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MENTORING
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by Robyne Beaubien
Before we get started, I wanted to share with you
a definition for mentoring by Carson Pue of Arrow Leadership Ministries.
"Christian mentoring
is a dynamic, intentional relationship of trust
in which one person enables another to maximize the grace of God
in their life and service. Followers of Jesus know that we
are called to mentoring. The basic requirement is a living
relationship with God and an ability to listen and respond
sensitively. If this is true of you, you can be God's agent in enriching
another person's life.”
As in any ministry, prayer and motivation are key. Pray about beginning
a mentoring ministry and be sure that it is God’s leading. Here are
five benefits of a mentoring ministry:
1. Relationship building
– women who might never have otherwise connected form great friendships.
2. Knitting hearts together
– anytime women grow together in the Lord it will benefit the church body as a whole.
3. Spiritual growth – everyone
needs to be challenged to keep growing and having someone to be accountable with is a great way to do so.
4. Encouragement – words
are a powerful tool to build up the self esteem and life of another woman.
5. Enriched lives – when Christ is the focus of a relationship, everyone
benefits.
Okay, let’s move on to resources. There are two primary resource guides/kits
for a mentoring program in a Women's Ministry. They are:
Apples of Gold by Betty Huizenga. It is a six week course originally
designed for the women of her church in Holland, MI. Each session includes
one hour of cooking class, one hour of Bible study based on Titus 2:3-5,
and a fellowship hour enjoying the food that was prepared in class.
The six lessons are led by six different mentors. Though designed to
nurture and pamper the younger women, the mentors receive a great blessing
as well. Lasting friendships are made through the ministry of Apples
of Gold. The book Apples of Gold is a complete guide for starting the
program in your church or neighborhood. The six lessons are taken from
the Bible. There are suggested menus for the cooking mentor, and a
prayer chorus for each lesson. You can find out more about this ministry
at www.applesofgold.org or at www.cookministries.com. ISBN: 0781433525/$8.79
at Amazon
The next resource is Woman
to Woman Mentoring by Janet Thompson (available
at www.lifeway.com). This is a resource that provides the structure
and training for a mentoring ministry, while allowing each pair of
women to choose their own study. One of the best aspects of this program
is the way prayer is built into both the matching process and the relationships.
(Each pair of women is assigned to a Prayer Warrior for the duration
of their commitment, so the mentees and especially the mentors never
feel like they're out there on their own!) The Leader Kit provides
all the information and resources necessary for beginning, growing,
and maintaining a women's mentoring ministry. It contains one copy
of each of the Ministry Coordinator's Guide, Training Leader's Guide,
Mentor Handbook, and Mentee Handbook; a 120-minute videocassette featuring
leader training, promotion and enlistment, and author segments; a CD-ROM
with reproducible materials and promotional/training materials;
and one reproducible audiocassette. Author Janet Thompson is the Woman
to Woman Mentoring Ministry lay leader at Saddleback Community Church
in Lake Forest, California.
She developed and continues to lead the women's mentoring ministry
at that church. ISBN: 0633003018/$99.00at Lifeway
Some other notable resources are:
- Spiritual Mothering: The Titus 2 Model for Women Mentoring Women by
Susan Hunt
- The Gentle Art of Mentoring by Donna Otto
- Becoming a Woman of Influence: Making a Lasting Impact on Others by
Carol Kent
- Growing Godly Women: A Christian Woman's Guide to Mentoring Girls
by Donna Greene
- A Garden Path to Mentoring:
Planting Your Life in Another & Releasing
the Fragrance of Christ by Esther Burroughs
Every ministry faces success or failure and what works in one church
may not work in another. Here are some issues/obstacles you may face
in a mentoring ministry:
1. Difficulty in matching mentors and mentees.
2. Inconsistency in the relationships.
3. Inability to “keep the ball rolling” as the program grows.
4. Interest dwindles and participants drop out.
Here are some ideas to overcome each of these obstacles:
1. Matching - Prayer, prayer, prayer. I know, I say it all the time,
but it really is key in making any ministry decision. Also, look for
common issues and interests in the lives of the mentor and mentee. Highlight key words and then use these help match the
women.
2. Inconsistency - This is typically a training issue. Meet with your
mentors before the program begins and give them guidelines and expectations
for the time they spend with their mentee. One church I know requires
that the women speak with their mentees on the phone once a week and
meet once a month to review a study that both women are working through.
Let the mentors know what is expected and each relationship will have
a good foundation to build on.
3. Growing - One way to keep the program growing is to always have
trained mentors ready and willing to take on a mentee. Most successful
mentoring ministries have a set cycle of how long the relationship
will last (usually one year) and a program of studies that are worked
through during that time. If women are still looking for more after
the first cycle, consider having a second year/term/cycle, where the
mentee is matched with a new mentor.
4. Keeping it going - Prayer, prayer, prayer. (Isn’t this where we
began?!) Also, the success of the ministry and the enthusiasm of the
participants will go a long way to continue the growth of your program.
One last thing, look for ways to tweak things to keep it interesting
and a little different.
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