We are so excited to share a new book about mentoring teenagers with you. Can We Go to Lunch? Winning, Developing, & Mentoring the Heart of a Teenager is written by Kendra Berry & Kenya Sloan. Read on to learn more, including our author interview with Kendra...

It takes a certain type of person to pour their lives into teenagers where we often do more seed planting than we do reaping the harvest of our labor.

If you have the courage to read on, we believe you will glean great insight into winning, developing, and mentoring the heart of your teenager and begin to help us change the negative narrative one teenager at a time.

If you believe like we do, that the future of our world depends on how we commit to them, we invite you into our story. We intend to be part of the solution... won't you join us?

Mentorship within the context of relationships is what our teenagers need; they crave and desire to be fully known and deeply loved. When you spend consistent time with teens, you earn the ability to speak into their lives, whether that is words of encouragement or correction. During the 2010s decade, while Kendra was in her 20s and Kenya was in her teenage years, we had the opportunity to do exactly this with each other.

Kendra Berry was born in South Georgia to incredibly involved loving parents who encouraged her and her younger brother Alex to discover their strengths and passions. As a college basketball player she was lucky enough to have teammates who turned into sisters. These women, plus those she met along the way, now have kids and Kendra gets to be auntie to them all. Nephews and nieces in different cities and states is tricky, but Kendra was raised with aunts and uncles who consistently showed up in her life and she tries to do the same for the small people in her life as well. Outside of advocating for education and communities, connecting people, and writing, Kendra is mostly found being an auntie; showing up for birthdays and bedtime and running around in the sunshine laughing and smiling with her favorite small people. After they have sufficiently worn her out and filled her soul she can also be found reading, having friends over for dinner, hiking, or swinging in a hammock in the mountains.   

Kenya Sloan is a sister of two amazing siblings and a daughter of three invested, driven, and loving parents. She grew up in Knoxville, TN and is finishing her first season as assistant women's wrestling coach for Sacred Heart University. Kenya joins the Pioneers after serving as the founder and head coach of the Knoxville Girl's Wrestling Club. Before that role, she served as a clinician at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

We were lucky enough to talk with Kendra about inspiration, mentoring, and more. Here's what she had to say...

Please tell us what inspired you to write this book
First, there are so many who agree that intentionality during the teenage years matters, yet they feel as if they do not have the tools to be an effective mentor themselves. We wanted them to have the language and the tools to be able to positively influence the teenagers in their lives. Second, when I am many decades older, and my memory may not be as sharp, I want to have a written account of our friendship. It has been too impactful in my life to not have it committed to paper.

How does this book fit into your life's work?
Nothing fills me up like pouring into the next generation. Whether it is youth sports, foster care, student ministry, after school programming, or education, my heart comes alive knowing that we are taking care of kids, students, and teenagers. This book discusses the mentorship aspect that I believe is the common thread amongst the things I care for deeply and a way to multiply impact.

How do you think teaching connection, relationships, and mentorship of teenagers can change the world for the better?
Close your eyes and think about the people who have had the greatest influence on your life. Oftentimes, those people are the ones who took the time to foster a connection and a relationship with you. Teenagers are growing up with access to more information than at any other time in the world, and yet they are searching for connection. What a gift to communicate love and care by demonstrating an investment of T-I-M-E. A teenager who enters young adulthood being fully known and deeply loved is off to a good start to impact our world in a positive way.

What's up next for you?
I think there may be another book stirring. I have been given the honor of leading in a few areas over the last several years and what I have experienced is that success of a team, group, or organization is often determined by how well your leaders in the middle lead. Leadership is another thread that connects many of the things I care about, and I think more effective, caring leadership from those in the middle such as middle managers, assistant principals, assistant coaches, associate directors, and more can have a positive impact on our world.

Where can readers find your work? 
Website: https://canwegotolunch.com
Instagram: @can_we_go_to_lunch

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?  
To every person who has given their time to pour into a teenager...thank you!