Landon and Timothy are 14-year-old boys from separate foster homes with a history of bad behavior ranging from violence to theft. Their foster parents enrolled each of them this fall in our Boys Home Academy. By the grace of God and the dedicated staff, both youths have committed their lives to Jesus Christ and are working to improve both their attitudes and grades in school.

In both cases the boys were close to being beyond hope. Landon would often beat up his younger foster brother and on one occasion police were called to the home. When he foster parents were at their wit’s end, they sent Landon to another residential camp. There, he got into several fights, broke into the camp’s office and stole candy and other items and was expelled.

Timothy also had violent episodes, was smoking and landed in the juvenile justice system when he was caught stealing vaping materials. Now, both boys are learning not only math, history and English, but also the key to living upright, God-honoring lives.

Our Academy is for troubled boys ages 13-18 who are belligerent, angry, disrespectful, out of control at home, and behind in school or expelled. We address their issues first from a spiritual perspective, pointing the boys to Christ and God’s Word as the only foundation for true transformation and hope.

The residential nature of our program means our staff serves full time as guardians and teachers and they spend many intentional hours with these kids every day. They come alongside to counsel and teach them so they can get caught up, graduate and move on in life with changed attitudes and a quality education that ensures a better future. Until he came to Good News Landon said he had little interest in God, even though his adopted parents were Christians. That changes at the Boys Home. “When I came here they made it seem different,” he said. “They’re not really forcing it down on you but giving you information that you need. I’ve learned a lot from that.” As for Timothy, he’s finally recognized that actions bring consequences. “If I do what’s right, the consequences are going to be better.”