FAQs
- Jump to our General FAQs (they apply to both mentors and mentees)
- Jump to our Mentee FAQs
- Jump to our Mentor FAQs
To join this Discipleship program, you must first take our Christianity Quiz. If you’ve already taken the quiz and submitted the form, we will contact you soon with next steps.
Use the comments area below if your question hasn’t been answered.
General FAQs:
- Are you part of or affiliated with a particular denomination?
In short, no. We don’t represent or promote any particular denomination. Our mentors aren’t screened based on their denomination, so long as they affirm our mentor statement of faith (which defines the essential doctrines we believe are crucial and not open for debate). This statement of faith naturally excludes people of certain denominations from being a mentor, such as Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon’s, etc. People in such denominations may be very good people, but they aren’t part of our mentor team. This means your mentor could be a Baptist, Methodist, or of any number of denominations, that agree with our statement of faith. - How do those individuals who request mentoring find out about this program?
There are several potential ways a mentee would find out about our program. One is word of mouth from other mentees and mentors. Also, we will be promoting this through our website as well. Our highly popular Christianity Quiz is where most of our mentees come from. Those scoring lower on the quiz are asked if they would like someone to walk along side them and mentor them into spiritual maturity. Those that are interested then request a mentor. And we are simply matching these people up with people who are more spiritually mature in their faith. - What are your levels of accountability?
Mentors are required to BCC their mentor coordinator on all mentor-to-mentee emails. This will allow us to offer mentors (especially those with less experience) thoughts on the ongoing dialogue, correct course if necessary, and ensure mentors aren’t promoting an unhelpful agenda of their own. Mentors will also include a footer on every mentee email. Such as, “If you would like to report any questionable or inappropriate mentor/mentee communications, please let us know at mentor-feedback@changingthefaceofchristianity.com”. Such a report will be addressed immediately. We will follow-up with appropriate parties involved to understand the situation before any changes are made. And if any changes are necessary, both the mentee, mentor, and mentor coordinator will be notified. When we inform a mentee that they have been assigned a mentor, we will also provide them with that feedback mechanism, so that they can reach out to us at any time to express any concerns they have during the process. - How long of a commitment can a mentor/mentee expect to make?
Once a mentee is assigned, I would expect the commitment to be reaching out at least once a week to your mentee and/or responding once a week to mentee communications. Be prepared for a 12 week commitment as a minimum. Some mentor/mentee relationships last longer, much longer, but that is up to the mentee and mentor after 12 weeks. If you both agree to continue, then great. - How does the mentoring program work?
The mentoring will be via email, but could evolve into a secure web portal at some point where real time private chat or skype type interactions can occur. We will be providing some structure and a plan, so it’s not just completely free-form. - Would this be a distance kind of discipleship or would I be paired with someone who lived locally?
Our default position is that it will not be a local face to face type discipleship. So, expect the mentor/mentee to not be near you. However, we will make every effort possible to pair you with someone close to you so that the possibility of a more relational discipleship is at least a possibility if both mentor and mentee agree to take it to that level.
Mentee FAQs:
- Is this private/secure?
Will what I share be held in confidence? Yes. All of our mentors must agree to the confidentiality statement. Any information shared will only be between you and your mentor, and a mentor coordinator to maintain appropriate mentor supervision and accountability. Mentors are allowed to seek advice from other mature Christians, but when doing so they are not allowed to seek such advice using any of your personally identifiable information. They would be able to ask someone else, “I have a friend who is struggling with X. What would you suggest in this situation.” - What is the background of the people mentoring me?
Our mentors come from all backgrounds and denominations. Each has been interviewed to establish a base level of competency as a mentor. Also, newer mentors complete a mentor training course as part of their preparation. A thorough background check is completed for those mentoring teens/students, and references are also obtained. You can expect your mentor to be a good example of the Christian faith lived out. None of our mentors are perfect people, but they have submitted themselves to Christ, and want to glorify God by helping you achieve a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
Mentor FAQs:
- How many people would I be mentoring?
At this point, we have more mentors than mentees. So I would expect that you would mentor at most one person at a time. - Do you have some “best practice” guidelines?
Yes. We will be providing some structure and a plan, so it’s not just completely free-form. - Will you or someone else be a point of contact if situations or questions arise that we would want to get a second opinion about?
Yes, as a mentor, you will be assigned to a Godly mentor coordinator who will be your first line of communication. We also encourage you to ask other mature Christians you have come to trust in spiritual matters, so long as the identification of your mentee is not compromised when seeking a second opinion. We recommend the “I have a friend who is going through…” type of question. - Should the contact (emails, phone, social media) between Mentor and Mentee be limited or will it be encouraged to use as many resources as appropriately possible?
