And why I believe you should too.

I’ve been blessed to have a number of mentoring relationships over the years. Both as a mentor and as the person being mentored. Currently, I meet with a mentor on a weekly basis as part of my Masters program with ACTS Seminaries. This week, we discussed…mentorship!

Specifically, we unpacked the formal mentorship program that we launched at Mountainview Church in January. There are two components to our program:

• Elder Mentorship – A two-year program for young men, that includes weekly spiritual and relational support from our Pastor-Elder Team, bi-weekly practical ministry service and monthly theology and ministry philosophy instruction.
• Ministry Leader (Deacon) Mentorship – A one-year program for young men and women, that includes weekly spiritual and relational support from a member of our Ministry Team, bi-weekly practical ministry service and monthly theology and ministry philosophy instruction.

Ensure forward motion.

There are those who would side with an informal, organic style mentorship. And I’m sure there’s a place for that, even inside the church.

However, we wanted a strategic method to bring our mentorship candidates on a journey; where they end the mentorship better equipped in life and ministry than we they started. We want them to achieve some wins relationally and spiritually. We want them to grow in their ability to understand God’s Word, and apply it to their current circumstances.

In short, we want to ensure forward motion!

Evaluation becomes necessary.

This is where the majority of our discussion centred; trying to establish a concrete plan to evaluate our mentorship program as it unfolds. Not just for the participants, but also for our Elders and Ministry Leaders, who will be taking on some of the mentoring responsibilities.

I’ve landed on adopting some of the processes found in one of the leadership textbooks from ACTS: “The 4 Disciplines of Execution” (short form, 4DX) by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling.

Here’s an excerpt from the 4DX website:

“The 4 Disciplines exist for one reason: to execute on a plan in the midst of the whirlwind of distractions. Most people are so busy just maintaining the business—just keeping their heads above water—most of the time they can’t even hear you, let alone execute on your most important priorities. The 4 Disciplines focuses your team’s energy on a winnable game in the midst of distraction.”

The4DisciplinesOfExecution.com

Business principles in Church Mentorship?

Yup, because it works. Like I said, I’m sure there’s a place for an organic, non-formalized mentorship in the church. And yet, equally, I truly believe there’s a place for formalized mentorship in the church.

And I hate to say it, but time after time, the business world seems to do a better job at formalizing processes than the church does!

So why not leverage them for Gospel gains?

The proof lies in results.

Already, the Holy Spirit is and I’m sure, will continue to work in the lives of our mentors and the participants. These young men and women are being challenged and are growing. Moreover, they’re enjoying the process!

I can’t tell you that Paul and Timothy, or Barnabas and John Mark had formalized plans for mentorship. But there was clearly forward motion and the results are seen in the New Testament letters.

For our time, in this place, a formalized mentorship program holds people accountable, gives us metrics to track results, focuses us on the future and gives us opportunities to look back and evaluate, both where we’ve excelled and where we could improve.

For these reasons, and many others, formal mentorship is where we’ve landed. And I’d suggest that your church or organization could benefit from a similar formalized plan.