Mentorship

The Secret Sauce to Growing any Organization is Mentorship.

In the Christian context, we refer to it as discipleship. It appears I have been on this matter for a while, lol.

In going through my archives I came across a write up I submitted to my church in 2019 highlighting the beauty and importance of mentorship. I had no idea how much of a big part it would play in my life later down the line. Or perhaps the Holy Spirit did and He was the One prompting me all along.

Here is the write up below:

Growing from Small Church to Mega-Church: The Hillsong Experience     by               Morenike Ajidagba

The bible says in 1 Peter 2:9 that “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. A holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” Yet, a lot of young adults do not really this way while in church. At times it feels like the tendency to hold onto our cultural beliefs far trumps our desire to develop our Christ-like beliefs. It is understandable, as a minority race and as immigrants in a developed country, wanting to hold on to our cultural identity, however at times it can seem like that takes precedence over our Christian identity.

Instead, I think it is important for the church to cater to the needs not just the desires of young adults. One way to infuse responsibility is to get young adults involved in the running of the church. There are so many opportunities for youths to get work experience working in a department within the church. During the summer, an initiative could be started where youths in teenage church can intern in departments such as the technical team and those filming the e-news. They are able to get valid work experience for when they do eventually go on to look for a job. Or they may even discover a new passion or talent they never knew they had before.

When one is invested in something you are more likely to stick around and be committed. It is said that young adults are the future of the church yet how are we being prepared to take on the task that our parents and adults do not yet seem to want to give up. It is important that the church leadership become open to studying young adults and knowing affects us the most. This can be done by utilising the forum of social media. As a young adult myself I understand that we do not want to be intermingling with things of the world and bringing it into the church. Yet how can we bring the people of the world into the church? This can only be achieved by engaging and utilising the things they are familiar with and using it as a tool to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. This doesn’t mean we lose all sense of our integrity and allow ourselves to be taken in by things of the world. Paul talked about adapting to his target audience in 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23. As someone with a huge interest in communications and as a young adult, I see the impact that social media plays on our daily lives. The church could invest in sprucing up our social media presence. Working on developing a community online since so many young adults and youths are already present online. Why not find a way to preach the gospel by posting snippets of sermons, having interactive sessions, perhaps a live session broadcasted of the bible studies? That way that would even generate more interest for church services that a lot of young adults, and even adults do not attend. Things like this require the active involvement of the youth and young adults. They can be consulted and perhaps even recruited to develop creative ideas and articles for the website. They can contribute articles that discuss social issues facing all young adults from the perspective of a Christian. We are able to find out the real issues that young adults are going through. This has to be done in a safe environment where young adults feel safe to share their ideas and also where they can get godly and non-judgmental advice as well. I said earlier one is more likely to be engaged in what you are invested in. A lot of young adults do not follow our social media pages because they do not feel it is useful to them or that perhaps it doesn’t cater to their direct needs. How can we improve that? By getting their input and getting them involved in running the social media pages. There is a lot can be learned from youths and young adults. We should emphasis 1 Timothy 4:12 and encourage the youth to continue to be a light among their generation.

Things that I have observed that has been effective in Rhema Chapel is the engagement and focus on the young adults group, primarily Daniel Generation. One of the most useful initiatives that I think has been effective has been the use of the church bus to transport student from the university to church both for services and for other events we have throughout the year. Especially due to the climate we live in, that is another added incentive that encourages young adults that otherwise may not attend services regularly to attend church. Moreover, the various fellowships events which goes beyond services is quite useful in fostering a community of believers that are encouraged and edified. Young adults are inspired to do life together by socializing, discussing real life topics, holding seminars related to academia, career and finances etc.

As much as I commend the great work that has been done so far, I still believe there are some changes to implement.

To invest in training, the leadership team on issues such as mental health. This is such a huge issue especially for new students that may have just migrated to the country. Apart form that, team bonding exercises may need to occur more within the executive teams for DG and Chosen Ones. This will allow for the teams to get to know each other better before the year starts and thus they will be able to work more effectively as a unit. Team bonding exercises can involve going to Banff or other locations for a weekend to brainstorm. These excursions do not have to exclusively be just for prayer sessions. Additionally, I believe that the communication should not end after graduation. How is the follow up for recent graduates? Or even alumni? Those that may have moved on from Rhema due to moving to a different city, may still be able to recommend the church to their teenage cousin or younger sibling that may be looking for a new church to attend. However, all this can only occur if there is sustained communication. What about the follow up team in general, if you’re not very involved in the church as a young adult are you still being checked on? Also, working to design programs that doesn’t just cater to one demographic. We live in a multicultural city/country and can we truly say our programs are multicultural and open to all ethnicities and diversities? I have personally benefited hugely from the mentorship program set up by Daniel Generation a few years back during a quite crucial time in my academic career. However, I have no idea if that initiative is still running. Can we pair up like minded individuals from teenage church with DG and chosen one members and then with an adult from the church. In that way we can truly be distinct from the world because we will have young adults that have an advantage and are able to get forward in their academics, career path, financial planning etc. because they have someone further along in their area of interest that is guiding them. As young professionals, being mentored by someone in a similar field to you and be exposed to what your career could look like is extremely useful. For the mentor you are gaining impacting the life of another individual. That is the only way we can truly thrive as a Christ-centered community by working together to truly impact our world.

Young adults will always stay and flock to where they are being nourished and where they can thrive. Thus we must cater to holistic needs both spiritually, emotionally, mentally, academically, financially, relationally etc. Also, promoting collaborations between the different youth and young adult groups and the church will create a sense of responsibility for the young adults. This is because our unique talents and skills are being utilised and also refined through this collaboration. Moreover, the church will also benefit because young adults and youths are then able to feel invested in the community that is being formed, this may even encourage them to invite their friends to church!

Some of the truths and words shared in in this post still rings true today!

Community Building remains the lifeline of believers and especially for growing and maturing believers!

Picture taken while volunteering during Live It Loud 2018 in Saskatchewan.

And the concept of Each One, Teach One will always stand as a key learning point!

What are your thoughts on mentorship?

A young woman on a mission to discovering purpose, to inspire growth and contribute to the Kingdom mandate. On the blog we are all about learning and growing and this is done through writing on topics from Faith, Education, Music, Food, Travel and so much more... (Romans 12:2) View more posts