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Why Mentoring?
by Matt Carter
Campus CrossWalk, Winter Edition, 2006-07
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The Campus CrossWalk board is vitally concerned with the long-term health of our ministries and our ministers. We recognize some of the challenges facing us as campus ministers, and we are committed to carrying our efforts into the future.
One challenge before us stands out. We need to provide support and encouragement for current and future campus ministers. One way to do this is through mentoring. This article takes a very basic look at mentoring. Check the bibliography for deeper information!
Mentoring is a relational experience through which one person empowers another by sharing God-given resources. We see this throughout Scripture. Moses mentored Joshua; Jesus mentored the disciples; and Paul mentored Timothy. In our case, mentoring involves more experienced campus ministers sharing their experience, faith, and skills with less experienced colleagues.
Mentoring has several obvious benefits:
- 1. It helps to know you’re not alone. There is another person committed to helping you fulfill the calling God has given you on your campus.
2. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel! The sharing of ideas can save a lot of time, energy, and heartache.
3. Mentoring helps us pass on the wisdom and experience of one generation to the next and provides a sounding board for new ideas, methods, or programs. Being mentored will also help you be a mentor for your students.
4. Mentoring allows us to be vulnerable in a safe environment, expressing our doubts and fears with someone who has been there and understands.
5. Mentoring can help confirm our calling and affirm our ministry.
So how does mentoring happen?
It happens in as many ways as there are people! You can use formal and informal models. You can meet over a cup of coffee, a phone line, or AIM. You may be mentored by watching someone from afar, and they may never even know. An ideal format includes weekly conversation (about life in general, not just about ministry), setting specific goals and targeting growth areas. It can also include quarterly evaluations of your progress in those areas.
Choosing a mentor is a personal process.
Look for someone whom you admire and whom you see doing the things you’d like to do and being the person you’d like to be. Find someone who will challenge you and hold you responsible for following through on your commitments.
I hope this brief overview of mentoring is enough to get the conversation started and put us on the path to greater growth as campus ministers. Feel free to talk back to me. How have mentors shaped your life? What do you look for in a mentor? What has been your experience?
Contact me: .
Bibliography on Mentoring:
- Maxwell, John. Developing the Leaders Around You: How to Help Others Reach Their Full Potential. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995.
- Clinton, J. Robert and Richard W. Clinton. The Mentor’s Handbook: Detailed Guidelines and Helps for Christian Mentors and Mentorees. Altadena, CA: Barnabas Publishers, 1991.
- Stanley, Paul D. and J. Robert Clinton. Connecting: The Mentoring Relationships You Need to Succeed in Life. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1992.
Matt Carter graduated from the University of Georgia (Bachelor of Music) and Harding University Graduate School of Religion (Master of Divinity), during which he was mentored as an intern in the University of Memphis campus ministry. Campus minister to the Cats for the Christ at Kansas State University since 1998, Matt has mentored and supervised several campus ministry internships and apprenticeships. He serves as the president of the Campus CrossWalk board.
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