One of the initiatives in NewLife Behavior International’s Vision 5.5 is to “Provide events to encourage children and youth to make healthy choices so they become more like Jesus.” This challenge led to an incredible opportunity in America.
An NLBI Board Member, Retired Chief Justice John Cayce, asked NLBI to consider providing Christ-centered programming for the youth who are involved in the juvenile justice legal system. Upon prayer and reflection, it became obvious this fit perfectly into our vision. So, after receiving approval of the program by Juvenile Court Judge Alex Kim, the NewLife Behavior course “Sense of Self” was rewritten and retitled, “Sense of Self: YOUth” by NewLife Behavior Ministries President, Dale Underwood, and newLife RISING was born.
With invaluable help from Tarrant County Juvenile Probation Services Director Riley Shaw and Deputy Assistant Director, Bernice Mack, along with their staff and a team of 15 dedicated volunteers, the inaugural class with over 30 students was launched on April 17, 2025. For their successful completion of the program, Judge Kim agreed to give the students 40 community service hours to satisfy the conditions of their probation. It has been inspirational to see so many volunteers and individuals within our juvenile court system show such love and compassion to these young people.
The 8-week program is a combination of two live classes that include the parents and six virtual classes that only involve the youth. Each class is loaded with good teaching, volunteer and guest testimonies, and small group time.
The main objective is to help these young people understand that they bear the image of their Heavenly Father (Genesis 1:27) and that Jesus can break through any stronghold to help them live out a better tomorrow. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we read, “When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” (The Living Bible). Our prayer is that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, these young people will believe the truth of these scriptures, decide to follow Jesus, and be baptized.
At the conclusion of each semester, a survey is given to the graduates. We asked, “What did you learn that stuck with you the most?” Here are a few of the comments the young people have shared with us.
- The part when we talked about second chances with life and God.
- Anger is a choice.
- Everyone makes mistakes, and we have time to change.
- That our God is forgiving.
- You can’t really be great unless you put God in it.
- Mostly things I didn’t know about God and what HE thinks of me.
- I learned how to build a better relationship with God and with family.
- How you can change so much with the power of God.
- How people have been through hardships and tough situations and how they turned their life around with God.
- Anger is an overcoming process; you can’t let it affect your whole outcome of life.
- What I learned the most is to get closer to God.
With the completion of our fifth semester in October 2026, more than 150 young people have graduated, and nine have chosen to be baptized into Christ!
If you would like to volunteer to serve in newLife RISING, contact Jennifer Cox, Program Director, at jencox.nlbi@gmail.com.
To make a donation to newLife RISING, simply to go to https://www.nlbi.net/causes/newlife-rising.
.png)