We’re thinking it will be mostly via email initially, but could evolve into a secure web portal at some point where real time private chat or skype type interactions can occur. We won’t discourage the use of skype/facetime/or phone for mentoring. So if you and your mentee agree on that form of communication, then it’s fine with us. We do ask that you keep your mentor coordinator up to date. So if you use a non-email form of communication, you’ll just need to follow-up with your mentor coordinator with a summary of your status. We prohibit the use of non-private forms of communication such as twitter or facebook. Again, we just want to ensure mentees know and feel safe that they can share openly with you. - What is the background of the people being mentored?
It’s safe to assume that each mentee will be a self-proclaimed Christian. However, that may or may not be the case. Our purpose is to guide mentees into a deeper relationship with Christ, and that can start with someone who isn’t a Christian as well. This could include seekers and those already in the faith but who are struggling with doubts or unanswered questions. - Can a Catholic be a mentor in this Discipleship Program? Yes, but please read our FAQ page devoted on this topic. And discussion on this topic needs to happen on this Catholicism FAQ page.
Use the comments form below if you have an additional question not answered above. Thanks.
I do not really believe that this situation would arise, as least I pray not, if someone we are mentoring from a distance, not locally, makes statments that were identified as requiring notifying authorites, do we notify authorities in our area or try to contact or do we attempt to contact authories in the area of the mentee? Thanks.
I rated as spiritually mature, but i’m not sure if I would be a good mentor. I don’t have all the answers that some people are looking for. My mother was atheist (she called herself agnostic), however, neither I nor Dad could bring her to Christ. There are so many people who ask questions for the sake of appearing to seek God or attempting to look intellectual, when they in fact, are not really interested in finding God. I’ve met people who, if you didn’t convince them within five minutes that God exists, they treat it as a victory for atheism. I’ve received my share of smirks and snorts. I realize that people who ask for a mentor may be truly looking for God, but I am not confident that I can be a good mentor.
That probably makes you a competent mentor! Know-it-alls seldom make good role models, let alone mentors. As long as you are “working out your salvation w/fear and trembling,” you are on the right path. A mentor is someone who is a little further down the path than the person they are mentoring/coaching, if you like. The safest doctor is the one who can admit that he/she does not know everything. They are more willing to know their limits and willing to search out new answers for their patient.
i think if you concentrate on giving people the information the bible has stating that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, then you leave their decision to the Holy Spirit convicting them and their own will to repent and receive the Lord! Our job is to tell the truth in love… love doesn’t hurt, the truth usually does…and thats Gods job to condemn not ours!
For those who would consider being mentors but are fearful that they have not the depth, or the ability. I am not a trained teacher, pastor, or biblical scholar. I love the Lord my God, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me, and accept Jesus as my Savior. I have good teaching from a good pastor. I choose to follow Christ daily. That is all, I have no other qualifications other than a desire to serve the Lord. As I felt a calling to respond, I did so in faithfulness, without fear. I know that God through the Holy Spirit will lead me through this. I pray daily and before every Q/A as I respond in Christ to the one I am assigned to Love and work with, leading him to know Christ more fully. As a mentor, I know I am not superior in any way and do not consider myself so, but am simply a servant doing Gods will. I chose to respond to the opportunity to mentor, as I considered the book of Hebrews where the author tells his audience that they should be teachers of the word by now. It is our duty to help others come to know Christ. It is a growing experience for us as much as for anyone else! I am continually blessed by my my relationship as a mentor in this program. As in any commitment you make to serve God, you will grow even more and experience more joy and blessings from the experience than the ones who you serve for God. Thoughts and ideas will come to you from scripture, you will look them up and reinforce those messages in your heart and mind. If you have felt a call, respond to it in faith and you will find out that God will give you what you need to be an effective mentor.
Alice, we cannot prove to anyone that Jesus exists. That is not our responsibility. As God’s people we have been entrusted to present the Gospel and “make disciples of all the nations”. The Bible speaks of the Lord as One who reveals Himself to people. In Matthew 16:16-17 Peter proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded by saying, “Blessed are you…for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” We are however, responsible to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” 1 Peter 3:15. I believe it is good to seek the Lord and ask Him to show you what to say when people approach you regarding your beliefs, and then be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit while talking to people- He may give you something to say that speaks directly into the life of the person who is questioning you. That information has the power to change their life. A true encounter with God is a supernatural experience. We are to be the instruments that guide people’s hearts toward that experience. However, some hearts are hardened towards the Lord for whatever reason. Praying or prayer and fasting, asking the Lord to soften their hearts is one way to approach this problem. He will show you what to do. Being a good mentor only needs somebody willing to help and be lead by the voice of the Spirit.
I scored spiritually mature, but still have much to learn. I have never mentored anyone but my daughters and sons I’m not sure I have what it take to mentor others/strangers in light of the hard questions facing people today. I will have to pray about it.
