Pam Brassart said she remembers seeing the young woman come in and sit down at a table, not looking comfortable at all.
“She kind of looked down, and I began a conversation with her, and she was giving mostly short answers,” she said.
Shortly after that, an older woman came in and sat down beside her.
“That woman was going to be her mentor,” Brassart said. “As they began to talk, a commonality came out — the young woman had an autistic child, and the older woman had been a special ed teacher for many years.”
Small groups
The relationship was put together by the Women’s Mentoring Ministry of Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville, which pairs mentors and mentees, then puts three sets of them together in a group of six, along with a teacher and a prayer warrior.
Brassart serves in the prayer warrior role and said that before their closing brunch that year, the young woman sent her a text and asked her to pray because she was sharing her testimony.
“By then, she looked like a different person — her countenance was different,” Brassart said. “When we had the discussions around the table, she talked more than anybody.”
That’s the kind of impact that Vicki Craft, leader of the ministry and wife of pastor Darryl Craft, said they pray for.
“We spend a whole day praying over who to match up,” she said.
For each eight-week rotation, a host home prepares a meal for a small group’s weekly meeting, and they all discuss the book “Growing Together” by Melissa B. Kruger.
“We’ve done it since 2022, and it’s amazing to see the relationships that have grown out of the program and the testimonies the women have shared,” Craft said, noting that during their last eight-week run, two of the women were baptized.
‘So grateful’
Another one of the young women who is getting married soon has also asked her 66-year-old mentor to be her matron of honor.
“God has used this ministry in amazing ways at our church, and we are so grateful,” she said.
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