Learning effective techniques from experienced Christians.

Helping others develop their on mission lifestyle.

Extending your reach.

My life was about to change. I was a university studentpagan and cynical about those weak Christians I saw around me who needed a crutch. But a businessman didnt let that stop him. He reached out to me.

Jack was smart enough to invite me to his home one night, away from my peers and family. That evening, in his living room, he explained the way of salvation to me.

I argued. But Jack didnt argue back. He listened, then turned to scripture and said, Look at what God says. Each time I threw him one of my arguments he would again turn to the Bible. That night my opposition faltered; then about eleven oclock it disappeared altogether. I became a believer.

Something else was happening
But Jack did more than bring me to saving faith; he modeled to me the way to let Gods Spirit work through the use of scripture. He taught me that answering an argument at best can only win the argument. Winning an argument doesnt bring a person to Christ.

In the months that followed, mentored by Jack, I learned the scriptures that he used, firmed up what it was I had done that night in his home and in time I made my own feeble attempts at giving a witness, first to my family and then to others. And, in spite of my stumbling and faltering, God brought each member of my family to Himself.

What is an on mission mentor?
What does it mean to be a mentor? Did Jack know that he began mentoring me that night when he was pointing out to me the way of salvation? Did he even think that he was also teaching me how to win others to Christ? Today most of us know that as on mission Christians we are not just doing, we are teaching.

And what do we teach when we mentor as part of our on mission lifestyles? Have changing times and cultural shifts made a difference in what we do, especially with todays generations who may not necessarily be persuaded by someone saying, Lets look at what God says in the Bible?

We dont win souls, of course; no one does. We win people who have souls. The Holy Spirit is the soul winner, not us.

We are merely the ones who are given the privilege of helping a person grow on his or her spiritual journey, starting from wherever individuals happen to be and taking them to the next step.

As on mission Christians, we may be the ones to bring the person to the point of saying yes to Christ. Once we have led someone to Christ, we need to establish with him that he is starting a lifestyle that calls him to share Christ with others. If we teach others to be on mission themselves, we can start a ripple effect that can reach throughout North America.

It starts when they are with you
When Jesus chose the 12, it was His intention to send them out as what we call on mission people. But first, before the sending, we see in scripture the word with. He chose them to be with Him (see Mark 3:14).

Look for people around you whom you can help. Listen to them. See where God is already working in their lives so you can build a bridge from where they are to where God is calling them to be. Then show them how to be disciples and live out their faith day by day. It starts when they are with you. Follow the example of Jesus.

There are many ways that we can be with someone in their Christian walk. It may be as simple as setting aside some time each week to get together and pray for the specific needs of that person and pray that God would open up opportunities to share the gospel. Or you might want to spend time with them in an on mission Bible study. It could include participating in social or recreational activities with unsaved friendsgreat ways to show your mentoring partner how to introduce Christ in a casual setting.

Being with someone doesnt have to be face to face. You will find that there are different ways to spend time with someone as part of the mentoring process. You can even use the telephone or Internet to be with the person you are mentoring. This is especially effective when mentoring someone long distance.

Mentoring is the rewarding process of taking under your wings someone who is searching, providing answers, helping them grow more open to the gospel, leading them to faith in Christ and, ultimately, training them to actively share the gospel with others. For whether we are doing this online or over the telephone or in person, the process is esentially the same: investing time in listening, being transparent, sharing, coaching, role modelingallowing them to learn from your life.

Theres no limit to the ways
There are many ways to be mentors, including taking another person with us as we go out to do evangelism. In that model, we are coaching another believer on how to share their faith, how to adopt and live out a lifestyle of personal evangelism. We do it ourselves; we advocate it for them.

But thats not the only way. We are mentors at work, mentors in the way we live in our communities, mentors when we volunteer for civic or political events.

Our opportunity to be on mission mentors may come by having someone live with us in our home for a while. My wife, Andrea, and I once hosted a released prisoner in our home. I had brought him along to faith while he was in prison. Then we moved to another state.

But one day, not having anywhere else to go after he was released and wanting to continue our relationship, he showed up at our doorstep, and we took him in. Our children enjoyed his company. After we found him a job, then helped him move into his own apartment, he no longer needed us. He married and moved away, ready to be a faithful, on mission Christian in a new community. But for that time he was part of our familywatching, observing, asking questions.

We are all mentors, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or without awareness. We mentor our children. They watch us and learn by doing what we do. They learn prayer and worship and Bible reading. They also learn our attitudesour concern for others or our lack of concern. They decide to be like us. Or, they decide to not be like us. Parents ache over that.

Jesus is our mentoring example. He took His disciples with Him; they watched what He did. The 72 He sent out reported back; there was accountability, as there is in every good mentoring situation (see Luke 10).