I was raised in the Church of Christ, believing the “Old” Testament was simply history and that God then changed his mind and sent Jesus because the old plan was not working. I believed God was quite limited and the Holy Spirit and miracles were just for the 1st century church. I married a Baptist and became a bit more “free” in Christ and my understanding of God was widened. Years later I attended a seminar where I learned that many of the basic things we in the western church culture believe and practice have absolute pagan origins. I left that seminar needing to define the reason for my belief. I read and researched what had been said and found it to all be true. I believe in Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I believe that Yashuah is his son. I am sensitive to where each person may be in their walk with God so I don’t come at them all at once with what I know — most of it would shock other Christians –as it had shocked me. If someone wishes to discuss Christmas with me, I will tell them that Yashua was not born on Christmas which has to do with sun-god worship. He died and was resurrected in accordance with Passover — and that is such a wonderful story to tell. Mostly I want others to know that God loves them so much that their salvation is not dependent upon their intellect in these matters, but on their heart condition and their desire to know God.
Hello…Having come this far …I want to say I admire you for all you want to accomplish with this program…and i will keep you in my prayers….I also appreciate all the world news and documents I receive from you through e-mail….however I must say….for me to attempt to be of any help without having a real conversation with God’s word open and reading together ….I would be afraid it might cause confusion and therefore put a “stumbling block” in their way….I do not belong to any “denominational religion”….There are so many things I would like to say here……but that would be impossible….! I will say that I treasure everything you write concerning God Almighty…I truly believe God did call out and set aside His faithful warriers many thousands of years ago…to take a stand against satan and his “minions” in the latter days…I believe they are here now….although they have not been made known to the world as yet.they will have “supernatural power”….I have hoped you might be one of These warriers…. May God Bless you and keep you…..all for the Glory of God a friend in Christ, Stella
I would like to sign up to be a mentor, but cannot get back to the form.
Chrissie, use our “contact us” form to send us an email. We’ll get you connected.
I do not feel that I qualify at this time to be a mentor. I cannot quote enough of the Bible to mentor someone right now and don’t have all the answers. But, I do have a friend that may be interested and will talk to her because this sounds like a very good thing. A lot of people need help and I certainly want to help them the best way I can at the moment. I took the quiz just to see how I measured up, not realizing I would be offered the opportunity to help.
Donnie, if the standard was having all the answers, then none of us would ever be ready to mentor others. Being able to find the answers is much more valuable, as is having a desire to teach and learn WITH a mentee. Just something for you and others to consider.
Donnie and others, We are all to be ministers/mentors. We do not need to know all the answers. We know the One Who knows all the answers. The Holy Spirit really is real and he can give us words and guidance. He will also have a hand in who is sent to each of us for mentoring. God is really good about equipping those who obey His command to us to disciple others and share his good news.
Thank you for your invitation. I would like to consider doing this as I believe in bearing as much fruit as possible while I trod this earth. As happenstance would have it (really, the Holy Spirit), a close friend of mine decided to ask me some ‘hard questions’ about my Christianity. We have been sending e-mails back and forth for about a month now. This is rewarding and a lot of enrichnebt and fun are woven throughout (on both sides). I will take some time to fill out your form and submit it. June
Thank you for your kind invitation to join your team
I will have to decline since I am Catholic which seems to conflict with yoiur “Mentor statement of Faith”. May God bless you always
Yes, being a menitor which bears alot of responsibility. I was a Big Brother in the Los Angeles area for about a year. Then we became foster parents for 10 plus years in the state of Washington and now retired from that. In those years we have come to realize that all kids are not honest to their words or actions. This is caused by their parents doings before birth and after. But I also believe as a person we have a choice given to us by God. Its our decision in which directions we will take. This gives you some information on my background and training I have had. But at this time I have to wait becauses we are in the process of moving from the State of Washington to Texas. The decision that I have to give is based on the princple of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wether you’re a Catholic or of another religion its our rsponsibility to love others and treat them as you love yourself. Remember Jesus was nailed to the cross, but still loves His chosen people and anyone who believes in Him will be saved and loved.
Brad, You are a trooper. I share in your desire to mentor followers of Christ. There are so many who accept and follow, but then have no one to take them under their wing and help them along the way. Then they encounter LIFE and become disheartened. I am amazed at all the reasons fellow believers come up with to say they are not qualified or will not mentor. I know Yeshua must be hurt by so many not willing to step out in faith, willing to feel foolish and underqualified. HE will help us as we help others. I encourage anyone who is in doubt to pull it together and help others know the true love and involvement of the God of the Universe with us tiny people.
This website caught my attention as a new and non-confrontational way for all of us to share and get our help from the Lord and His people who may have received the help that we need. Jesus came into my life at a young age and truly transformed everything that came my way into His way. It has been so powerful that I pray for everyone I meet to have that same help and new life in Christ. That led me to believe I might be able to encourage someone to know Christ, invite Him into their life, and then let Him rewrite every lie with truth as an oingoing process, rather than a one time event. The word of God is powerful, full of life giving instructions, and really has made all this difference for me, my children, marriage, and Christian life. Looking forward to meeting someone soon and sharing the love of Christ Jesus and His life giving power.
