#sophiculture.3.2replication

When I was in high school, a lady who was my friend invited me to come over once a week after school. She gave me homemade snacks and asked me how my life was going. She was my mentor.

Now I’m letting you know how that worked for us so that it can work for you, too. As we talk about this, imagine yourself meeting in person with somebody.

Where to meet up?

It’s ok to meet through video chat, but it’s better to get together in person. If you don’t want to invite them over, you can meet at a coffee shop once or twice a week. If the person you’re mentoring is long-distance, use video chat. Meeting over the phone is a last resort.

Why become a mentor?

1. You know what it’s like to need a mentor. We all need mentors.
2. God’s got a plan for each of us to spread his love on earth.
3. You have something to share with hurting people.
4. We live a lifestyle of giving and receiving God’s gifts.

God has given us his Son. Mentoring is how to give that gift to somebody who isn’t quite sure what that relationship with Jesus looks like.

You know what it’s like to need a mentor. Maybe you know what it’s like to have a mentor, or maybe you know the feeling of not having a mentor. Probably, you know both.

We’ve all had moments in our lives when we wished that we had somebody to walk us through the season we were in. Those of us who’ve met Jesus know what it’s like to have somebody come alongside of us.

Think back to when you were first saved. If somebody had used the Sophiculture workbooks to mentor you, how would your spiritual growth have been different? How has God shown up as your perfect mentor? Thankfully, he fills in the gaps.

Helping others is God’s plan for all of us. Titus 2:3-6 says “the aged women may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste… Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded.”

God wants to us to teach others in groups and/or one-on-one. But, not everyone is ready to be guided. We have to fish for the people that are already asking God for a mentor. So this will to be a process.

Only you can cast your net- no one can do it for you. Here’s an example that you can post on social media: “God’s put it on my heart to mentor someone. If you know of a young lady who needs a listening ear, I’d be glad to meet with her once a week. I’d love to pray with her and support her in whatever direction God is bringing her.”

Can you imagine what would happen in Christianity if we all put that up on Facebook (or in our church bulletins) and started mentoring people?

Cast your net and let it go down deep. Everyone has struggles in their lives. You might not see other people’s struggles. We don’t often talk about our struggles with older people, so the older people have to reach out to the younger people.

Many people can’t afford to go to counseling, so they don’t know where to go for help. Here’s an anonymous post from Facebook. If you can relate to this person’s pain, you have something to share with her.

“How does God talk to you? How do you know if what you’re hearing is from Him? I’ve had a rough 18 months, with so many terrible things happening. I just feel like I’m carrying this burden of so much hurt and sadness. To be honest, I’ve really been struggling with my faith, and feeling so far away from God. I came so close to giving up on Him around a month ago. Despite how I feel, I’ve been trying my best to keep up with going to church and reading my Bible. Right now, though, when I try to pray, I just don’t feel God’s presence anymore and I don’t hear him. Most of the time when I try to pray, I just end up crying.” (Anonymous)

You might have been where she’s at. But now, you’re being mentored by the Holy Spirit on this blog and in your daily life. You can share The Guide to Hearing God’s Voice with anyone who needs it.

You have the treasure.

What do you feel when you read Isaiah 61? The Spirit of Lord God is upon you. He has anointed you to release people from bondage, to break off the captivity, and to set people free, right? Who claimed this anointing? Jesus did, in the temple. He said this passage was talking about him.

Jesus claimed these words, and he’s living in that golden temple of you as the Holy Ghost. He’s the mentor that they need and he will mentor you to mentor them. They desire him, just like you do.

Who’s watching you for signs that Jesus is alive in you? There are younger people who look to you to find out how a Christian lives.

God gives you the desire to explain to them how he’s mentoring you because he’s doing it for them, too. You know that they need someone to explain to them how it works.

This is what revival is all about. It’s a lifestyle. Freely you have received, freely give. As we plant the seeds that God has given us, the Holy Spirit’s voice keeps coming stronger.

Only God can call the dry bones to life.

“And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live” -Ezekiel 37:3–5

Maybe the one you’d like to mentor doesn’t even have relationship with God. It’s your privilege and your joy to begin to prophesy to their dry bones to hear the voice of God. Cry out to God (and with God) to raise those dead spiritual bones. He can give them life so that they can live. When he does, they will hear his voice through your mouth and through the mouths of the other people in their lives.

It’s [your] time for revival.

Small beginnings in a new direction will bring the awakening.

Change starts on the inside of you.

Let God light your torch. Let him divorce you from the world’s expectations. God doesn’t expect anything from you except to show up for his glory.

Does your self-image match how he sees you? If you’ve been building a reputation of shared glory with God, it’s time to see that for what it really is. We want to build a reputation that points to God’s glory without trying to share that glory. Does that make sense?

Love is patient. This isn’t about the outward appearance. God looks at your heart. It’s not about what people think or how you appear to the person that you’re mentoring. This is about them seeing him in you.

We mentor others because God has shown up and asked us to. Others can’t see what God has spoken to our heart.

So be free from all judgment and criticism. Take your first step.

God has prepared this. He wouldn’t be leading you to reach out and mentor someone unless he had.

This is a personal journey. Men, reach out to guys. Ladies, reach out to girls. Look for someone younger than you. Find a good fit, then give God a chance to love them through you.

How to find the right person:

• If you have teenage children, they need spiritual mentoring. Look for ways to invite them to do The Worship Course with you. (You can even require them to do the course with you. I do.)
• If you have adult children, you could offer to go through a course that you love (The Worship Course) with them. Tell them that it’s all about knowing how to listen to God’s voice. That’s really intriguing.
• Put up a post on social media. I gave you an example earlier in the post (it’s in bold). You can figure out how to put it into your own words.
• Ask God if there is a young person with whom you connect at your church. You can start with one invitation. If they open up to you, invite them again.

This is how the gospel spreads. Keep in mind that this isn’t a duty or a responsibility- it’s a friendship. Let it unfold naturally as God leads you. Start praying that through your example, this person will someday be able to make this same offer to mentor somebody else.

Here’s the goal: that someday your friend will guide one of her friends to receive Christ. Then, she’ll disciple them just like you did with her.