Mentoring is a dynamic relationship of trust in which one person enables another to maximize the grace of God in his/her life and service.  It has a sound biblical and theological basis with Jesus as the ultimate model, retaining all that is consistent with his life and teaching.   

Mentoring has always been part of the fabric of society. Parents play a major role in mentoring their children, especially in their earlier years. The artisan/apprentice relationship or the coach of an individual sportsperson or team are common forms of mentoring or coaching.

Increasingly, those who take their Christian discipleship and service seriously are seeing the value of having a friend and adviser with whom they can share openly and to whom they can be accountable. As the wise old sage said, 'Two are better than one' (Eccl. 4:9). Jesus, interacting with his disciples, provides our prime mentoring model.  The New Testament is full of ‘one another’ and ‘together’ passages, pointing to Christianity as a relational lifestyle, about community, the power of togetherness.
 

Mentoring is a very significant role every Christian disciple can fulfill - irrespective of age or experience - it is not restricted to ‘giants of the faith’.   The basic requirement is a living relationship with God and an ability to listen and respond sensitively, and to encourage.  If this is true of you, you can be God’s agent in enriching another person’s life.

Although many people often fear to share their inner struggles, thoughts and feelings, lest disclosure erodes others’ confidence in them, they can bond with others to provide exemplary support. Women on the other hand are natural mentors and co-mentors, because they usually find it easy to talk about deep issues with friends.

Men have many things to gain when choosing to connect with a man who has been through the trenches of life we have yet to encounter. The most important essential is wisdom. We need to remember that one form of being mentored is discipleship. A disciple is simply a learner. If we take what we learn from another guy who has traveled the long and dusty road before us, and apply it to our life…we gain wisdom. Wisdom is applied knowledge and understanding.

 In the Bible, some mentors coached only one, others mentored several at once. The group was always small enough to listen to, and deal with, each trainee.  Jesus mentored twelve, sometimes three and, on rare occasions, one. Biblical mentoring results in 'chains' with several generations of mentors, whose apprentices mentor others, and so on.

We can see in the Bible that Jethro mentored Moses, Moses mentored Joshua and the elders of Israel. Joshua then mentored the other army leaders.[God gave the Ten Commandments originally for the newly named leaders of 1,000, of 100 and 10. These elder in charge of groups of ten used the Ten Commandments to shepherd their flocks. (Exodus, chapters 18 – 20).

 We also see that Deborah mentored Barak and Eli mentored Samuel, Samuel mentored Saul and David who became Israel's greatest king. Ahithophel and Nathan the prophet also mentored David. David mentored his army commanders and government officials, to establish the united nation of Israel. David also mentored Solomon. Solomon mentored the Queen of Sheba, who returned to her people with his wisdom in the form of Proverbs that applied God's laws.

We also see Elijah mentoring Elisha. Elisha then mentored king Jehoash and others. Daniel mentored Nebuchadnezzar, who humbled himself before God. Mordecai mentored Esther, and Esther mentored King Artaxerxes, which resulted in liberating God's people.

Jesus mentored the twelve apostles who established the Christian church. The twelve mentored hundreds of other leaders, including Paul. Paul mentored Titus, Timothy and many others. Timothy mentored "faithful men" such as Epaphras. Epaphras and the other faithful men mentored "others also" (2 Timothy 2:2) which led to a chain reaction that resulted in dozens of new churches in Asia.

Philip mentored the Ethiopian official who received Christ and was baptized in the desert. Priscilla and Aquila mentored Apollos, for a much improved ministry.

 “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Tim. 2:2

Each one of us needs a mentor