We are called to make disciples so we must never settle for making new converts or merely recruiting people to attend church. If we get people to come to our churches but we aren’t effectively making disciples we are only contributing to the greater problem of disillusionment in our society.
This is why it’s vitally important for us to become the loving, serving, giving people God desires for us to be! To make disciples, Matt 28:19, we must learn to effectively mentor and develop people.
It’s easier than you think it is.
- Love God the best way you know how.
- Love others the best way you know how.
- Talk to the person you are mentoring sharing the things you do to love God and love others admitting that we are all on a journey just trying to find our way.
- Discuss the evidence of passion in the person’s history realizing these are clues to the person’s destiny. Remember our lives are perfectly equipped with the experiences our dreams require.
You can’t give what you don’t have.
- God always starts with what we have.
- Consider what the most important discoveries and experiences in your journey have been and think about how you can effectively share those in conversation with the person you are mentoring.
- Invite the person you are mentoring to share the most meaningful discoveries and experiences on their faith journey.
- Mentoring is a conversation and your experiences are part of the discussion. You need to share both your successes and your failures.
- We will not effectively “MEN-TOUR” unless we invite MEN to TOUR our lives allowing them to see our success and failures.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
- Turn the page idea explained for easy Bible reading plan.
- See you at church.
- See you at group
- Sharing core values in my life.
Don’t fall into the trap of disqualifying yourself. It’s an age-old trick! You might be surprised how many great men and women God had to call out of their own sense of inability:
Moses was persistent about disqualifying himself but God wouldn’t take no for an answer:
Ex 3:11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go…(NAS)
Exod 3:13 Then Moses said to God, “…What will I say to them?”
Exod 4:1 Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say?…
Exod 4:10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (NAS)
Jeremiah felt under qualified:
Jer 1:7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. NIV
Gideon questioned himself and God:
Judges 6:13 “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” NIV
Saul was very unlikely to be used by God:
1 Sam 9:21 And Saul answered and said, I am of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?… NASB
David had no status or influence:
1 Sam 18:23 …David said…I’m only a poor man and little known.” (NIV)
I’m nobody special and I don’t have any money or influence.
Solomon felt incapable and lived in the huge shadow of his famous father David:
I King 3:7 “…I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.” (NAS)
God’s not asking you to be something you’re not. He’s simply asking you to be you because that’s who he created you to be. When we learn to relax we are revealed correctly. No greater call than to simply love and care for others by investing time to become part of their story.
2 Cor 3:4-5 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. (NIV)