Im not at all sure that I’m a good fit for this program, but not because I’m not a mature Christian. But because of my beliefs which are entirely Sola Scriptura. In other words I can only pass on what Gods word alone says, and I will NOT pass along doctrines of men. Examples of what I WON’T pass along are Hermanutics; the immortality of the soul, hell, and pergitory/ limbo as all of these teachings are not found in scripture. ( based upon the Textus Recptivus Codex, and not upon Codex Aleph or Codex C { Latunus } ) Additionally I am a Sabbath keeping Christian, the BIBLICAL sabbath and not the day changed not upon scripture but upon the doctrine of man Sunday. I will NOT teach that any day counts as sanctified, set aside and made wholly as scripture is clear that the Seventh Day sabbath is from creation ( Genisis ) to eternal ( psalms) and was observed by Christians for FOUR HUNDRED YEARS in Pella ( where those who fled Jerusalem in 70 ad went ) after the death of Jesus who is ” the Lord of the Sabbath “. Only Alexandria Egypt, and Rome kept the pagan Sunday during that time period as both cites we’re rife with paganism. Furthermore, I can prove definitively that the Sabbath Seventh Day is as much Gods MARK between He and us as is the MARK of the Beast the sign between Lucifer and those who serve him. In my OPIONION, any supposedly mature Christian who doesn’t keep the biblical Seventh Day sabbath needn’t count themselves mature Christians in the first place, if they have such trouble doing the one thing that’s says ” I love God over all things “. And for your reference, I’ve kept the sabbath for two decades, ten years before I even found a Christian faith that keeps the Seventh day. As you can see, I have several scripturaly sound doctrines that might be unconfortable to others. Additionally, I don’t think anyone BUT a Christian should be mentoring Christians. Your statement says Buddhists might, and if that’s true, count me OUT and OFF your list without delay as I will have no party to your errors. God Bless Stēkō
Andrew, thanks for your note. For the record, NO…Buddhists are NOT allowed to be mentors in our program. (not sure where you saw that. Let me know if I need to cleanse our site of some strange reference). Only Bible believing Christians who are making a real struggle to live their faith can be mentors. I appreciate your zeal in following our Lord. I would only caution you against being prideful about what ordinances you have kept. Matthew 19:20-21 talks about an encounter with Jesus where a young man who was wealthy tried to prove himself to Jesus by saying he had kept all of the commandments. Jesus knew that there was still a part of him that had not been surrendered to God, and it was holding him back. (NIV) Matthew 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” So, let God humble you and correct the areas where you still need to work. And just to reiterate for others who might be reading this post and didn’t catch it earlier… Buddhists are NOT allowed to be mentors in our program. Only Christians are.
It really bothers me when someone uses the NIV version of the Bible as many teachings in the NIV have been changed such as God’s teachings in Ez.13:18-22 about teaching the rapture. He is against it. But in the NIV it has been changed to read as birds flying. I cannot in good conscience teach or mentor anyone using a NIV. I also do not observe a particular day as the sabbath because Christ became our sabbath and therefore everyday should be kept holy as long as you walk with God. All of us fall short of the glory of God but we should all do our best to walk with God everyday not just one or two days a week. I really have a hard time with those who think they are learned trying to talk above a new learners understanding. I am a plain talker. I try my best not to confuse a learner that is not capable of meat yet. You have to be gentle with them in the beginning. Many people who have been taught incorrectly are shocked by many things in the Bible I have to say I was, but now I am excited at the learning God let’s me receive. I am truly blessed and I thank God everyday for opening my eyes and ears.:-)
I’m curious. What translation do you use? I looked up your reference to EZ 13:18-22 and read several translations in parallel, and the meaning is the same across all of them. That’s the whole point of translations…different words meaning the same thing, all inspired. The NLT and MSG are pretty loose in their language, but if you get past the use of contemporary language, with a goal of understanding, the meaning is the same. I take issue with the NWT (new world translation, used by Jehovahs Witnesses use it), because the translators intentionally re-wrote many references to Jesus so that he is portrayed as NOT divine, no God). I have not found the NIV to deviate in terms of essential doctrine in any way.
The state of our country, the moral decay of our people, & the evil that is permeating every area of our lives is breaking my heart. I was raised by Christian parents & in Church every time the doors were open. I’ve always had a desire to know more & grow in the Lord. I’ve taught SS class for many years & have been blessed to learn the most through the study. I’ve read several versions of the Bible & have learned from all of them; God reveals himself in each. I don’t know that I’m qualified to mentor but would be humbled to try.