Richard's Testimony

My name is Richard K. Bennett. I have been married to my soul mate for ten wonderful years, and together we have two beautiful children: Jireh and Kevin (after being told by three different doctors that we would never have children). Isn’t it wonderful to know that, “The Doctor is your Father, and He perfects that which concerns you”.
My life has definately been a journey, but throughout, God has been good. I was a drug dealer and made a lot of money, then I became a drug user and spent a lot of money. I’ve been incarcerated for possession of cocaine for resale. I’ve been homeless. I was a thief, con artist, and begger before I hit rock bottom. I did not love me, and felt as if I had no identity.
This is just a small glance at what God, through Christ Jesus, has brought me from. I have learned that you sometimes have to face the fact that even though your life has changed, people will try to remind you of the person you once were. The bible says, “Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved”. It also says, “Behold old things are passed away and behold all things have become new”. Our Father puts our sins in the “Sea of Forgetfulness”, and they can never again be used against you by Satan. Thank God for the TRUTH and the TRUTH is, “I have been made NEW”.
For three years, I was the Director of Operations of the YMCA’s S.O.S (Son of Shaka & Sisters of Sheba) Program. I also directed the summer Literacy Program for the Bethlehem Center for a year. I am a Licensed and Ordained Minister and for four years served as an Associate Pastor at Olivet Baptist Church. I attended Covenant Seminary College for a short time and I was also the co-owner of a Christian Café called “The Spiritual Spot”.
Now, let me tell you a little about my life at present. I am now the Founder and President of “ A Better Tomorrow, Inc.”, a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) tax exempt organization that focuses on “Impacting our youth”. I also operate a janitorial service (“Blessed Janitorial”) and am a partner of The Empowerment Center where I serve with Pastor David Banks. The Destiny and Life Choices Mentoring Program is conducted during and after school. In conjunction with ABT, we also have a Mentoring Ministry we operate for church youth groups, called “For Real About Jesus Ministry”. Whether in church or in school, children all need to know “who they are”, success and self-confidence are all about knowing your identity. “Destiny and Life Choices” is just what it says, your Destiny is your choice.
Our in-school program is eight-weeks long. I mentor the young men in various middle and high schools, as well as in the juvenile detention center. We always begin with the question, “Where are you now?” This helps them to identity their perception of themselves. During the course of the eight-week course, we work on relationship building, character building, life skills, literacy, and most importantly, individuality. This is key. Each of these young men needs to know who he is. They become aware that their identity is not defined by who thier parents are, whether or not they have a father living at home, or whether they live on brow of Signal Mountain or in a housing development. They learn that Identity is all about “who you say you are.”
By the end of the eight-weeks, we have shared a lot of laughter and even some tears (reflection isn’t always pretty), but each young man leaves with an increased sense of self-identity, self-worth, as well as three short-term and five long-term goals that they write for themselves. Along with this, they develop an action plan with which they will achieve these goals. Although this task God has given me can sometimes seem overwhelming, I am strengthened by the knowledge that "whom He calls He equips". I am humbled to know that He has entrusted His next generation of awesome young men and women into the hands of this organization. Though I was blessed with only one biological son (Kevin), I have been entrusted through my work with hundreds of spiritual sons. Who would have thought that my journey would have led me to this point? God knew. He truly takes the “foolish things to confound the wise”.