Introduction to Biblical Mentoring at Word Of Hope Ministries

Word Of Hope Ministries provides Biblical Counseling and Mentoring, Coaching, Consulting and Mentor Training. We are a Biblical Counseling and discipleship ministry. We believe that the Bible speaks to whatever problem anyone may have. We do not offer licensed or medical care, but it is instead a form of pastoral care, or soulcare, which is a form of deep discipleship. We disciple our clients through their struggles and we disciple trainees to help others to work through their struggles. We do this by offering Biblical Counseling as well as Biblical Mentor Training.

I believe that Biblical Counselors are uniquely positioned to address the health of intergenerational relationships within the body of Christ. As I realized that The Lord was leading me to become passionate about mentoring and counseling the younger generations, I started to look for a training program that I could refer women to - something less intense than a counselor training program, but deeper than the women’s mentoring books on the market which seemed to be lacking the Biblical principles that are crucial for deep discipleship and helping women with their hurts, struggles, and strongholds. I could not find such a mentor training. So – God led me to shift my ministry from only counseling to counseling, writing training materials, and equipping.

As a Biblical Counselor, I work with women and girls of all ages. As I counsel, and during the years I was a Women’s Ministry Director, I started noticing something that bothered me and I couldn’t shake it.

I noticed that as I served females, the older women were struggling to fulfill their calling to teach the younger women. I can’t back that up with statistics, but I can back that up with experience and by observation. The older women say that they feel as if they have little to offer, or that they do not feel equipped to mentor. It often boils down to insecurity.

And the younger women are struggling to be mentored by older women. They cite various reasons for the struggle, but the most common thing I hear is that they aren’t sure how to reach out to the older women. They feel awkward approaching them, and they worry that the older women won’t receive them for one reason or another. It often boils down to insecurity.

Mentoring IS a calling, for both women and men. At this point, Word Of Hope Ministries serves women and girls, but we have a vision and goal for having the same kind of counseling and mentor training by men and for men, too. Because I deal primarily in girl-world right now, I am targeting this towards women. But men, you are called to similar and you also may have women in your lives that need to be encouraged towards intergenerational relationships that will benefit the sanctification process.

Insecurity is the common underlying reason that this kind of mentoring isn’t happening. So as I have pondered this, and as I have continued to counsel and equip women, I am convinced that us women, both older and younger need to get past our insecurity and start to fulfill this calling. The way that we do that is to become equipped.

This equipping is part of the purpose of the Biblical Mentor Training at Word Of Hope Ministries. The heartbeat of this ministry is the concept of caring for one-another through intergenerational relationships.

Titus 2:3-5 ~ "3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”

So I wonder – where lies the responsibility for the struggle for women to fulfill their Titus 2 calling? Is it on the older women for not availing themselves to the younger, or on the younger for not seeking out the older? I think that it’s a little of both.

Who am I referring to when I say “older women”? I am referring to YOU. I am also referring to those who are older than you either chronologically (or possibly also in spiritual maturity in some circumstances). When I refer to “younger women” I am also referring to YOU. I am also referring to those who are younger than you either chronologically (or possibly also in spiritual maturity in some circumstances). We are ALL both the “older woman” and the “younger woman”.

This observation about relationships between the generations among women in the body of Christ in our current culture has evolved in to a full blown ministry for me. When I certified as a Biblical Counselor, I had no intention of doing anything but counsel. God has grown me up as a Counselor, expanded my burden and my vision to the possibilities of fulfilling a need for the older and younger women in the Spirit of Titus 2:3-5.

Thus the term “Biblical Mentor”. In my training program at www.biblicalmentor.com, women are trained and equipped to teach (mentor) others in a manner that is deeper than what so many other mentoring programs for women offer. Biblical Mentoring is a blend of mentoring with some basic Biblical Counseling tools to use in mentoring others. In this way, we are different from other training programs that I have come across.

The term “mentor” comes with some baggage. It is a catch-phrase in our current culture. It insinuates that someone must be confident, secure, and see themselves as having achieved something higher than what their mentee has achieved. When I coined the term “Biblical Mentor”, I wanted to begin to present a more Biblical model for mentoring. Biblical Mentoring is not about the mentor or any self-confidence, security, or achievements they have obtained. Instead, it is about Jesus Christ and what He has done in the hearts and lives of His servants.

Becoming equipped to mentor is Biblical (call it “discipleship” instead for a more familiar term.) In fact, all believers are called to this. Consider it a form of “one-another ministry” ~ a ministry done life on life, believer to believer, a more mature Christian (the mentor) walking alongside someone who can learn from them and grow in their own faith. Ideally, that person (the mentee) will then mentor (disciple) another. Ministry should multiply!

Our first level Biblical Mentor Training is a 13 session course. There is a workbook for homework, and a live teaching for each corresponding lesson. These live teachings are also available in an online format for those who wish to take the course on their own, which is great for those who do not live local to the ministry. The videos are also useful for those who may be absent for a session and do not want to fall behind.

We cover quite a bit of ground in the course. Each week is divided in to 4 sections:
*A “life on life” section, focusing on a specific topic related to mentoring.
*A “Word of hope” section, which presents a struggle common to women and how to apply Biblical Truth to that problem. Lay-counseling tools are taught.
*Examples of Biblical Mentors in Scripture, unpacked.
*A one-another verse, unpacked.

Our second level Biblical Mentor Training is an individualized curriculum that offers deeper study of Biblical Counseling and Mentoring, self-paced, as the trainee enters in to a mentorship with us for the duration of her training.

I challenge each of you to consider how you are doing as a Titus 2 woman. In your sphere of influence, are you sharing the Gospel not only for salvation, but also for sanctification by walking alongside someone as a mentor? If not, why not? If so, do you feel that you would benefit from learning more about the deeper issues common to women and how to apply the Gospel and think Biblically about those issues? Biblical Mentoring is a great opportunity for you to become further equipped.

Come back to this blog often ~ you will find more Titus 2 challenges and further equipping on a variety of topics here ongoing. You can learn more about Word Of Hope Biblical Mentoring at our website, www.biblicalmentor.com. Don’t hesitate to contact Word Of Hope Ministries if we can serve you in any way!

Ellen Castillo, Biblical Counselor and Mentor Trainer
www.wordofhopeministries.com