In this powerful conversation, Zach sits down with his friend Derek Sire from Restore OKC to talk honestly about race, culture, and mentoring across differences. They unpack how easy it is for mentors (especially white mentors) to step into a kid’s world with good intentions but harmful assumptions—about their neighborhood, their family, their faith, or their “potential.”

Derek explains what it means to be an asset-based organization—seeing the gifts, skills, and strengths already present in a community rather than arriving as rescuers with outside solutions. Together, he and Zach name the subtle “savior” mindset that can creep into mentoring, and they model what it looks like to repent, grow, and move toward curiosity, compassion, and honor.

Along the way, Zach shares vulnerable stories about his own biases in the classroom, assumptions about dads based on race, and a humbling encounter with a Muslim mom who became one of his biggest supporters. Derek shows how curiosity—about a kid, their family, their neighborhood, and the systems around them—transforms pity into true, Christlike compassion.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What asset-based ministry looks like in real life at Restore OKC
• How our brains “put kids in boxes” and why mentors must slow down
• Common assumptions about Black fathers and why the narrative is often wrong
• Why language matters (“fatherless,” “the hood,” “that’s ghetto”) and how it shapes identity
• Practical ways mentors can champion single moms, dads, schools, and neighborhoods as assets, not problems
• How to lead with confession, repentance, and Spirit-led curiosity instead of rescue

This is a great episode to share with your team or mentoring community and then ask: “What assumptions do we need to confess? How can we grow in curiosity and compassion?”

www.youcanmentor.com
www.restoreokc.org

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• If this podcast has encouraged or equipped you, would you take 30 seconds to leave a 5-star rating? On Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom of the You Can Mentor page and click “Write a Review.” On Spotify, go to our page, click the three dots next to the settings wheel, and hit “Rate Show.” It helps us reach more mentors like you.

Want to go deeper?

• Join our Learning Lab for mentoring resources and community

• Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop

• Come to our annual You Can Mentor Gathering

You can find everything at www.youcanmentor.com or follow us on instagram @youcanmentor

Jose Rodriguez went from gang life in North Tulsa to helping transform cities through Jesus, coaching, and the power of presence. In this episode, Zach sits down with Jose, founder and CEO of Rescue a Generation, to talk about what it actually looks like to love and disciple kids from hard places for the long haul.

You will hear Jose’s wild story of growing up around drugs, gangs, and chaos, finding unexpected family through a bus ministry, and how a youth worker named Nancy refused to give up on him. Together, Zach and Jose unpack:

• How to have thick skin and a soft heart with students
• Why “giving up on giving up” matters in mentoring
• How gangs often disciple better than churches and what we can learn from that
• The ministry of presence and earning the right to be heard
• Why changing a young person’s mind can change their entire life
• The power of calling out identity and potential, even in the “worst” kid

If you mentor or work with urban or at risk youth, this conversation will fill your tank and sharpen your approach. Learn more about Jose and Rescue a Generation, and walk away reminded that love is a universal language, relationships change lives, and yes… you can mentor.

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To find out more about Rescue A Generation, check out their website - https://www.rescueageneration.com or @rescueagen
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• If this podcast has encouraged or equipped you, would you take 30 seconds to leave a 5-star rating? On Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom of the You Can Mentor page and click “Write a Review.” On Spotify, go to our page, click the three dots next to the settings wheel, and hit “Rate Show.” It helps us reach more mentors like you.

Want to go deeper?

• Join our Learning Lab for mentoring resources and community

• Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop

• Come to our annual You Can Mentor Gathering

You can find everything at www.youcanmentor.com or follow us on instagram @youcanmentor

In this episode, guest host Derrick Sier from Reverb Mentoring joins us for an honest conversation about the challenges and growth that can come from interracial mentoring. Together, we explore how differences in upbringing, culture, and lived experience can shape relationships, and how humility and listening open doors for deeper understanding. Through a Christ-centered lens, we discuss how mentors can create safe, compassionate spaces where every young person feels seen, valued, and supported.

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https://www.reverbmentoring.com/
https://www.restoreokc.org/
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If this podcast has encouraged or equipped you, would you take 30 seconds to leave a 5-star rating? On Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom of the You Can Mentor page and click “Write a Review.” On Spotify, go to our page, click the three dots next to the settings wheel, and hit “Rate Show.” It helps us reach more mentors like you.

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Want to go deeper?

• Join our Learning Lab for mentoring resources and community

• Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop

• Come to our annual You Can Mentor Gathering

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You can find everything at www.youcanmentor.com or follow us on Instagram @youcanmentor