Mentorship – The Way of Discipleship

Guest article by Tiffany Montgomery. She is a homeschooling wife and mom with a passion to encourage and equip women through biblical discipleship!

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB).

I entered the Kingdom of God with fire and passion. I was hungry to learn the Christian way of life. I watched others in the church to try and imitate how they lived. I learned mostly through trial and error.

When I look at Jesus’ words I have to believe that the Christian way of life was never intended to be learned in that way. God made us for discipleship, which happens through mentoring. If we examine Jesus’ life, we see that walked out clearly.

Somewhere along the way, the church culture grabbed hold of the “go and baptize” part of The Great Commission and left the “make disciples” part up to preachers on Sunday morning.

I love that the Apostle Paul clarified this idea discipleship. “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2 NASB).

As a Bible study teacher, I get the opportunity to mentor many women in their walk with Christ. I love pouring into their lives and watching them grow. I understand that this is how discipleship works; those who really want to grow will seek out opportunities to grow (like bible studies, retreats, etc.).

When our worship pastor introduced the idea of mentoring to me I had an “aha” moment. Of course we could mentor people outside of a Bible study setting! It sounded perfectly logical to intentionally mentor those within our worship ministry.

I was surprised to see how intimidated many people were about the prospect of mentoring. It took a bit of encouragement to convince several mature believers that they were equipped to mentor others. In truth, if we have been walking with Jesus for a while, we really do have something worthwhile to pass on. [perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]In truth, if we have been walking with Jesus for a while, we really do have something worthwhile to pass on.[/perfectpullquote]

As we gained momentum with this core group of mentors I saw an amazing change in all of us.

• Authentic relationships were being built and strengthened.
• Real accountability happened (because to mentor others we must be growing).
• Each of those involved demonstrated a new confidence to speak into others’ lives.
• Most importantly, each of those involved claimed ownership to our ministry (a benefit I had not foreseen). Despite change and hurt, they are now deeply committed to the ministry and the building up of the Body through discipleship.

 

I see such value in cultivating a culture of mentoring within the church, but specifically within a worship ministry. These people are leading the congregation. How much more effectively can they lead others to worship when they are growing closer to Christ themselves?

As they are growing, they will begin to mentor others who will mentor others. If the passion catches, we could get to a place of radically consistent discipleship within the body.

Can you imagine a church culture where we go and baptize and then immediately, intentionally pour into the life of that new believer? They would no longer have to learn by trial and error alone! They would be less likely to leave the church from frustration and disconnectedness.

That church would be reaching the lost world for Jesus at an extraordinary rate.

I believe that is the church Jesus commissioned us to be building.

I believe it is possible through mentoring.

 

Tiffany Montgomery is a homeschooling wife and mom with a passion to encourage and equip women through biblical discipleship. To learn more about Tiffany and her ministry, check out her site!

 

For help with leading your worship ministry, check out the upcoming ONLINE WORSHIP COURSE! It’s 10 sessions with Dwayne Moore to help take you and your team to the next level!