Mentoring Matters for Your Ministry
Jake works hard. He desires to do well; and he wonders if there is something wrong with him. He rarely stays at a job for more than a year and frets about a resume which reveals an unwillingness to stay the long-haul. Jake is Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012).
It is the one-click, all-digital generation, growing up in a borderless world.
According to Jack Kelly’s Forbes article from July 2023, “Around 60% of 18-to-25-year-olds said they’re likely to switch jobs in 2023.” Kelly highlights employers’ struggle to understand this generation with “74% of managers and business leaders reported that they find Gen Z more difficult to work with than other generations.”
Nevertheless, creating good work environments for Gen Z remains critical. As a May 2022 World Economic Forum article by Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn, shared: “The future workforce depends on Gen Z. It is the one-click, all-digital generation, growing up in a borderless world. And, by 2025, 27% of the workforce in OECD countries will be Gen Z.”
When we look at the church, we see the same dilemma. According to Barna, in 2022, the average age for a pastor in the USA was 52. Only 16% of protestant senior pastors were less than 40 years old. Simultaneously, young people increasingly choose to leave the church. Springtide did extensive research among Gen-Z. They indicate that 64% of Gen Z will attend a church no more than once a year.
What is the solution for Christian ministries? A part of the solution is to develop mentoring relationships with young staff and volunteers. Mentoring builds a culture of authentic, trusting relationships and bridges the gaps often experienced in a multi-cultural, multi-generational staff.
Three keys to developing your mentoring system:
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Keep it biblical.
Humans long for relationship. This is theologically true based on creation. It is also experientially true. Leaders almost always point back to mentors who led them through the pitfalls and joys of their own journeys. The biblical method for ministry is relational at its core. Springtide’s State of Religion and Young People Mental Health study indicates that “76% of young people who are connected to a community say they are flourishing somewhat or a lot in their mental health.”
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Become informed.
A key aspect of good mentoring is knowing that relationship requires learning by both mentor and mentee. Mentoring is not a one-way street. The mentor should learn as much as the mentee learns. Worldviews vary between generations, geographical locations, race, gender, and many other factors. Building trust requires an increased awareness of the other person’s viewpoint as well as an increased openness to share our own lives.
Mentoring is not a one-way street.
Dr. Paul White, who coauthored Making Things Right at Work (Northfield Publishing, 2022), reminds us that “understanding another’s perspective is not just a cognitive process but also includes the ability to ‘read’ another person’s emotional state via their facial expressions, posture, gestures, tone of voice, and eyes.” Take the time necessary to ask questions regarding your mentee’s thoughts and worldview. Seek to show empathy. Answer your mentee’s questions to whatever extent you are able. Curiosity is your friend in mentoring.
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Take action with these steps:
- Choose a small leadership team which includes various ages, genders and work roles. The first task for the team to tackle is to work together to design your nonprofit’s mentoring parameters. What is the vision and mission? How will you know if you have succeeded? What are the policies for your program?
- Take time to learn the best practices of mentoring. Groups like Christian Association of Youth Mentoring and others can help you with this. The best practices for mentoring include processes for recruiting and screening mentors and mentees, training mentors, making strong matches, supervising and closing matches well.
- Launch with a small “test group,” and then scale your program at a sustainable pace. The key is to make sure that your growth is in line with your ability to recruit, train, and supervise healthy matches. Take it slow, do it well, and always supervise every match.
When Jake is hired by you, your mentoring program will provide relationship, encouragement, guidance and authentic friendship needed for this young man to succeed. Well done! You now have a long-term, healthy coworker who will produce great results for your ministry.
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Dr. Ken Merrifield is the International Director for the Christian Association of Youth Mentoring. Ken also worked many years in Pastoral Ministry and International Missions. Discover more at www.caym.org.
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