I have held off on doing this for quite awhile but I think now is the time. I would like to introduce you to a ministry that I have been a part of since day 1 called Christian Mentoring. This is an online ministry that is available to mentor anyone who needs wise, Biblically based words for direction, insight or simple reassurance for whatever issue you are facing.
This ministry was started by a good friend of mine named Mark and he truly is a mentor. It was started, not to inflate anyone’s ego or to make anyone rich, but because this is Mark’s heart, and it’s an area where God has truly gifted him to minister. The people who are mentored by this ministry are dealing with a variety of issues, such as marriage problems, relationship problems, problems with their children’s behavior, repurcussions of divorce and many other types of issues. All mentoring occurs anonymously and via e-mail and, as a bonus, it’s free. This gives people the opportunity to seek wise counsel with a Biblical perspective, while maintaining complete privacy.
I have known Mark for at least 10 years, maybe closer to 12 years…….that’s hard to believe! One thing about him is that he is consistent, he is grounded in the Word, and one of the most unselfish people I have ever known. He is a leader in his church and people all the time go to him for advice and direction.
One day, back in 2000, he approached me with this idea and said he wanted to do a website. He was asking if I would help him and honestly, my response was, sure we can do any kind of website you want to do. What I was afraid to admit at that time was I didn’t fully comprehend what he was after and I knew I didn’t know what mentoring was. (I have come a long ways in the past 5 years.) What I did know at that time is that this is something that had been growing in Mark’s heart for quite awhile before he approached me and it was something he was not taking lightly.
So, we began and over time, we have tweaked things and adjusted things and we are constantly blown away by seeing God’s hand in all of this. God is still doing great things through this ministry. Our attitude has always been ‘Let’s see where God takes it.’ and He is continuing to use this ministry for His glory.
We are a 501c-3 corporation, so all gifts are tax-deductible, however we never imply that payment is needed for our services. We get an occassional donation, which is nice, but that’s not the point of what we are doing. All donations are used to cover the expenses of the cost of the domain name and hosting. We have disscussed new ways we could do ministry if we did have more money on hand but that is not our focus. All work done within this ministry is on a voluntary basis, both on the mentor side and the technical side. Mary has done a great job, as usual, with the design of the website. At our site, you will also find the newsletter archive, which is full of articles on various relevant topics, written by several writers.
We have at least 1 female mentor, so if you are a woman and want to interact with a woman, we can do that. Everything is confidential and everything is at your pace. The mentor will respond usually within a few hours and will not pester you to hurry up. If you respond right away, we are here and if you take 2 weeks, we are still here. We are here for you, so you set the pace. Many neat relationships have been established and ocassionally, after someone’s issue is resolved, they return later for help with another issue. Some issues are heavy and involved but sometimes, we simply act as a sounding board. For instance, someone might email and mention that they feel God is leading them a certain direction and they just want reassurance, so it’s a quick interaction.
So, please go check out Christian Mentoring and refer us to anyone who you feel might benefit from this type of ministry.
One final note, we have made an attempt to network with churches and offer our services through various churches, maybe as a link on a church website or other ways. Lately, it has clicked in my mind (I admit, I’m slow at times!) that I am a part of some kind of network among churches right here. So, if you would like to partner with us and help promote this ministry, either through your church website, or otherwise, please email me or comment here and let’s discuss it.