From left: Pastor Mike Jobe of Living Hope Church and his wife, Heather Jobe. The couple founded Wisdom in Motion, a mentoring program for at-risk youth CREDIT RICHARD SHANK
By Richard Shank
In 2023, Hutchinson Minister Mike Jobe, pastor of Living Hope Church, 735 East Fifth Avenue, saw a community need for mentoring troubled youth and decided to do something about it.
Soon, Mike, with help from his wife Heather every step of the way, founded Wisdom In Motion, a non-profit youth mentorship program designed to work hand in hand with the city’s youth (ages 10-17), some of whom had had multiple brushes with the law and were no strangers to the city’s legal system.
During a sit-down interview at the organization’s headquarters, located at 314 West First Avenue, Mike and Heather Jobe were animated and well-informed about the issues young people are dealing with.
“Our thrust,” according to Mike, “is working with those young people in the criminal justice system or those who are teetering on the brink of being there.”
Mike, a Hutchinson resident since 1998, is no stranger to mentoring programs and made good use of several during his formative years. Growing up in Kansas City, Royals owner Ewing Kauffman offered to pay for the college education of those who stayed out of trouble and the legal system. Mike seized the opportunity and was soon on his way to the Salt City, his father’s hometown, where he enrolled at Hutchinson Community College.
“I call myself a Ewing Kauffman kid,” Mike said with a hearty laugh.
Four years later, in 2002, Mike was standing in the pulpit as pastor of the Living Hope Church, a position he has held for the past 23 years.
These days, Jobe is a very busy person whose day job is with the Hutchinson Correctional Facility, coupled with his ministerial duties while serving as Program Director for Wisdom In Motion. Heather serves as the program’s manager.
Heather said nearly 500 Reno County Youth are experiencing issues that could benefit from Wisdom in Motion, a program set up to work with youths ages 10-17.
Under the program, mentors meet one-on-one weekly with program participants. Once each month, a group meeting is held. During these get-togethers, classes are offered on everything from financial management to changing a tire to cooking.
Also, speakers are brought in, some of whom have successfully completed similar programs and tell a story of how their lives were improved. The program is one year in length, but participants who are under 17 years of age may apply to redo the course for a second year.
Mike said the program has advanced partly because of grants from the Kansas Department of Corrections and the Hutchinson Community Foundation.
Imitation has been called the world’s greatest form of flattery. Mike said, to date, he has received calls from other cities in Kansas inquiring on how they might develop a similar program.
Students studying to complete a GED, comparable to a high school diploma, are invited to come to the Wisdom In Motion office to take two practice exams without charge prior to taking the supervised final exam at Hutchinson Community College.
Two years into the program, Wisdom In Motion can report success stories. “A 17-year-old with a criminal record joined the program two years ago,” Heather said. “Two years later, and after suffering a brain injury in an accident, he is now fully recovered and living a productive life after completing his GED,” Heather said.
“Then, there was a young woman who went through the program after suffering from addiction,” Heather continued. “Today, she has recovered, married, raising a family and is purchasing a home.”
A fitting last question for Mike is, “Where do you want this program to be five years from now?”
Without pause, Mike said, “I hope to see programs like Wisdom In Motion in cities throughout Kansas during the next five years.”
Heather said her greatest hope is to continue developing leaders.
A Biblical phrase on Mike’s desk explains his mission in all the hats he wears. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord Your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1-9).
The public is invited to an open house scheduled 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, March 29, at the Wisdom In Motion office at 314 West First Avenue. Mike will make remarks at the start of the meeting and mentors will be on hand to respond to questions from those attending.
Those desiring additional information can log on to the organization’s website at wisdominmotionks.com.
Goldi / March 17, 2025
There are so many young people in our community who would benefit from having a mentor. Pastor Mike and Heather have decided to engage with and serve a particularly troubled subset, and their personal investment has already led to improvement in the lives of some of these students, which in turn improves our community overall. A quick read of their website shows that their approach is holistic; that they help students academically, socially, emotionally, and even professionally. Lots of students in this community lack the “network” that many of us have to help our children as they are exploring first jobs/additional education/long-term career possibilities, and so many other areas of life. The children/youth of our city all have potential – to find and maintain meaningful work, to form positive relationships, and to contribute to our community. They are far more likely to be able to achieve those things when adults choose to walk along side them and help them see what is possible, and how they might get there. And mentoring is not one-sided – it can be incredibly rewarding to see your mentee evolve to become more capable, confident, connected, and motivated to imagine and work toward a future they can feel good about.
In addition to Wisdom in Motion, there are other organizations in the community providing mentorship to other subsets of students – Salthawk Community Support (8th grade and HHS), Rise up Reno (primarily grade school, I think?), Boys and Girls Club (for their members), and Big Brothers and Big Sisters, to list a few. I believe that the success of our community is in no small part dependent on adults stepping up to help our young people learn to better navigate and reach their potential. Please consider mentoring, or financially supporting the organizations that are doing this important work- it benefits all of us!
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