I was doing some reading and prep work this afternoon and
came across a really good article on the importance of mentoring. I am
trying to continually move my Youth Group towards more and more
mentoring. This article only reinforced the need to do so more
aggressively and quickly. Let me share a few quotes that I found
particularly powerful. All citations come from “Shepherd is a Verb: The
role of relational mentoring in communicating truth” by Jeff Meyers. The
article appears in a book entitled A New Kind of Apologist which was edited by
Sean McDowell with a copyright date of 2016. Here goes:
-“Growth happens when we walk with one another in our
struggles.” He was pointing out the need to be involved in the lives of
those we lead. I hate this saying but “we need to do life
together.” The teenagers we lead need to be around us. Teaching lessons in a formal, classroom/church setting is
great but ultimately teens will learn more about living for Christ by watching
us attempt to do it in real life then they will be simply hearing a bunch of
lessons about it.
“While mentoring is a common strategy in business, it has
the potential to transform the church too. The Barna Research Group found
that twentysomethings who stay in church were twice as likely to
have a close personal friendship with an adult inside the church. Those who had
an adult mentor at church, aside from the pastor, were almost three times
as likely to stay as those who did not.” Wow! Getting
involved in the lives of the members of our Youth Group is a powerful, transformational
agent.
“Academic training piles up kindling; personal life-on-life
influence lights the match. Apologetics training is invaluable for this
generation, but transformation takes place when that truth is experienced in
relationship.”
I am still formulating exactly what the Youth Group I lead will look like this fall. However, rest assured that it will involve a heavier emphasis on mentoring. I know of many coaches and leaders who take their teams to dinner, go on events and outings together and find ways to spend time with those they lead. I guarantee those players and teens who are involved won't remember every lesson taught on the field or in the classroom but they will remember vividly the time spent off the field with the coach/leader. Whether you Lead, Coach or Teach find a way to get more involved with those you have the privilege to be involved with.
Paul Lundy
