Mentoring For Ministry

“Every 1:1 is different. This is because the interns and their lives and ministries are different. We will talk together about what has been happening during the last week, in particular what has been happening in the ministries the interns are involved with. We will sometimes talk through a sermon the intern has given in the previous week. We also talk about our families and girlfriends. We will work through the weekly discussion paper which can range widely in topic from pastoral care challenges to theological issues to current church issues. Many times, this will include time looking at the Bible.

“Often we will go for a walk, because guys often don’t talk very well over a table – they need to be doing something like walking or fixing a car (okay that’s a cliché – but true!). We will talk about how we are going spiritually. This includes how our prayer lives are going as well as our time in God’s word. We will always spend time praying for each other, for our families, for our ministries, for specific people we have on our hearts (such as people in our ministries).

“One of the major challenges facing the interns are time conflicts – they struggle to do everything from being a student to being an intern to being a friend/husband/father. Some are also struggling with the difficulty of college work, relational conflicts, questions about future ministries and life-paths and financial pressures.”