Mentoring programs involving from 5 to 50 churches each are also under way in Michigan, Virginia, Mary land, California, Washington, Indiana, and North Carolina. But the initiative Inez Fleming is the most excited about is the mentoring program housed at her own congregation, Sharon Baptist. Two years ago, Fleming and then- STEP executive director Linda Tracey met with Sharon's senior pastor, Paul Coles, and described STEP 's work in Gilpin. They had run children's programs and aged course in the community for several years but switched to an emphasis on job-readiness training. STEP had been receiving strong support for years from one African-American Pentecostal congregation in Gilpin, Victory Life Fellowship, but was hoping Sharon Baptist would also join the effort.
Awareness is the key.
Sometimes we get so accustomed to a condition that we get 'turned off' from it, like living near the airport and you don't notice the sound of the planes anymore. That's what happened to Sharon. We were right in the middle of poverty, but we were overlooking it. Inez Fleming was astonished at the rapidity of Coles's response. And the next thing I know, he was teaching in the class, joining the board of directors, and swinging wide Sharon's doors.