5 Reasons why you need a mentor.

In the early days of ministry, a young preacher will listen and glean as much as possible from his pastor. Watching his mannerisms as he preaches and converting to memory the impactful moments of scripture that were illuminated by his first mentor.

As the young preacher moves into a position on staff with a new church and new pastor the mentoring part of the relationship sometimes does not evolve as easy as it did with their childhood pastor. It now has become a different environment with a stress that this young preacher was unaware of. A weekly workload that must be accomplished and working with families that do not make your ministry easy. At this time, there doesn’t seem to be enough victories to overshadow the failing families that occur in ministry. As a new staff member, a young preacher will automatically feel like an employee of a church rather than a member of a church and is left to silently navigate a new place, a new leader, and a new career alone.

When this young preacher begins to pastor his own church for the first time he will learn, yet again, that there is an abundant of stress in leading people. Prayerfully projecting the goals that he believes would glorify God and present the gospel to as many people as possible will be met with hostility, unwillingness, and members leaving the church. In his desperation he will pray, what do I do?

Our first source of help needs to be God through His Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures, but what about the practical part of ministry that isn’t mentioned in the bible? This is where wise counsel is priceless. To have a friend that has been where you are and have seen the victories.

1. Encouragement

Life is difficult as a Christian. We are told in Luke 22:31 that Devil desires to have us and sift us as wheat. And the difficulty seems to be extremely exaggerated when you are the pastor on the front lines leading people to Christ and teaching others to lead people to Christ. You will need encouragement that only a friend can bring. Proverbs 27:9 tells us that the heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.

2. Correction

Because we are human and are flawed in many ways, we will make a mistake. Whether it is misspeaking during a sermon or forgetting to call an angry church member three weeks ago, we all mess up. In our position as pastor or a senior staff member it is not always easy to know how to fix our mistakes. Sometimes a simple apology can make a quick and easy fix, but what if there is personal sin involved? A friend who can help you navigate these difficult waters will be invaluable to your ministry during a very difficult season.

3. Guidance

In ministries that are in transition with growth will present challenges that need to be addressed and need to have well, thought-out, long-term solutions and visions. A friend that has been where you are, established the building blocks, and has already found failing policies, outdated By-Laws, and the need for volunteers a few years ago and has adjusted their procedures and projections for the future of their church can help. Many ministry friends share bullet points from a book, or they send you their own policies on the subject that you can glean from, but either way a mentor that desires you and your church to be successful in the ministry of the gospel is needed in the administration of ministry.

4. Ideas

Every pastor wants to see people trust Christ as savior. Every pastor wants to see their church grow. There are things in every church that can hinder growth and there are things that aren’t being done that can help growth. Having a friend that is creative or has creative friends can be a major life giver to a stagnant church body. Every pastor needs ideas and having a mentor that has tried and found things that helped or hurt their own church growth can inspire a pastor to think outside of the box. A mentor cannot only help you set goals but also help you determine what step you can take to reach those goals.

5. Connection

Most pastors have found that having friends inside and outside the ministry is difficult. Inside their church, only those that want to work as hard as the pastor seem to be the only ones that aren’t afraid to become close with the pastor, but it can be difficult to find those friends because most congregants are afraid to be called to action and believe that a closeness with the pastor may bring that. Outside of their church most local pastors are competitive and jealous, making friendships very difficult. Having a friend who is not competitive or jealous is worth more than any of us ever thought when we first began in the ministry. Having this type of friend can also help a jealous pastor overcome his short sightedness. And most non-competitive pastors have found that very unique gift of friendships with other pastors and are usually willing to make introductions so you can have more than just a mentor. You can have a network.

Joshua Hargis @ Elyria Baptist Church, Elyria Ohio