'Big Brothers, Big Sisters' forge UMMen partnership

Todd Bristow, Conference President of the United Methodist Men hosted a luncheon sponsored by the United Methodist Men, on Tuesday at the Plano Center. As attendees gathered, Todd Bristow announced a new partnership between the United Methodist Men and Big Brothers and Sisters of North Texas. In making this announcement, Mr. Bristow reminded those in attendance that the vision of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples and the vision for the United Methodist Men is to play a significant role in living out this vision. Big Brothers and Sisters of North Texas is a "point of light" that shines in the life of many children and families in the north Texas region.

Charles Pierson, CEO of the North Texas Chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters offered the Key Note address and shared with the gathering the need for mentors to North Texas children. One of the special programs of Big Brothers and Sisters of North Texas and the United Methodist Men, is the Amachi Texas program. Amachi is a Nigerian word that means, "who knows what God has brought us through this child." The Amachi initiative focuses on children who have at least 1 parent in prison. Currently there are 70,000 children in the DFW area who have one parent, and 15,000 who have both parents in jail or prison. The United Methodist Men of North Texas is partnering with Big Brothers and Sisters to offer love and mentoring to these children.