The Spiritual Discipline of Mentoring

William Bush
Springfield, TN
Chief Marketing Officer

Despite the word “mentor” never appearing in the Bible, it does not take long to find the spiritual discipline of mentorship being weaved throughout the text. When I think of mentorship, I think of Moses and Joshua; Eli and Samuel; Elijah and Elisha; David and Solomon; Jesus and His apostles; Paul and Timothy; and Barnabas and John Mark.

I think of passages like Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 7, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might … You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”; Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”; Philippians 4:9, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you”; and Titus 2:3-8, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self- controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self- controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned”. 

When I reflect on spiritual mentorship, I think of God’s establishment of the home, where parents are called to train their children in the Lord. I think of God’s establishment of elders (shepherds) who care for their congregations, teaching them and exemplifying the Word of God which protects them from being influenced by false doctrine. I think of God’s design of the body of Christ, which brings multiple generations, talents and backgrounds together to work and serve alongside one another in faithfulness and love to Christ.

Do you have any spiritual mentors? Have there been people in your life you feel have made an eternal impact on you? What did they say … what did they do? Are there any moments in your life which you credit them for helping you remain faithful to Jesus? I believe, all of us who are still faithful Christians today not only have a Biblical “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 11, 12:1-2), but a personal “cloud of witnesses” who have walked alongside us in the faith, mentoring, guiding and encouraging us to remain faithful to Christ.

Now the real question is – what are YOU intentionally doing to be a spiritual mentor to others? In a time where our brotherhood continues to see souls leaving the church, what are YOU doing to stand alongside someone and be a spiritual mentor to help them keep the faith? Do YOU know someone YOU can be a mentor to? How might YOU reach out and encourage them?

As World Bible School equips Christians to share Jesus, we also provide tools and resources for Christians to mentor their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for faith and good works. Check out tools like Mathetis, the WBS Master Series, the Reaching Series and our Advanced Bible courses which you can use to strengthen one another’s knowledge and faith. You can invite them to an in-person study using our printed curriculum, to an online study through the WBS App or worldbibleschool.org or you can invite them to a Mathetis Bible study online which includes high-quality videos and discussion questions.

If you are already a WBS Postal, Online or Ocean Bridge Coordinator, who can you mentor to join you in sharing the Gospel in your local community or mission points? Did you know you can call WBS and we can craft training sessions and workshops to help you inspire more people from your congregation to get involved in teaching the Gospel through WBS?

Maybe you are reading this and you do not know of anyone you can mentor spiritually. WBS has thousands of people who right now are seeking a Christian mentor to study and grow alongside them.

You can:

1. Mentor as an Online Study Helper to teach souls seeking to start an online Bible correspondence course. Apply at worldbibleschool.net/teach
2. Mentor as a Follow-up Partner, which allows you to respond to souls local to you who are seeking to become a Christian or find a church home after studying the WBS Master Series. Apply at worldbibleschool.net/follow-up.
3. Mentor as a Mathetis Mentor (yes “Mentor” is in the name), which allows you to join Mathetis groups who are requesting a Christian to join and assist their study. Apply at mathetis.org/teach.
4. Mentor as a Postal or Ocean Bridge Coordinator by setting up a WBS Program at your congregation, grading lessons and studying with Students who using our printed curriculum. Call us at 512-345-8190 to learn more.

Who are you going to mentor in the faith?