Have you ever wished you had had someone to mentor you in the ways of the Lord? There is a way to mentor and be mentored at the same time. And, that’s just by doing it: with Each One Teach One.
The following is a mentoring guide to disciple individuals with the Bible study workbook, GOD, Who Are You? AND Who Am I? Knowing and Experiencing God by His Hebrew Names – or with a discipleship resource of your choice.
[A handy printable of these instructions are given you at the end in a pdf file you can print out.]
You can Easily Be a Mentor
I’ve recently mentored five people, one-on-one. The neighborhood Bible study I thought I would do in my country home turned out to be a one-on-one mentoring–another one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
Every one of these five individuals were prodigals who returned home to Jesus. They saw the pig pen and didn’t like it! And, they were desperate to know God and who HE is in them. They came to Jesus early in life but had no discipleship.
Thank you for your willingness to help disciple another person to help them overcome and to know God has a plan for their life.
Believe me, when you ask God for one person to disciple, He will place that person in your path! Expect it and He will do it! You may need to go to that person and offer friendship. You could say, “I’m starting a new Bible study and I wondered if you would like to go through it with me?” Next, here are a few helps:
- Find A Place To Meet, preferably in a public, yet private place. I meet at McDonald’s during the week–not at meal times–at hour-and-a-half intervals. Plus, our Social Services office manager sold this study to her Board of Directors as “a hand up, rather than a hand out.” And, very important, she sold this study, NOT as a Bible study, but a mentoring guide-which it is.
- Expect God To Show Up. When this study was in the creative stage, we studied the Hebrew names of God over and over for seven years. We never tired of learning and speaking about our Lord. We’ve seen that He never tires of showing up! It gets more exciting every time we go through His names with another person. He will be there for your friend and you. Expect it and it will happen as you both study together.
- Share Your Own Personal Stories. By so doing, you are fulfilling Revelation 12:11, “They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” The more transparent you are, the more your friend will be, and the more God can work in both your lives.
- Guide Them How To Study During The Week. Some have never read the Bible at all. Some went to church when young; others have never been inside a church building. They need to be instructed how to read until something (the Holy Spirit) speaks to them. Have them highlight that passage in the book, and in turn, highlight the Scriptures in their Bible that speak to them.
It’s so important that they look up the Scriptures as they go along. The whole purpose is to get them in their Bible, in the WORD of God, so He, their Shepherd can speak to them. Once they taste of those precious moments–like sheep who respond to their shepherd’s voice–they will never stray again.
If you should go through the study again with that person, have them use a different color highlighter. They will be surprised to find that different passages and Scriptures speak to them this time around because they have grown.
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Each One Should Teach One!
- Allow the Holy Spirit to Guide Your Discussions. Invite the Lord in prayer–according to His Hebrew name–to join you. The Leader’s Guide may help you get started and as an answer key, but for a single person discussion, let your sessions be customized to that individual. For instance, allow them to share the passages and Scriptures they have underlined, and discuss. They have a reason for marking each one; the Word does a great job of teaching them with the Holy Spirit as their teacher, and you guiding them. Again, make sure they have marked their Bible for use later.
- Encourage Them to Disciple Another. As the individual goes through the study, they know someone else who needs it. The goal is to help them share their own faith, to disciple someone else after they complete this study. In other words, by doing what you are doing, you are demonstrating to them how to catch and feed their own fish.
If every Christian would light only one candle like this, it would continue; we could reach this world for Jesus Christ quickly!
Remember to pray for your friends during the week as they study. Have fun!
Know that mentoring brings a reward in heaven: the shepherd’s crown (crown of glory in 1 Peter 5:2-4).
Here is the guide of Each One Teach One handy printable for your reference!
