Why Mentor?

A Few Thoughts on Mentoring

I always had a heart for encouraging younger gals and sharing lessons of life with them.  Even as far back as high school, I would take a few younger friends under my wing.  Once I became a  Christian in college, and returned home, I settled into my church and began work with the youth ministry.  Two years later, my husband and I began living and working at a boarding school.  Living in a dorm with 40 teenage boys from around the world made me pretty desperate for gals of any age, so I slipped over to the girls dorm one night a week to “officially” supervise study hours while seizing opportunities to mentor.

It was amazing to see how God took the heart I always wore on my sleeve and began using it to minister to these curious young women.  Some of them came from broken homes and reckless relationships, full of fear about their futures.  Others came from well-caring families, but had real concerns about what  life would be like in college and beyond.  As a newly married twenty-something, I had a bit of credibility in their eyes, so they naturally sought my advice.  I used the these times of answering their questions to also share my testimony.  Giving them a piece of my life and spiritual journey opened the doors to their heart, as they felt they could trust my experiences and opinion.

Over the years, my testimony has often been the launching point of my mentoring relationships, but it doesn’t stop there.  As I walk with the Lord, my life testimony becomes greater than my salvation story.  Sharing life with others requires story-telling, simply testifying of God’s extravagant grace, forgiveness, power to heal, provision, or love to one another for the sake of encouragement and to build each others faith.  Our stories set the backdrop for our mentoring relationships, giving a two-sided experience much richer than simply teacher to student.

Modern Day Discipleship

Mentoring is simply the modern-day term for discipleship.  It is a call for all of God’s people.  It is not whether I should or can, but rather where and how? I mentor because I hope to see God’s purpose realized in the lives of others, and for them to live out His potential, as they learn step by step to live according to His Word by the power of His strength and the comfort of His love and grace.
  • I mentor my daughters through encouraging them in Godly principles.
  • I mentor my my spiritual daughter by meeting her practical needs and simply being available to love her as she needs.
  • I mentor women at church through disciplining those younger in the Word even if they are older in years.
  • I mentor teen girls, as I devote time to listen to their stories and seek Spirit-appointed opportunities to teach the Truth!
Ultimately, I mentor others because I love Jesus.  I do it because of what Christ has done in my life.  It is truly an opportunity to see God turn ashes into beauty again and again, using every hurt, disappointment, and painful time for His glory.  Yet we ought not to mentor for our own ego trip.  Seeing beauty from ashes is of no work of our own, but God’s gracious gift.
Will you become a modern-day mentor and answer the call to disciple the spiritually needy in your life?

Click here to read more on how to mentor.