesis is designed to be the foundation of a much larger work that speaks to the ongoing problem of how the Black community has suffered and continues to suffer because of the absence of the Black male in his home and faith community. While engaged in healthy dialogue with various faith communities, the Project Director's passion to get involved in bringing initiatives to a vast audience became evident in the programs that are birthed. It is clear, based on current crime rates, educational deficiencies among young Black boys, low employment rate, and high incarceration rates that a project of this magnitude is need in the Black community. |
