THE MOVEMENT

Southside San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.

A Vision is Born

The southside neighborhoods of San Antonio, Texas are some of the most destructive youth gardens in the world. Gang activity, juvenile delinquency, school drop-out rates, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are rampant in an area that is 98% latino, with an overwhelming majority of that number being Mexican-Americans.

Chris Mora could have been the poster child for young men growing up on the southside. After losing his father as a child, Chris slipped into the life of a gang leader and drug dealer in his adolescence. A man living across the street from Chris' family who had been a friend of his father's refused to let go of Chris. One day, drowning in drugs and broken relationships with his family, Chris opened himself just enough to begin a process that has led to his entire life being changed.

As Chris transformed, something amazing happened. A yearning was born within him to learn how not only to leave behind his own high-risk behaviors and emerge as a healthy person but also to become a leader capable of reaching and equipping others. In 2001, Chris met with Boy With a Ball founder Jamie Johnson and spoke a line that birthed Boy With a Ball Southside: "I spent most of my life making a negative impact on my neighborhood as I reached kids and drew them into drugs and stuff like that. I want to spend the rest of my life working on the Southside to help young people."

Chris and his wife, Kelli, were married in 2004, joining Chris' passion for his own neighborhood with Kelli's clarity and dream to help Latin Americans.

The Work

The Boy With a Ball Southside team is a continuous presence on the streets working to reach and equip families in the following ways:

  • Outreach
    The team flows regularly to the basketball courts and through the neighborhood streets in order to meet people and deepen relationships.
  • Mentoring Relationships
    As the team builds these relationships, young men and women and their families are invited into mentoring relationships where the Boy With a Ball team can walk with them into seeing their lives changed and their dreams realized.
  • Small Groups
    As these individuals are drawn into mentoring relationships they also flow into small group communities where they are surrounded by other young people and families facing the same battles to emerge from high-risk behaviors and to learn new ways to live.
  • Education/Equipping
    These mentoring relationships and small group communities are used as platforms from which Boy With a Ball leaders can equip young people to not only thrive on an individual level but to have the necessary tools to go out and connect with others in the community to help inspire and equip them to do the same.
  • Tutoring Centers
    Boy With a Ball has found tremendous success in utilizing tutoring centers as a bridge between reaching young people and drawing them into mentoring relationships. Tutoring centers provide a huge service to young people as well as their families who are struggling to help their students make it to their graduation day. As Boy With a Ball staff and volunteers tutor these young people, not only do we see them graduate but we build vital relationships with the student and their family to help mentor them and equip them to be leaders.