**For Immediate Release**
We are excited to announce we have hired Dr. John Sowers to lead The Mentoring Project. John has served on our board for the last year and we look forward to bringing all his talents and vision to head the project.
As an executive committee, we have also decided to change the title of our lead position from Executive Director to President, so John will be taking on that title as he leads us forward.
John grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas without a father in his life. He came to faith in Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade in the 10th grade. At the age of 18, a man named Bill Smith came into his life as a mentor for John. Bill gave John a vision for manhood, and began memorizing Scripture and praying with him. They shared hunting and outdoor experiences together and Bill was a huge part of encouraging John and supporting him through all of his education. John credits much of who he is today to his mentor, Bill Smith.
John did his undergraduate work at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and went on and received his Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Seminary in Chicago. His final post-graduate work was done at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, where he received a Doctorate of Ministry degree, writing his dissertation on the fatherless crisis here in the United States.
John and his wife Kari have been married for 7 years and are currently residing in Los Angeles where Kari works as an attorney. John spent three years with Billy Graham crusade and the last two years with the Luis Palau organization. He will officially be starting June 1st and will be relocating to the Portland area.
We are excited to have John on board and believe God has great things in store for TMP. We thank you for your continued support of The Mentoring Project as we aim to provide ten-thousand mentors through one-thousand church-based programs.
Dr. John and Kari Sowers
