MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR/FOUNDER

As a wife and mother of three sons, I am very aware of the unique problems facing men and women in the honored place of parenting. Parenting is a high calling that can be most satisfying and rewarding along with great responsibilities. It also involves extremely difficult, trying, and disappointing experiences as well. This can and will put a strain on the family unit. Faith and patience are the conquering graces that we need to cultivate and keep in our daily exercise as we model and nurture the precious lives God has placed in our care.

Like many things in life, it starts out as one thing and later becomes another. WITT, Inc. started out as an AfterCare Program for ex-offenders, Wo-Men in Transition Together - WITT, that's how we got our name. How I got involved with ex-offenders was beyond my control, someone bigger than I orchestrated the event. My husband who is the Pastor and Overseer of The Father's House, he was invited to do a service for the men and women in the DOC program. My husband asked me if I would go with him, and I emphatically said NO! He insisted that I accompany him and the deacons, after prayer and strong persuasion, I went.

While at the service, after the director gave the introductions one of the women raised her hand and asked if I could take the women into another room and have service with them. I was petrified! I was shaking in my shoes. I had never dealt with ex-offenders and I was afraid. I had heard all kinds of horror stories and I didn't want to be involved. Before entering into the room with the women I said a short prayer…"Lord have mercy on me, help me to do YOUR WILL and be of service to these women!" God gave me the courage I needed! I was hooked and never looked back loving every moment spent with the Wo-Men.

After extensive interaction with ex-offenders, almost five years, working with the DOC program at Gateway Rehab, we discovered that if there was a prevention program in place many of the wo-men we saw very well may not have been in this predicament. We heard over, over, again, "If there was a program in a church like this when we were young there is no way I would have been incarcerated or gone down this path in life." With that in mind my team and I created a prevention program called Y.A.P. "Youth at Promise". In development are, Nature's Reality, and The Scarlet Cord. These programs are preventive programs for young people between the ages of 5-17 who want to change and make a difference but have obstacles and barriers they don't know how to overcome.

As you look through the pages on this site, please pray about donating MONEY or your TIME by being a Christian Mentor. Not only does it take precious time but lots of money and support to do what we do. Our programs are underwritten by private donations from mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, just like you.    PLEASE DONATE!

Pastor Mary Burton