Christian Mentoring: Foundations and Dynamics

We live in an era when Christian leadership is intensely challenging. It is more important than ever for leaders to find competent support for effective ministry and personal development. Christian mentoring is an intentional 1-to-1 ministry that helps good leaders flourish as thoughtful and secure Christian disciples in the midst of the challenges of ministry and life.

This unit is designed to contribute to your professional and vocational formation in ministry by addressing the concept and practice of Christian mentoring as a specialist area within your ministry. Christian mentoring is a broad and important area of specialised ministry and research that requires accomplished scholarly practitioners to master a significant range of theory and practice.

We’ll focus on three main areas:

• Biblical, theological and contemporary theoretical perspectives on mentoring;
• Skills and methods in mentoring;
• Fieldwork in which you apply your developing competence in one or two mentoring relationships.

Christian Mentoring: Foundations and Dynamics (double unit) is the first of three successive units that develop Christian mentoring as a specialist area. The other two units are

• PC021-812 Mentoring Christian Leaders
• PC022-812 Professional Practice as a Christian Mentor

Together they will build competence for Christian mentoring at an advanced level. By taking these three units within a Graduate Certificate of Christian Mentoring (or Graduate Certificate of Divinity if you have not studied theology before) you will be qualified for mentoring in a variety of contexts. The principles apply in local and cross-cultural ministry settings, for helping men and women throughout their journeys as disciples.

Note: In the course of your training as a professional Christian mentor, you will also be equipped with knowledge and skill in the related areas of professional supervision and ministry coaching. Highly effective mentors also need to be able to switch modes into the reflective practice of supervision and the skills training of coaching.