A printable PDF can be found at the end of this article.

“For God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thess. 5:9-11).

Objective:

Older to younger, peer to peer, experienced to novice – mentoring happens all around us in many settings. This is a resource that guides Christian women through intentional mentoring. It encourages one-on-one mentoring relationships among culturally and ethnically diverse groups of women, especially as they “serve the Lord with gladness.” It includes devotions, Bible studies, a sketch, and community building activities. It can be used as one unit for workshops or retreats or as individual segments in a series.

Introduction:

Mentoring is a process of opening and sharing our lives with others. It can be a short term or long term relationship with another person to help her/him grow physically, emotionally or spiritually. In some situations we serve as mentors to others, and in other situations we need mentors ourselves. Mentoring does not mean, “What can I teach you?” Instead, it means, “How can I help you?” Mentors invest themselves in others as Christ’s ambassadors one life at a time. They do not have to be perfect or have all the answers. They do need to take the risk to get involved in someone else’s life for the right reasons. Jesus, our master mentor, is involved in our lives. He feels our pains and knows our joys. As mentors, we are not taking the place of Jesus, but we can share our relationship with the Lord with someone else to help her/him grow in a personal relationship with Him.

Mentoring Wisdom

  • Mentoring is not a counseling service. It is for nurturing friendships, for support, guidance, love, encouragement, and learning.
     
  • Pray that God will give you opportunities to serve others, and to also show you who can help you in your Christian life.
     
  • Pray for the Lord’s guidance in mentoring relationships.
     
  • Allow God to work through you. You are not the answer to someone else’s problem. We do the planting and watering of the seed, but it is God who grows faith.
     
  • Mentoring is effective if the mentor is committed to just a few mentoring relationships. If everyone reaches out to someone else, all will be encouraged.
     
  • Mentoring relationships work best when expectations are clearly communicated to each other.
     
  • Mentoring is not for making a carbon copy of you.
     
  • Allow others the opportunity to learn and grow in service by delegating and mentoring instead of doing it all yourself.
     
  • When mentoring someone in a new skill, think about taking your eyes off yourself and look out for the needs of the other person. Being inclusive and supportive are the most important functions we can do to help in the continuing cycle of the Lord’s work.
     
  • When we make mistakes in mentoring relationships, ask for forgiveness and learn from your mistakes.
     
  • Prayerfully seek a mentor who shows strengths in areas you are weak in and seek to mentor those who are weak in areas in which you are strong.
     
  • Never idolize your mentor or allow others to idolize you to the point of forgetting Jesus Christ.
     
  • Keep confidential information about another person confidential!
     
  • Mentoring is not all work and no play. Schedule times for fun together. This is a good way to really get to know the other person.
     
  • Instead of assuming a newcomer knows about an event, personally invite her. It will make her feel special and may also make you aware of a need.
     
  • Pair experienced workers with learners to complete group tasks.
     
  • Help plan or be involved in intergenerational and multi-cultural activities where other women share their special skills. Mentoring relationships may develop when other women are interested in learning a new skill.
     
  • Make an effort to meet new people. The person God chooses for you to have a mentoring relationship with may not be someone who is in your usual circle of friends.
     
  • A mentoring relationship may not be for life. Be ready to move on at some point in time and use what you have learned from the relationship to mentor someone else.

View printable PDF of this entire article (including all 7 documents listed in the article), Woman to Woman Mentoring

 

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