SHOULD YOU CONSIDER A RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM FOR YOUR TEENAGER?

1. Does your teen struggle with basic family rules?
2. Has your teen been expelled from school, been truant or had a significant drop in grades?
3. Is your teen verbally abusive?
4. Does your teen associate with a bad peer group?
5. Has your teen lost interest in activities, or sports?
6. Has your teen had trouble with the law?
7. Do you choose your words carefully so you don’t elicit a verbal attack or rage from your teen?
8. Are you worried your teen may not finish high school?
9. Is your teen depressed or withdrawn?
10. Has your teens personal hygiene changed significantly?
11. Does your teen display violent behavior?
12. Is your teen manipulative and/or deceitful?
13. Have you tried professional counseling to no avail?
14. Are you concerned your teen is sexually promiscuous?
15. Has your teen demonstrated suicidal idealization?
16. Do you suspect your teen has stolen money from you?
17. Are you concerned for your teens safety?
18. Do you feel you cannot trust your teen?
19. Is your teen involved with drugs and alcohol?
20. Are you exhausted and at the end of your rope because of your teens defiant choices and destructive behavior?

If you answered yes to more than half of these you should consider a residential program or specialty school that fits your circumstances.

WHAT WILL LIFE BE LIKE FOR MY SON AT THE MASTERS RANCH AND CHRISTIAN ACADEMY?

• We operate as much as possible like a family, rather than a cold institution. We have one major advantage over the average American family, and that is we can focus ALL our attention on your son, because that is what you have asked us to do. A normal family is stretched so thin today with extra jobs, activities, responsibilities and other pressing family duties. The problem is troubled teens require so much more time, energy and effort than most kids. So much of what we try to do, is what you also did and tried to do; to just walk through the hours, days, weeks and months of life, with the boys, using every moment as an opportunity for learning. We strive to present everything we do with a positive attitude that will benefit your son. We do that around many different activities:
• School- We one on one tutor your son every day. He hasn’t got the option to skip school, or not do his work. He will get more work done in a day here than the average public school student does in a week. We will do our best to motivate him to love school.
• Work- Just like the old days, the boys here will have chores every day. Work won’t be presented as a four letter word, or punishment; but the privilege of every man to work hard to provide for his family. We do this inside and out; from dishes to milking cows.
• Vocational training- as funds and equipment come in, we will be teaching all the boys special skills. From computer basics to carpentry, welding, cement and plumbing. Your son will use many different hand and power tools. He will leave here conversant with doing “man” things around the home and shop. We will build things he can take pride in. Perhaps even earn money doing it while he is here. If he is old enough we can even get him ready for employment outside. At MRCA we try to raise men, not boys.
• Spiritual perspective- There is a God! We will do our best to inspire (not drive, or force) your son to get to know Him. We all have a spiritual nature and need a moral foundation for a successful life. The emphasis will be to encourage your son to develop his own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, through His word and prayer. And then to begin to allow God to mold his character into the man He wants him to be. We will attempt to model this in front of your son. Then, through bible study, church attendance and devotions that are real and exciting provide the information and inspiration your son can connect with on his own.
• Recreation- Good clean fun is what has been missing from most at risk boys lives. They have substituted sinful pleasures, and risky behavior for fun. We will play board games regularly, go swimming, ride horses, play basketball, softball, and remind your son how to laugh, be silly and have fun when it is appropriate to do so. How else will he one day play ball with his son, if he doesn’t do it growing up?
• Counseling- As you know, most good counseling is just good listening. We want to hear from your son. What does he think? How does he feel? If necessary we will try to correct erroneous thinking, and feelings not grounded in actual fact. We will always use the bible as the standard for Truth, and clear thinking. But your son will need a friend he can go to; someone he trusts and will talk to. That is a big priority for us. His confidentiality will be respected. We will also flow appropriate information to you so that you can make course corrections at home if need be to get ready for your reunion.
• Animal husbandry- We have seen the value of connecting kids to animals. To not only teach responsibility to your son as he cares for something that needs him. But to connect the boy emotionally. To erase any streaks of cruelty that have developed. We will do this through horses and dogs, mainly.
• Advocacy- Please understand that not all of the boys we see have a loving supportive family at home. Sometimes we find ourselves feeling quite sorry for the boys, when we actually get to know their parents. However, we are assuming that you are the former; a loving, and supportive family that wants your son back in one piece. We will be your advocate. While your son is here, he will go through angry phases. He may lie and manipulate to gain our sympathy. He may tell us harsh things about you that are simply not true. Please realize, we have seen this before and are not affected by it. We believe in your authority, and the honor due to a mother and father. We will stand up for you and the other authorities in his life. If you have made mistakes that your son resents you for, you will have ample opportunity to get those right with him in time. We will work hard to see that your son is ready to make peace from both sides of the war: The things he has done wrong, and the wrongs he perceives to have been done to him.

Finally, your son will live in a structured and disciplined environment. He will learn to obey rules without argument. He will learn about delayed gratification. He will be away from the harmful influences so readily available in real life; drugs, alcohol, tobacco, worldly music, violent or immoral movies, inappropriate physical contact with girls, internet, cell phones, etc.. He will have to listen to calm words of instruction, not tones of anger. In a few months time he will seem like a new man. But beware; this is just the basic training phase. It is easy to conform to our environment. What we encourage is the patience to wait on the slower process of the development of good character. This is when he begins to do right, from the heart because he sees it’s value for himself.

Our home for boys will not be perfect. If it was perfect his mom and dad would be here. We hope to provide a sound alternative to a very imperfect situation. We hope to send him home ready to start over with you. It doesn’t always work. Can I be honest with you? It doesn’t always work. Your son still possesses a free will that God Himself won’t violate. But you and I had our kids knowing there was no money back guarantee tagged to their toes when they came out. But we love them and give them our best anyway and ultimately are obliged to leave the results to them.

We will give you our best effort. God will always support you when you do the right things. Your son will have another chance to make a life for himself. What more can any of us do? I believe you will sleep at night after that, no matter what decision he makes. And please, lay your guilt and self recriminations aside; he has been doing the choosing for some time now. MRCA or some other group home may be the last choice you get to make for him. If you are motivated by love and right, it can be a good choice.

“You have got to fight harder to save his life, than he is willing to fight to lose it."