Mentors are experienced and trusted advisors. They function most effectively when they help people assess their context and begin to engage in new behaviours. Good mentors can help people and organizations flourish.
The Institute of Evangelism has called together a team of people with the experience and skills to help congregations learn new behaviours related to sharing their faith. Churches, presbyteries, deaneries and dioceses can all call upon this team to help them grow in evangelism.
How exactly will the Mentor Team work?
- Groups of churches, presbyteries, deaneries and dioceses will contact the Institute of Evangelism to be connected with a mentor who has experience in the area that the group would like to focus on. The point person will arrange dates and times with each mentor directly. Several churches may come together in larger groups to take advantage of the skills and experience of our mentors. Since our Mentor Team is composed of people already engaged in ministry, they can devote a limited amount of time to this work; groups wishing to begin the mentoring process should allow 4 to 5 months lead time.
- Once a date for a gathering is arranged, the Institute of Evangelism mentor will e-mail the point person a list of assessment questions for the participants to explore in small groups in the 2 or 3 weeks leading up to the large group workshop. This is a crucial step in the learning and growth process, since these small groups are the people who will know their own context best. The questions will challenge the smaller groups to begin to consider their present practices and resources, and how these relate to sharing the faith with those outside their churches. A point person will be designated to collate and summarize the small group responses to the assessment questions, and report on these at the upcoming workshop.
- The mentor will then meet with the larger group for a day-long workshop. This day will be an actual workshop as opposed to simply a presentation. Participants will bring their collected discussion points on the assessment questions. The mentor may ask participants to bring to this workshop some other documents related to the life of their church that will also relate to the key area of learning for that workshop (eg. Annual reports, copy of website homepage, church budget, Sunday order of service, organizational chart, curriculum descriptions, specific parish statistics, neighbourhood map, newcomer information materials.) Prayer and study will be a key part of each workshop.
- Each church will be challenged to draw up a short (2 month) and long-term (10 month) plan of action, in response to what has been learned through the self-assessment and the work-shop. A team from within the church will serve to follow-up on these plans, adjusting as necessary for the local context and determining next steps for learning.
- Groups seeking the skills of the mentor will cover their travel and accommodation costs (if more than 2 hours from Toronto) and will provide a $500 honorarium for the mentor. This will be paid directly to the mentor on the day of the workshop.
