Posts in Michael Shivar

Over the past eight weeks, four of our students here at the Ranch joined three participants from neighboring Christian programs and our surrounding community for our construction pre-apprenticeship program. Seven men began the journey together, and we are proud to say that all seven completed it.

Throughout the eight weeks, the students were given the opportunity to prepare themselves for a future in the construction industry. They gained hands-on experience, learned about workplace and jobsite safety, worked alongside seasoned professionals, and developed skills that can help open the door to employment and apprenticeship opportunities.

But anyone who has walked alongside our students knows that accomplishments like these represent more than what appears on a certificate.

For our Faith Home Adult & Teen Challenge students especially, these eight weeks became another part of the larger work God is already doing in their lives. Every morning they showed up, every new skill they learned, every difficult task they completed, and every time they chose to keep going was another opportunity to practice the discipline, responsibility, perseverance, and integrity they are developing during their time here.

Whatever their individual stories may have looked like before entering the classroom, they shared the experience of working toward something that could help change the direction of their future.

At the end of those eight weeks, every student successfully completed the program. All seven graduates received an OSHA 10 certification, a Pre-Apprenticeship Completion Certificate, and certifications in Confined Spaces and Traffic Control.

Those certificates represent real accomplishments and provide credentials the students can carry with them into the workforce. But they also represent something less visible: eight weeks of commitment, dedication, and perseverance. For men rebuilding their lives, there is something powerful about being able to look back and say, “I finished what I started.”

Throughout the program, we had the privilege of seeing students grow in confidence as they discovered new abilities and began thinking differently about what might be possible for their future. They weren't simply learning construction skills; they were being given another opportunity to see that the lives God is rebuilding can have purpose and direction.

Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Our hope is that this is ultimately what our students carry beyond these eight weeks: not simply the ability to work, but a new understanding of how and why we work. We are proud of all our graduates and especially grateful to have watched the men from Faith Home Adult & Teen Challenge reach a significant and foundational milestone during their journey here at the Ranch. We are also thankful for our instructors, Serge Ivanyuk and Kevin Rikard, as well as the staff, partners, and everyone who helped make this program possible.

These men have received practical tools, hands-on training, industry certifications, and life skills that can help them build successful careers and brighter futures for themselves and their families. More importantly, our prayer is that God continues to use experiences like this to help them build something even greater—a new life and a new future, built upon the foundation they are developing through their relationship with Jesus Christ.