Advancing the Kingdom

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Advancing T he Kingdom: Kingdom House
individuals or by small groups of boys held
together only by their immediate need for
money.
Making the situation more serious is
the fact that school-drop-outs are on the
increase, while at the same time jobs for
teenagers are harder to find. Consequently,
more teenagers are roaming the streets
without an adequate source of funds to
meet their ever expanding material needs.
Their efforts to obtain jobs usually end
up in failure and frustration, while at the
same time their economic needs become
more pressing. Unable to fill these needs
in an acceptable manner, they are likely
to fill them otherwise. When this happens
they become potentially dangerous to the
people of the community at large. These
individuals are not dangerous because of
their potential to steal, but because of the
fact that they usually have found by this
time the amount of courage contained in
a fifth of cheap wine. In addition, they are
dangerous because they are becoming more
mobile. These two factors add fuel to an
already explosive situation as they provide
our teenagers with the courage, regardless
how false, to strike out with violence and the
means to escape quickly. Most disturbing
of all is the fact that violence in our area
appears to have become an end in itself
and not a means to an end. A glance at any
morning paper will provide you with many
instances where the only crime involved,
was a violent attack on an innocent person
without any apparent reason.
Kingdom House, by the nature of its
sponsorship, is obligated to work with
the problems of the neighborhood and,
in a more general way, with the problems
of the community. To ignore the problem
of delinquency as we see it today or to
approach it only half-hearted is to ignore
our roles as leaders in this community, our
ethics as social workers and our personal
commitments as Christians.
What is Kingdom House Doing
About This Problem: As stated above,
Kingdom House is emphasizing work with
delinquent youth in its program this year.
All programs are geared to work either
toward the prevention of delinquency or
the treatment of the delinquent. This means
we are designating almost all of our staff’s
time to working on this problem. Because of
space limitations it is impossible to give all
our thinking in this area, but the following
should suffice to give some feel for the things
we are trying to accomplish.
1. We use the groupwork approach to
working with problem children. We
keep the groups small, no more than
fifteen individuals, in order that we
can do more intensive work with
those delinquents with whom we have
contact.
2. We attempt to cooperate with the local
police, the city probation department
and the local juvenile officers in order
that we can be more effective in our
work with delinquents. We endeavor to
improve these relationships when and
whereever [sic] possible.
3. We attempt to reach those individuals
in the neighborhood who are
considered problems by their parents,
the law, other social agencies, our
schools, or other individuals in the
community.
4. We attempt to work with delinquent
teenagers, on an individual as well as
a group basis. In line with this, each
worker’s schedule is flexible enough to
allow time for this purpose.
5. In our work with delinquent youth we
stress work with their families. In all
cases we attempt to either gain their
cooperation or their agreement that
they will not interfere.
6. In order that our delinquent teenagers
can have more of an opportunity to
identify with Kingdom House and
the work we are trying to do, we
attempt to provide them with as many
opportunities to attend our program as
possible.
7. We maintain a number of ‘non-
delinquent groups’ in order to provide
some guidance to those teenagers who
may eventually become delinquent. In
addition, we feel that these groups can
provide patterns of behavior for the
delinquent to follow.
8. In addition to the group work and
individual casework services provided
at this time we are attempting to
establish a fund of resources which
will act as the basis for an ongoing
program in this area.
9. We encourage volunteers from the
churches to participate in our program
in order that we may:
a. Be provided with an opportunity to
express their Christian concern in
Christian action.
b. Have a better understanding of the
Church’s missionary work in the inner
city.
c. Gain some insight into the problems
faced by the individuals who live in
the inner city.
d. Acquire program skills which can
benefit them in their own groups and
neighborhoods.
e. Free our trained professional staff for
more work with more small problem
centered groups.
How Can You Help: There are three
very important ways you either as an
individual or a group can help to implement
your Church’s missionary program in the
inner city. These are as follows:
1. Support Kingdom House in the same
generous fashion you have in the past;
2. Contribute your time by volunteering
your services one night a week;
3. Become involved as individuals or
groups in one or both of the following
plans for delinquent teenagers:
Plan 1. Kingdom House Training
Fund: For this program we need
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To ignore the
problems of
delinquency as we
see it today or to
approach it half-
hearted is to ignore
our roles as leaders
in this community
our ethics as social
workers, and our
personal commitments
as Christians.