At New Hope, we believe very strongly in the power of mentoring. At a recent staff meeting, Pacific Rim Bible College Vice President Mike Ward gave a presentation of what a proper mentoring relationship looks like. This is the first of two parts of Prof. Ward’s presentation on mentoring.

J. Robert Clinton wrote, “Few leaders finish well.” Without the support of others pushing them on, many leaders fail to sustain the same energy level that they began with. That is what makes mentoring so important. Mentoring can mean the difference between success or failure in ministry and life. Mentoring can help a person avoid leadership failure, provide them with much needed accountability, and empower a responsive leader.

But what is mentoring? Put simply, mentoring is a relational experience in which one person empowers another by sharing their God-given resources.

It is important for a mentoring relationship to begin with honesty. It takes honesty for a leader to admit that they need help in some aspect of their life, and it takes honesty for a mentor to accept the responsibility of coming alongside the mentoree for a season of life. Only then can a mentoring relationship truly grow.

After the relationship is established, the process of empowerment can begin. Empowerment is the sharing and receiving of knowledge between a mentor and a mentoree. The mentor shares, while the mentoree is empowered. The mentor has his God-given resources to share, including wisdom and experiences, patterns and habits of obedience, principles and so on.

There are seven basic forms of mentoring: Discipler, Spiritual Guide, Coach, Counselor, Teacher, Model, and Sponsor. We will address those mentoring roles in the next article.