Ministry

We are better together. We are better with help. We are better helping others.

One of the greatest sources of wisdom, insight, and encouragement in my life has come from my mentors.  Some of my mentors have been ‘formal’ mentors. People who have deliberately undertaken a role, commonly with a title, sometimes paid, to help me with my life. My formal mentors have included pastors, public speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs. These mentors are people I have sought out,  to make an intentional difference in my life.

Some of my mentors have been informal. I might consider an author whose books have been helpful as a mentor, or perhaps a friend or colleague, and yes, even students.

These mentors are people who help us learn not only new skills, but about ourselves. My mentors give me fresh insight into my own thinking, speaking, and acting – and why others might think, speak, and act how they do.

Mentors take our best thinking, and help us make it better. They take our best intentions, and turn them into actions. And they see our blindspots, our weaknesses, our mistakes - and love us anyway -  and help us overcome them.

The best mentors love us, know us, and help us – they give us what we need, and they help us succeed – even at their own cost.

The best mentor ever is Jesus. Matthew, who knew Jesus personally, face to face, records how Jesus spent time teaching Matthew and the other 11 Disciples. How he enjoyed life with them, got to know them, and helped them. Jesus changed Matthew’s life – from an outcast tax collector, into a friend of the Son of God. Jesus took Matthew, who used to profit from others' suffering, and showed him that God was willing to suffer, so that people could profit. And so Matthew, and followers of Jesus for 2000 years, have been commanded by Jesus to do the same.

I would encourage all students and families of Endeavour College to have mentors in their lives, whether they be formal or informal, and to be a mentor too. I encourage you to seek a mentor like Jesus, and to be a mentor just like Jesus.

God’s blessings on your day.

Chris Mann

Mentoring Pastor, Endeavour College.