Today we’d like to introduce you to Lana Newton
Hi Lana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
“Mrs. Lana”, as she is now affectionately known by, started a small Bible Study for local high school students in their living room in tiny Bells, Texas in 2017. It rapidly grew to over 70 students a week. As the number of students they were serving grew, so did their vision of what Home Run Ranch could be. Now, Home Run Ranch is a flourishing youth ministry serving 80 plus high school students from more than 18 high schools.
In addition to Bible Study, they offer Wiffle Ball on a lighted, turf field that is a replica of Fenway Park in Boston. They also have basketball and pickle ball on a lighted court, ping pong, billiards, fishing and multiple patios that include picnic tables and a fire pit. The new building has a kitchen with concession stand, two restrooms and a large meeting room that is available for party or corporate rentals with all money going to better serve the students. The room can seat 80 plus people.
The mission is to provide a safe place for students to grow their faith, build friendships, and have fun.
We also let many different organizations use our facility for special events and fundraisers throughout the year. One special event we personally fund and host each year, is a free community wide Christmas event, complete with Santa and one of his reindeer. One year, we had about 1200 people come through to get family pictures with our special guests!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing successful ever is! Our “struggles” are mainly just having people understand what we are trying to accomplish here. We had only lived in this small town for just over a year when we started this Bible Study in our living room. Like any small town, we started hearing pretty wild stories about what we were doing here. For the people that really wanted to know, they checked us out and learned about the mission and our heart for youth. To this day, we still here some real doozies from uninformed people that like to stir the pot.
Financially, teenagers are expensive! From day one, we have been a “Para-Ministry” which means we are self funded and not supported by a church or larger organization. We became a 501(c)3 a few years back.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Lana retired from school teaching in 2005 to start a family and become a stay at home mom. After a two year battle with infertility, they adopted their newborn son in May of 2007. She returned to the classroom last year.
Stephen has been a Financial Advisor for 28 years now.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Zero.
Luck is a losers excuse for a winners position.
We believe that making good decisions will typically lead to good results.
The majority of people are where they are in life, GOOD OR BAD, based on the decisions they have personally made.
An old saying that we reference is that in five years, you’ll be the same person you are today, EXCEPT for the books you read and the people you hang out with.
Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future!
These are also the types of things we teach here to the teenagers as they prepare for adulthood.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://homerunranch.org/
- Instagram: @homerunranch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Homerunranch
- Twitter: @homerunranch
