By Stephanie Starks | Staff Writer
Baylor alum and local youth ministry director Ahmad Washington views connection as a ripple effect like one created by throwing a stone in the water.
Accordingly, Washington published “The Cycle Of Connection: Every Student Needs A Cheerleader, A Counselor, And A Coach,” a book that provides adults with a framework to practically engage their children, in September. This book was recently named an Amazon bestseller.
Washington started at Baylor in 1994, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. He received his Master of Divinity from George W. Truett Theological Seminary in 2006.
He has worked with children in many capacities in the past 20 years as a social worker, the founder of MovementUP LLC, which is directed at building relationships between children and educators, and the director of youth ministry at First Methodist Waco.
“Any person who has a heart for young people can benefit from this book,” Washington said. “I believe that we are all created with value, and when [adults] support their children they point out their value so that they feel like they are valued.”
When Washington worked as a social worker, he often prayed over his vocation. One weekend, he took an Emmaus Walk with some other men who wanted to reconnect with Christ.
“God really pruned me of some things that weekend,” Washington said. “When I returned home, God gave me this idea to use the knowledge that I had accumulated over 20 years into a book that would help adults connect with young people. I literally got the name of the book from a meditative, prayerful walk with God.”
Washington chose not to publish two other books that he wrote because God did not lead him to release them.
“Even though I did not publish those books, [the process] of writing these books helped me to be more disciplined and consistent everyday,” he said. “[‘The Cycle Of Connection’] is the book that I published because God told me that people in the world needed it.”
Washington said humans were made to interact with one another.
“[Humanity] was not created to be alone,” Washington said. “As emergent adults, college students can be such a blessing to others by being there for each other. [Students] need to find people that can be their support system in their time away from the places they have known.”
When you love people well, it’s like throwing a stone in the water, he said. It creates a ripple that connects and goes out further and further.
“I know that God has placed this in my heart so that others can read it with the intention to want to develop healthier relationships,” Washington said. “If [readers] take what they learn from this book and apply it to their sphere of influence, not only will it change their world, but they can also have the power to influence other people’s reality.”
Beverly Walker, Baylor alumna and senior financial assistant at First Methodist Waco, said that the conversations that she has had with Washington have strengthened her faith in God and her connections with others.
“Whoever people hang out with, they tend to lean toward them,” Walker said. “Connection is vital to continue to grow communication skills with others. Life is more enjoyable when people show others what they feel rather than bottling everything up.”
