Before you launch a “program”
in your church, parachurch, or other organization, take sufficient
time to investigate and decide what mentoring strategy
is right for you. Learn all you can about the various approaches
to mentoring, and take time to interview many individuals throughout
your organization to determine how receptive they are to them.
It may be useful to visualize a continuum of strategies.
On the far left, off the continuum in fact, is the old-fashioned
leave-it-entirely-to-chance approach to mentoring. With
this approach, those who happen to know something about mentoring
occasionally link up with someone who can help them—or to
whom they can provide mentoring assistance. For some individuals,
this process works—at least some of the time.
However, the difficulty with this extremely informal approach
is that numerous outstanding individuals fall through the cracks.
Because of shyness, a quiet style, or unawareness of how the new
mentoring works, they don’t participate in these powerful
partnerships. If you decide to do nothing new, this very informal
process will continue on its own, leaving some people out.
Moving toward the middle of the continuum, you might consider
enhanced informal mentoring. Using this approach, you
encourage and prepare individuals throughout the organization
to consider and to build mentoring partnerships on their own.
Instead of leaving the process to chance, you provide several
kinds of assistance. Here are some ways you can enhance informal
mentoring:
- Give a presentation or series of presentations
on mentoring as part of seekers’ or other adult education
classes, a conference, evening series, or other events.
- Distribute materials on Christ-centered mentoring
to those who request them, and make copies available in your
organization’s library or other informational depository.
Through the organization’s communication channels, circulate
articles and other information about Christ-centered mentoring.
- Choose one or more individuals knowledgeable about mentoring
to serve as resources to answer questions,
encourage individuals, and recommend additional information
that’s requested by people interested in this topic.
- Give leaders training in mentoring competencies
and skills, without necessarily calling them mentors.
- Orient individuals on the new language and
structure of mentoring and how to pursue the
mentoring they want.
- Encourage and reward staff
members and volunteers for implementing mentoring. Gradually
make effective mentoring a part of “the way we do things
around here.”
At times, the enhanced informal strategy moves further along
the continuum toward formal mentoring partnerships. These
can be individual partnerships, in which a more experienced
person enters a formalized mentoring relationship with a less
experienced person. Even though the two aren’t part of a
program, per se, they set some parameters for their partnership
including goals, times they’ll meet, expectations of each
other, activities, etc.
On the most formal end of the continuum, your organization selects
a certain number of mentoring pairs or groups who meet
for a set period of time. The coordinating team recruits, screens,
selects, trains, monitors, and encourages mentors and mentees
as they work on their agreed-upon contracts. The sequence is repeated
for additional pairs or groups for as long as needs and benefits
exist.
If you decide to go ahead with a new mentoring approach, conduct
a small pilot effort first. (See the Christ-Centered
Mentoring Coordinator’s Handbook: How to Plan and Conduct
a Successful Mentoring Initiative.) Be certain that
your planned activities are part of a larger scheme,
for example, an integral part of adult education or member development;
staff training or leadership development; or the organization’s
spiritual formation process.
For more ideas on planned mentoring, see our Archive
and What We Offer.
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