New year, new you, right? When January rolls around, we tend to give ourselves a clean slate. We identify our “word of the year,” we commit to new diet and exercise routines, we set financial goals, and so on. While all of these goals are worthwhile, consider how becoming a spiritual mentor or mentee could change the course of your year.
We talked to two women who have spent the last two years in a mentoring relationship through their church. Diana and Jennifer connected through the FLOURISH ministry at Passion City Church, and we asked them to share what God has done in their lives as a result of spending this time in an intentional mentoring relationship.
1. Mentoring relationships are part of God’s plan for our growth and flourishing as believers.
Titus 2 exhorts older women to encourage younger women by teaching what is good. We also see a great example of what mentorship looks like as we read Paul’s letters to his mentee in 1 and 2 Timothy.
Diana shared that when she had the opportunity to become a mentor at church, she saw the need and knew it was something she wanted to be a part of. “Initially, I felt very confident with mentoring as I had led women’s Bible studies and small groups for many years. But as we dug into these 1:1 mentoring relationships, I found myself being concerned that I was not equipped to specifically speak into these mentees’ lives.”
This mentoring journey that Diana took stretched her faith. “I look back and see how Jesus was asking me to move into HIS sufficiency and not my own. And when I did, and followed His lead I was able to be available to the girls exactly as they needed at the time and saw His hand working in their lives.”
2. Mentoring relationships help to fight the epidemic of loneliness in our world.
There’s nothing that builds relationships more quickly than intentionally spending time together each week. God created us to be in community, and through His sovereign hand, He connects the right people with each other.
Jennifer shared her story of getting matched with a mentor. “I filled out the application and got matched with Diana. I knew from our first rainy day coffee shop meeting that our souls were meant to intertwine. I left the coffee shop so thrilled that I had found a mentor who was so like me and so genuine about her faith story. I didn’t know at that time all the things Diana would help me walk through and how that would strengthen my faith. During our time together I married my soulmate, moved states, changed jobs, and most recently suffered the loss of my husband’s brother. Whether it was small day-to-day issues or large issues of grief surrounding suicide, Diana has been there to support me. She’s been my main prayer warrior and voice of spiritual reason. I’m eternally grateful the Lord brought us together.”
3. Mentoring relationships multiply and prepare both mentor and mentee to go deeper in ministry.
Women who have had mentors in their own lives have seen the power that intentional meetings together can have, and in turn, they are more likely to invest in and minister to others because of the investment that has been made in them.
Jennifer shared about a time when she was able to step into ministry even while in a very hard situation: “After my brother-in-law passed away, Diana asked if I would be interested in leading a Bible study. At first this felt like a crazy idea. How was I supposed to lead when I felt so broken? But I decided to be obedient and God has blessed me so much through that experience.”
She continued, “When we started the study, I was hopeless and thought for sure my marriage and our lives were going to be doom and gloom forever. However, when we finished the study, I couldn’t help but cry looking back on all the healing it brought for me and also for my husband. God is using my faithful example and the building of my vertical relationship with Jesus to impact and encourage my husband’s return to faith in the process of his grief.” Through the encouragement of Diane, her mentor, she felt able to lead the Bible study that made such an impact on the life of her family.
Lifeway and Passion City Church are privileged to partner in providing FLOURISH, a resource that helps women invest in the lives of other women through a yearlong mentoring relationship. You can find more about this curriculum based mentoring program at Flourishmentor.com.
