Twenty men, both black and white, sat around a table in the State Room Saturday morning, all bent on the same purpose.

And it wasn’t just eating breakfast. Anyone who listened close enough could hear the beginning of a battle for the youth of the community being waged around that table.

The group of men, officially called the Lincoln County Robert V. Massengill Arlustra “Pap” Henderson Mentoring Program, gathered for the first time Saturday to put their heads together to figure out how to begin changing Brookhaven and Lincoln County – one child at a time.

“This is the time, this is the place, and we are the people that can make a difference in Brookhaven right now,” said Pastor Alan Herring to the group. “Let us be united and centered on our Heavenly Father as we fulfill this program.”

The group of community leaders was brought together by the ‘O’ Foundation’s Rose Powell and her husband Charles with the thought of targeting the young men of the community and giving them Christian mentors.

“We as men can make a difference, and we will make a difference,” said Willie “Doc” Harrison, who has taken up the reins on helping to organize the group.

Former Mayor Bob Massengill and Police Chief Pap Henderson were both present and will be participating in the movement as well. Both addressed the group to stress what a positive situation it can be for the community if young men are raised with positive role models.

“I want to tell you why I’m here,” Massengill said. “I think this can be outstanding if we can work together, and not just give this lip service, but spend time with these young men.”

Massengill went on to tell the group that mentoring is a relationship and a fight, it’s not a job, and it’s not something to be taken lightly.

“If we help just one life – and I’m sure we will touch many more than that – then it’s worth whatever we put into it,” he said. “But we have to be willing to make it a commitment. Expect to be involved.”

Powell said the long-term goal of the group is to have 100mentors to match with 100 children or teens. Currently, she said,there are about 40 who have shown interest.

“Mentoring helps,” she said. “And there are boys out there with no fathers around, and their mamas and grandmothers are raising them, and we need to start putting the Lord on their minds and start them learning from men of God.”

Henderson said positive male role models are definitely needed in today’s world, and that the group can change the community if they put their minds to it.

“In my line of work, I can attest to the fact we need your help,” he said. “We need that support from males of good stature.We don’t want to just lock kids up when they do something wrong -even though we know we can’t save them all, we can save some of them. Like the mayor said, if we can change just one life, it’s worth it.”

Chancery Clerk Tillmon Bishop told the group of a boy he mentored from a young age, and emphasized that the relationship is much like one of a parent in that you can’t just let go because times get tough.

“He robbed a business here in town, and I was with him through all that, I was with him before the judge,” he said. “Now he’s turned out to be a fine man, one of the finest you’ll ever see. He only got into trouble that once.”

And recently, the young man donated a kidney to a close friend with a life-threatening illness. He has grown into quite a man,Bishop said.

Bishop said his mentee and he are still close, and that the men around the table need to understand that the relationships forged through the program are potentially lifelong.

“These children are going to be adults, and this will make a huge bearing on their lives,” he said. “You will continue to hear from them. When Bob said this is a commitment, you know, we commit to a lot of things. But this is serious. This is the life of a young man.”

And Harrison agreed that the program is not for the faint of heart.

“There will be ups and downs,” he said. “We’ve got to stay with it. We’ve all been where they are, and we have to be there for them and stay the course.”

The group discussed what ages to mentor, and the fact that every age group has a need for positive male leadership. They each wrote down what age group they would like to mentor and Harrison said a decision on how to proceed will be made in coming months.

Meanwhile, a latecomer arrived during the discussion. As it ended he introduced himself as Jerry Kelly, Jr., a pastor and a Jackson police officer.

“I’m the product of a mentoring group called ROTAP,” he said.”They really helped with me. I’m a firm believer that if it helped me, it can help anyone. As they say in my line of work, the important thing is that the mission gets accomplished.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the mentoring program can contact Doc Harrison at 601-833-7759 or Charles and Rose Powell at 601-643-2929.