So, what does it look like to give mentees personal, prioritized attention?\u00a0 In the following lessons, we will focus on a formal<\/em> method of mentoring.\u00a0 However, much of mentoring, training, and relationship-building actually takes place in informal<\/em> settings, such as eating together, playing tennis together, or serving the poor together.\u00a0 Situations like these enable you to connect with mentees more personally, showing them how faith is lived out in ordinary life while creating opportunities to bless them in special ways.\u00a0 So, make time for regular, informal interactions with your mentees by hanging out together and serving together.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hanging Out<\/h3>\n

Hanging out<\/em> is the informal time you spend deepening your relationship with mentees.\u00a0 This is where they can see how you live out law and gospel in your everyday life, at home and in public.\u00a0 Sometimes hanging out<\/em> means playing games together, eating dinner together, or watching a movie together.\u00a0 Sometimes hanging out<\/em> means sitting across from one another on couches, chatting about life or discussing matters of faith.\u00a0 There are many activities you can do together to let mentees know you care about them personally.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just one word of caution here:\u00a0 Beware of becoming mere \u201cbuddies\u201d with your mentees to the degree that praying together or discussing deeper matters becomes awkward.\u00a0 There are no hard rules for avoiding this pitfall; but seek the Spirit\u2019s wisdom to handle this wisely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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<\/p><\/a>Photo by Aar\u00f3n Blanco Tejedor<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/div>\n

Serving Together<\/h3>\n

Serving together<\/em> is the time you spend serving others together with your mentees.\u00a0 This is where they can learn from your example how to rest in Christ fully and reflect him faithfully.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 This is also where they can practice serving in your presence so you can observe and encourage them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you really wish to connect with your mentees on a deeper level, you must be willing to \u201cdo life together,\u201d hanging out and serving together with them outside of formal mentor sessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some parents argue that quality time their children is more important than quantity time\u2014\u201cI may not be able to spend a lot of time with my children, but the time I spend with them is intentional.\u201d\u00a0 The reality is that children generally need both quality and<\/em> quantity time for healthy development.\u00a0 Furthermore, spending large quantities of time together in work and play generally leads to quality time, that is, opportunities for building deep relationships and encouraging the children.\u00a0 The same is true in mentoring.\u00a0 It is often time together itself that opens new doors for training mentees and blessing them in special ways.\u00a0 These informal opportunities enhance the quality<\/em> of the formal mentor sessions.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Imagine this scenario:\u00a0 \u201cLast week, when we were watching the Avengers movie together, you said that you often feel as angry as the Hulk; you are surprised that you don\u2019t turn green sometimes.\u00a0 What did you mean by that?\u201d\u00a0 Or, \u201cLast week, after we ate dinner at our house, I noticed that you helped my family clean up the kitchen.\u00a0 That showed me you have a servant\u2019s heart.\u00a0 I can see God working powerfully in you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, because of distance or schedules, sometimes it is not possible for mentor and mentees to spend a lot of informal time together; but spending informal time together should be prioritized as there is opportunity.\u00a0 This is an important reason to limit your number of mentees.\u00a0 You must have sufficient time for hanging out and serving together as God grants opportunities.\u00a0 Remember to make mentees a priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Activity:\u00a0 Nurture a Meaningful Relationship with the Mentee<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s your turn to nurture a meaningful relationship with the mentee by making the mentee a priority and by spending informal time with the mentee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step One:\u00a0 Make the Mentee a Priority\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you need to remove from your schedule (or shift around) without neglecting your other vocations (such as parent and spouse) so you can give mentees personal, prioritized attention?<\/p>\n

Step Two:\u00a0 Spend Informal Time with the Mentee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make a list of 5 ways you can spending informal time with your mentees.\u00a0 Remember to include both hanging out<\/em> and serving together<\/em>.\u00a0 Then, give a brief explanation for each idea.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next: Prepare for the Mentor Session – Setup the Mentor Session<\/em><\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> And the example of other Christians you include in your interactions with mentees.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, what does it look like to give mentees personal, prioritized attention?\u00a0 In the following lessons, we will focus on a formal method of mentoring.\u00a0 However, much of mentoring, training, and relationship-building actually takes place in informal settings, such as eating together, playing tennis together, or serving the poor together.\u00a0 Situations like these enable you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospel-centered-mentoring"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matthewdoebler.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}