Mentor Today

What does it mean to be a mentor?

How can a mentor affect someone’s life?

 Look at the definitions of a mentor below!

What is a Mentor?

– dictionary version
1. a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
2. an influential senior sponsor or supporter.

Another definition with emphasis added – *Bold and italics added

• an experienced person in a company or educational institution or  (church) who trains and counsels (walks with, helps, loves, accepts)  new employees (believers) or students:  by having regular meetings between mentor and trainee help guide young (believers) through their early days, weeks, years: as they grow in experience

Who is a Mentor? 

YOU –  and every  Christian is called to make a difference in a life. Maybe you have walked with the Lord and been on the journey only a few years or 30 years.  You have experienced life in your own way. You may or may not  have had experiences similar to the men and women we work with.  None of that matters if you have the ability to love someone who was once lost but  is now found,.  It is our job to walk as well as we can for as long as HE allows, we are but a cog in wheel of our heavenly father.

Where can You Mentor?

JAIL  =  INSTITUTION = PRISON

Which one of these frightens you the most?  We don’t walk through these places alone, Jesus himself walks with us. In fact we believe he walks ahead of us.

Maybe you can’t see yourself in a place where you can be a trusted friend, we are here to tell you YES you can because God equips us and empowers us to love and care for others when we come to HIM in faith.  Pathways is here to support, train and lead you to be the best mentor you can be.

Who is the Client?

Our clients inside prisons need you, how do I know?

Because I was there……
I (Nancy) made a mistake, a big mistake, but it was not the end of my life it was the beginning of a whole new life in Christ.  As I came to Christ inside the institution, I was hungry for someone to show me the way.  I was still dealing with the guilt and shame and God was calling me.  It was the love of one woman who reached out to me in love while I was incarcerated but also when I was released who taught me how to walk the Christian walk, she prayed for me, she accepted me in my brokenness and loved me as Christ first loved.

What about….
the young man of 17 sitting waiting for sentencing, who when a volunteer tells him that God loves him, has so little esteem he can’t make eye contact.  He says to the prison volunteer that he has no basis to understand a father’s love, he had no father.  Can you be a father to the fatherless?  Can you model for him how to walk with Christ, accepting our heavenly fathers love?  You can be a witness of how a relationship with Christ changes the young man’s countenance.  You can be there when he first tells you he now understands father God’s love and feels hope for his future.

You see…
a man who is tattooed, who came from a lifetime of seeing abuse, being abused and then abusing, people, drugs, he did it all.  He walks into chapel area and he is scared to cross the line at the doorway. But a chapel volunteer speaks with him and tells him that it is ok, God will receive him that he has nothing to fear in this place of safety. Tattoo’s on his face are shaped like teardrops they represent the sadness that has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember.  He still hasn’t taken the step across the threshold but now he is ready to share and slowly but surely you start building a relationship.  Before you know it you are sharing the challenges you have faced but most of all you are listening as no one has ever listened before. Maybe next Sunday you can be there to witness him cross into the chapel and build a new  life in Christ.

What You Can Do

Time: We are looking for people who will give of their time to help mentor a man who needs your encouragement inside and once outside of prison. Discover what a mentor does here…and Contact US. The first step is to meet with us to discuss how you can personally make a significant difference in the life of a man in need. We want to make sure you are educated about the process so we can partner together confidently to help set a man free!

Letters: You can write a letter to encourage a man in prison who feels he has lost all hope and had lost all the friends he had.

Financially: A ministry like ours needs your financial support to meet the needs of men, to train mentors, and to cover travel and administrative costs. Donate Today!

Discover more about How You Can Help Today!

Contact us if you can do your part…even a little part makes a big difference!