Across the Christian community there is a growing interest in the topic of mentoring, although the actual practice is not common. Does it really matter? Does it matter to you?

Mentoring is a powerful growth experience, a process of engagement and a reflective practice. “Mentoring,” say Stanley and Clinton, “is a relational process between a mentor, who knows or has experienced something and transfers that something (resources of wisdom, information, insight, experience, confidence, relationships, status, etc.) to a mentee, at an appropriate time and manner, so that it facilitates development or empowerment.”

The apostle Paul encouraged this type of ministry for the entire Church in the second chapter of Titus—and it’s never been more needed than it is today! Due to many factors including breakdown of families, lack of extended families and overemphasis on individualism, younger people are in great need of older, wiser, more experienced people to help them with life and ministry.

Living the Christian life is a difficult job even for an experienced believer. It requires intelligence, preparation, creativity, determination and perseverance.

The expectations and demands of the life itself can be overwhelming, especially for people who are expected to meet the needs of their family, handle significant stresses at work and manage their time and stress effectively.

Many new believers feel discouraged when they enter their new life in Christ with high hopes and idealism only to find that their new life as a Christian challenging and without support.

Mentoring is a time-honoured process of personal and spiritual development (there are many examples in Scripture, such as 2 Timothy 3:10-14 or numerous descriptions of Jesus interacting with the disciples). But assisting new Christians is but one direction and focus mentoring might have in a local church setting.

Good dividends

Mentoring pays good dividends for God’s Kingdom over the long haul. It encourages personal, “hands-on” ministry on the part of the entire Church, not just the clergy. It facilitates leadership development. In order to retain more leaders within our churches and assist individuals and families to live the Christian life, we need to re-examine our support models. We can’t continue doing the same thing and expect different results.

For followers of Jesus, mentoring matters because it is an expression of the life Christ lived—coming alongside others in life. Jesus Christ stands as the consummate model of effective mentoring, but not in a lordly manner. In the apostle Paul’s words, “He made Himself of no reputation...and He humbled Himself.” He knew who He was and what He could give to others.

That’s a central mark of an effective mentor. We know who we are. We know what we know and what we don’t know. And thus we come alongside someone else. If we connect and the other person responds and learns, we witness the miracle of being people of significance and influence in another person’s life. I do not encourage others who are unsure of who they are to enter into mentoring others. They should be seeking a mentor.

There are many reasons why being a mentor is valuable to the other person. They get the value of your expertise, knowledge and experience. They get a chance to advance more rapidly and create greater success than they would have been able to without your insight, spiritual counsel and advice. While these are altruistic reasons, they don’t say anything about how you benefit (see sidebar).

With the growing numbers of early retirees and older, mature people living longer, there is a huge potential “pool” of mentors! I have a passion to see people within the Church trained and empowered to some alongside those who are walking slightly behind them in life.

If you are looking for resources to assist you in knowing how to be an effective mentor, there are many books now available on the subject at your local Christian bookstore or visit www.arrowleadership.org and look under Resources/Mentoring. There are tools available to help you know how to hold your first meeting, through to an overview of the entire mentoring process.

Mentors who want to help others are needed. These people need to have some time to spend with the person being mentored; they also need time to develop their ministry as mentors.

Churches can help by providing a “culture of mentoring” in which people work together to improve their mentoring skills. This is going to require support from church leadership and from other mentors. Having leaders, especially pastors, who are committed to mentoring makes a critical difference; however, it is my experience that here are find few who do.

No matter what we say we believe or support—behaviour does not lie.

So…does mentoring matter to you?

Carson Pue is the president of Arrow Leadership International Ministries in Vancouver and the author of Mentoring Leaders: Wisdom for Developing Character, Calling, and Competency (Baker Books, 2005).