Why does this matter?
Most Christians look back on their adolescence as the time when they made a decision to follow Jesus for themselves. It is therefore critical that we disciple our young adults well.
Our ultimate purpose as mentors is for the young adults we mentor to be holy and blameless on the day of Christ by understanding the gospel and discovering how it speaks to their whole life.
As mentors this means we: meet regularly, pray, share our lives in an authentic way (while respecting appropriate boundaries!), and model how the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to every aspect of our lives
Those involved in mentoring ought to be mature Christians, willing to love and be real-life examples of what it means to follow Jesus. Everyone serving in this ministry must comply with the requirements of our Child Protection Policy.
What is involved?
Mentors work in teams of 2-3 for each mentee (a ‘mentor-group’). This means that the time commitment is roughly every 3-6 weeks. Rostering is in Elvanto.
Mentors have some discretion over the mentoring program. It is up to each mentor-group to get together and decide when to meet (before church? during church?), where to meet (Starbucks? Wynyard park? fishbowl?), and what to do (book of the bible? topical study? apologetics series? Good Christian book?). Some mentees will benefit from staying in church, others will benefit from being taken out of church every second week. Some need to work slowly through a book of the bible, others will benefit from a Christian book or topical study. It’s up to each mentor-group to make a wise decision in consultation with the mentor coordinator and the mentee’s parents (where appropriate).
As a group, all mentors will meet every 3-4 months to share experiences, workshop problems, encourage one another, and plan the program for each mentor-group for the next quarter.
Before Sunday
- Prepare material for the mentoring session
- Pray for mentee and upcoming session
- Communicate and confirm with mentee and mentee’s parents (where appropriate) about the location and time of the mentoring session
On Sunday
- Arrive on-time at agreed location
- Work through planned material
- Pray together
- Text coordinator if there are any urgent problems during the session
At the end of Church
- Notify mentoring coordinator if any pastoral issues came up during the session
- Let mentoring coordinator know if any extra resources or support is required for mentoring
- Tell the coordinator about any problems during session or suggestions for improvement
- Submit a reimbursement form for any expenses (eg. coffee, hot chocolate)