God wants us to be learners and mentors
We know about the mentoring of Moses by Jethro, of Joshua by Moses, of Elisha by Elijah. We study the relationship between Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy. It is obvious that God intended for us to be both learners and mentors.

Sometimes the mentoring is structured and plannedintentional mentoring between a teacher and a new disciple. More often, it isnt even noticed by us any more than other people are aware when we are watching and learning from them.

Because the on mission lifestyle is intentional and deliberate, we must plan how we mentor another to be evangelistic. Some suggestions:

Visiting people in the hospital is not always the most comfortable situation, and a new Christian might feel  awkward talking to an unbeliever who is ill. Take the person you are mentoring with you when you make these kinds of visits. He will learn how to be loving and sensitive by watching how you handle a particular situation. Allow him to take the role of observer as you share Christ with compassion.

Another type of situation where a new Christian might feel uncomfortable is witnessing to strangers during church visitation. Since its usually best to go into these situations in pairs, invite the one youre mentoring to visit families with you. Show him how to turn a conversation toward spiritual matters. Show him by example how to share scriptures with the nonbeliever and how to pray for specific needs that come up in your conversation.

Its also a good idea to teach a new Christian how to prepare for evangelistic opportunities through prayer and Bible study. Point out that sharing Christ is a part of the Christian lifestyle for laypeople as well as trained folks like ministers, missionaries and evangelists.

Encourage the person you are mentoring to find a style of sharing that naturally fits his or her personality. Assure the person you are mentoring that sharing Christ will become easier with practice, and they will learn to make adjustments in approach, style and method. And remember that new Christians can learn a lot by observing their mentors, but let them take a practice swing every once in awhile.

Recently I watched a Christian man I know. Although hes retired, he volunteers as a driver for people who need to visit the doctor. As I sat in the doctors office waiting for my own appointment, I watched him bring in a man in a wheel chair. This Christian showed such tenderness; he seemed to sense the worry, the concern, of the patient who could not help himself or even fill out forms at the counter. The help he gave said to me this man loves people. He was laying the groundwork for a verbal witness.

I dont know if he eventually mentored that patient. I do know this, as I sat there watching, he mentored me.

The power of encouragement
As a growing Christian who was trying to be on mission by sharing my faith with family and friends, the pastor was my mentor from the pulpit, but his wife was my mentor after church.  She knew that I had a burden for my family, and every Sunday she would meet me in the aisle and ask how things were going with them. She encouraged me not to give up on sharing Christ with them, and she prayed for me as I stepped outside of my comfort zone. She encouraged me to stay on mission, first with my unbelieving family and then with others in my sphere of influence.

I cannot begin to express how much that meant to me. She gave me the boost that I needed to continue looking for opportunities to share Christ with those around me.

Hebrews 10:25, says, Let us encourage one another. Who is encouraging me? Am I currently mentoring someone else to stay on mission?

In ever-widening circles
One evening my phone rang. The person on the other end of the line said, Im a voice from your past. You might not remember, but you led me to Christ 35 years ago. I did not remember, although as we talked and I mulled his name around in my mind and he reminded me of the circumstances, it began to come back to me.

But he had more to say: Im the chair of the evangelism committee at our church. We are seeking to bring people to faith in Christ. I learned from you how to do it and Im teaching others on the committee.

Then I realized what had happened. He didnt learn from me, he learned from Jack. I was just the person in between. I realized a truth about mentoring: it expands in ever- widening circles.

Questions to ask myself as a mentor

1. Since the most valuable thing I have to give another Christian is my time, am I willing to give that? Will I welcome another into my life, to experience with me my struggles, my sorrows, my joys and to see how God is working in my life?

2. Am I looking around me for whomever God may be sending into my life because I am to mentor that person or because that person is to be a mentor to me?

3. As a mentor am I a disciple, continuing to prepare myself, stretching, growing, so that I can be of more help to those not-yet-Christians who need to meet the Savior or lead new believers to be on mission?

4. Am I confident enough in who I am in Christ that I dont need to keep someone dependent upon me, but am willing to help the one Im mentoring get ready to leave the nest?

5. Am I able to move into a coaching role, able to step back, encourage from the sidelines and instruct as needed? Instead of always being the answer person, am I showing how this other person can discover answers for himself or herself?

6. Am I easing away from my earlier role of teacher, then coach, into more of a partnership willing to learn from the one who at first was more dependent upon me?

7. Am I helping those I once mentored to become mentors themselves, even introducing seekers or new believers to them rather than taking these others on myself? Can I let go so that they can have the fulfilling work of mentoring others?

Roger Palms is the former editor of Decision magazine with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the author of 15 books.