Discipleship VS. Mentorship
Mentorship + Faith
= Discipleship
Discipleship and Mentorship are not the same. You can be mentored without ever being discipled. The key distinction lies in the spiritual component of discipleship. While mentorship focuses on personal growth, discipleship encompasses everything mentorship offers but with the intentional pursuit of Jesus Christ. If you are becoming a better person, a better man or woman, a better employee, or even a better parent, but are not growing as a follower of Christ, you are being mentored, not discipled.
At Big Ministry, our Mentors/Volunteers are trained to be
a true disciple-maker that prioritizes the authority of Scripture over personal opinions, saying “The Bible says” far more than “I think.” Authentic discipleship is firmly rooted in Scripture and it's transformative power.
The Role Of Faith-Based Mentorship
Being a faith-based mentor in the life of a child is like being a coach guiding them through life.
Legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said:
“A good coach can change a game.
A great coach can change a life.”
In the Christian life, the closest equivalent to coaching is discipleship.
As Christians, our primary call is to be disciples of Jesus Christ. However, we grow exponentially in our relationship with Him through personal discipleship—by walking with and learning from those who are further along in their faith journey. After all, discipleship was Jesus’ strategy. He spent years teaching, correcting, coaching, mentoring, praying for, and leading a group of twelve young men as they followed Him. These 12 disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit, carried Christ’s message to the world with such effectiveness that over 2,000 years later, we are still learning from their example. That is the power of discipleship!
Yet, discipleship has lost its appeal to many. It’s not quick. It’s not glamorous. It’s hard work, requiring time, intentionality, sacrifice, and a willingness to engage deeply with imperfect people. And as we know, that can get messy. Because of its challenges, slow results, and other factors, some believers have abandoned the desire to be discipled altogether.
Grant Skeldon put it so boldly:
“The church doesn’t have a millennial problem;
it has a discipleship problem.”
Adapted from "Holy Habits" by Noah Herrin
Real Relationships Take Time
Faith-based Mentorship (Discipleship) is slow, messy, and difficult to measure but it was Jesus’ strategy for growth, and it remains the most effective method.
We all need to be discipled.
And this is why at BiG Ministry we strive to combine Mentorship and Faith to create effective Discipleship Program in the lives of children.