Payne on mentoring

Today's pastors day resource is an article by Tony Payne on the benefits of one-to-one ministry. You can read the whole thing here.

'Given these general principles about one-to-one ministry, how do we actually get started? What should we do? We could write much more about this, but here are six practical hints.

1. Start a friendship
Look around you. Think about the people you know in your street, at work, at church. Choose one or two that you think would really benefit from a one-to-one Christian friendship. It may be a non-Christian person with whom you would like to eventually share the gospel. It may be a Christian within your fellowship whom you know is in real need of encouragement and growth.

2. Use a framework
As you get to know the person and build a relationship with them, a really useful way of taking the next step to Christian ministry together is to use some framework. For example, you might suggest to your friend that you study the Just for Starters or Christian Living for Starters Bible studies together, Short Steps for Long Gains, or the Simply Christianity course, or work through the So Many Questions course together, or form a prayer partnership to pray for the forthcoming parish mission. Having a framework or starting point like this just helps the relationship get on to a ministry footing. It opens up Christian discussion, prayer and activity. Once you have finished one particular framework, you might go on to another, or simply read the Bible regularly together.

3. Read together
Since one of the goals of one-to-one ministry is growth in understanding, reading the Bible will be a key element in any one-to-one ministry relationship. Read whole books together; do topical studies; work your way through pre-packaged Bible studies (such as Matthias Media's Interactive Bible Studies or Pathway Bible Guides); do sermon preparation and review. There are many ways of doing it. It can also be very helpful to read and discuss Christian books together as a way of attacking a particular issue.

4. Pray together
As we read together, we should respond in prayer together. God's word is sharp and active. It will challenge and rebuke us, and as it does, so we should confess our sins to each other, and pray for each other.

We can also commit ourselves to pray for others—for the work of our church, for particular people we know, for the work of the gospel further afield, and so on. This is a valuable work for the kingdom that we can encourage and help each other to do.

5. Do things together
One of the most beneficial ways of helping each other grow in serving others is simply to do it together. Take on a Sunday school class with your friend. Do some doorknocking on behalf of your congregation. Run a Bible study group together. Help in some work of mercy or social relief together. The possibilities are endless. As you work at something side by side, you not only get to know each other and share with each other, you model Christian love and service. You teach each other skills in Christian ministry.

6. Keep at it
One final tip: long-term Christian friendships in which there is frequent contact over many years (even if that contact is sometimes very brief) is far more effective than a few deep and meaningfuls. One-to-one ministry does not necessarily mean having long, late-night, intense conversations, although sometimes that may happen. It is really about sharing your life with another person over many years, and, through example, prayer and the truth of God's word, seeing them grow in Christ. Brief regular chats over morning tea, in the car on the way home, on the phone, and so on, have an enormous impact over time.

There is enormous flexibility in one-to-one ministry. It would be very common for people to meet weekly for discussion, Bible study and prayer, but this is by no means the only way to do it. Your circumstances may make this difficult. Don't let that stand in your way! You may only be able to get together once a month for some Bible reading and prayer. If so, make an effort just to keep in touch in between times, even briefly. You may both have to do some shopping or have some other chore. Do it together. Be creative and use the normal rhythms of life to keep in contact.

There are few more pressing and strategic avenues of Christian work than one-to-one ministry. Yet many Christians sit in churches week by week thinking, “There's nothing for me to do in this church. I just can't get involved. All the jobs are taken.” This is akin to sitting on a battlefield with a gun in your hand and the enemy on all sides and saying, “There's nothing for me to do. All the sergeant's and captain's jobs are taken. Until someone specifically invites me to get involved, I guess I'll just have to remain a passive onlooker.”

All around us in church are individuals floundering or stagnating in their Christian lives. With an open Bible, a prayerful heart and a willingness to share our lives with others, we have all the weapons we need to have an enormous impact on other's lives.

Can you see the possibilities?'