the mentoring life

BY KEVIN KING

In our vision we communicate that we are an incubator for gospel created relationships that transform Montgomery and beyond. The Mentor Program is a great avenue for cultivating these relationships as we prayerfully match mentors and mentees.

Sometimes when our students profess faith in Christ, it is difficult to follow up with them because of limited staff.

Thankfully, we have mentors who are in position to go a little deeper on an individual level. This is a journey as the mentor unpacks to the mentee what it means to know and follow Christ in all areas of life. This is an opportunity for mentors to bring their students closer to Jesus through an ongoing, one-to-one relationship.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that every time that they get together that they use it as an opportunity to have a Bible study. This does mean, however, that as mentors invest time and get to know their mentee as a person (likes, dislikes, interest, fears, passions, weaknesses, etc.) that they listen, learn, encourage, and look for opportunities to introduce them to the person of Jesus Christ.

This doesn’t only mean sharing a gospel presentation but communicating and demonstrating with their daily life in front of their mentees why and how Jesus loves them and cares a great deal for their spiritual, physical, social, and emotional well-being.

We approach mentoring this way because some, myself included, have been guilty of building relationships with the intent of winning someone to Christ without actually caring to get to know the actual person, even it doesn’t have anything to do with spirituality. We subconsciously do this with good intentions because of our desire to be an instrument of redemption that causes the angels to rejoice in heaven.

To be honest, though, people notice when we have an agenda, so the relational repercussions can be damaging once they realize that we only are in the relationship to try and lead them to Christ. But what if they never come to Christ?  Whether it is mentoring in a formal capacity with CGM, or just any other relationship, people actually want to be treated as if they are humans with real life issues instead of only some project that needs salvation. 

Being a mentor may seem not as easy, at least in this light, but we are proud to have them on board and we look forward to seeing them walk with their mentees as they both walk with Christ and share life together.