Mentorship is a trendy topic in the Church. Maybe you’ve read or heard sermons, podcast episodes, books, articles, or other content about this topic. Perhaps you’ve felt pressure from members of your family or members of your church to participate in mentorship. But you don’t know if finding a mentor is actually necessary. My hope is that this post will help you figure that out.
What *Isn’t* Necessary
I realize that finding a mentor can feel like a very complicated process. Based on what you’ve heard and read about mentorship, you might feel obligated to examine your church directory, find and interview “candidates” for mentorship, rank them from most godly to least godly, select the candidate who seems the godliest, and schedule weekly meetings with her. You might feel guilty if you don’t show up at each meeting with at least a dozen questions, prayer requests, and life updates—plus colored pens for note-taking and cute mugs for coffee-sipping.
Friends, I have good news for you: None of that is necessary for mentorship. The picking-and-choosing isn’t necessary. The formal weekly meetings aren’t necessary. The long conversations over coffee aren’t necessary.
What *Is* Necessary
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. (Titus 2:3-5 NASB1995)
In this letter written by Paul, he instructed the older women to teach and encourage (aka mentor) the younger women. This passage provides a glimpse of what mentorship should look like. Honestly, it’s far less complicated than the Church sometimes makes it seem. Based on this passage, a mentor is simply an older Christian who teaches and encourages a younger Christian to honor the Lord.
Truth be told, I’ve never had an official mentor. But God has placed wonderful believers in my life to support me in my faith. When I think about mentors, the first people who come to mind are my parents. Throughout my life, they’ve helped me grow in my relationship with God.
Friends, that’s the only requirement for a mentor—someone who helps you grow in your relationship with God. There’s nothing wrong with having regular meetings with a strong believer to ask questions and get advice. But mentorship can happen in much less formal ways—even in conversations at home, church, or work.
So in conclusion, seeking biblical teaching and encouragement from older believers in your life is important, but finding one specific mentor to receive guidance from isn’t necessary.
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