What is New Breed Mentoring?
In a nutshell:
Men connecting with men; doing life together; walking with Jesus.
New Breed Mentoring is an organic and authentic, process designed to provide men with a safe place to share their story while doing life and developing a relationship with other men, ultimately helping them grow closer in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
What are the qualifications for being a New Breed mentor?
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A solid testimony of salvation because of the work Jesus Christ did on the cross for all of us.
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A willingness to do life with another man while both being held accountable in their relationship to God.
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Working within the limits of their own life experience and skills, helping another man find answers to his life’s questions and spiritual growth.
What are some characteristics of being a New Breed mentor?
Mentors don’t need to have all the answers. But we believe these are some characteristics of a good mentor:
Humble Real Compassionate Giving Available Committed Good Listener
What are the expectations of being a New Breed mentor?
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Mentors/Mentees should meet on a regular basis at a location and time agreed upon as they begin their walk together. (We recommend one hour each week or bi-weekly in person)
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Basics for each meeting should include prayer, spiritual evaluation, unpacking your story, and discussion of study materials. (Recommendations in Tools section)
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New Breed Mentoring is not necessarily a discipleship or accountability process. We believe these are bi products of a growing relationship with another man, centred on our relationship with Christ.
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New Breed Mentoring is an environment to build relationships, encourage spiritual growth and ultimately help another man grow to be a mentor himself.
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Mentors need to evaluate their time together to see how teachable a mentee is. Mentors need to show dignity and respect but not all mentoring situations are compatible.
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Finally, mentors need to be familiar with the guiding values of New Breed Ministries which are:
Engage: connecting with men at real, transparent and authentic levels to encourage the development of relationships
Encourage: walk with other men through good times and hard times while integrating the love of Jesus Christ.
Equip: to help men develop skills and knowledge to impact other men, their families, churches and communities.
Empower: empowering men with the tools and skills to duplicate the message of Christ and breathe life into others.
What are some essential elements of New Breed Mentoring?
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Sharing your story; there is amazing power in every person’s story. Giving a man a safe place to share his story while being vulnerable with yours will lead to authentic relationships.
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Due to the organic and authentic nature of New Breed Mentoring we suggest using one simple question to break the ice each session. “What is God doing in your life this week? This question will lead to more in depth conversation ultimately leading to spiritual maturity.
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Pray for each other. Prayer is essential for helping another man know his purpose and identity in Christ. It is essential to Christian growth and opens the door for deeper intimacy in the mentor/mentee relationship.
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Pay it forward. Essentially as a mentor you are encouraging and training another man to be a mentor. While this does not set the agenda for mentoring our prayer that it is a byproduct of time invested in mentoring
What are some keys to success with New Breed Mentoring?
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Consistency: meeting with your mentee on a regular basis determined by both is essential to a successful outcome.
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Boundaries: your time is valuable make sure both are honoring the time committed.
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Be authentic and real with each other
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Remember “one size” does not fit all and sometimes personalities collide. Make sure you and your mentee are good fit from the start.
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Listen effectively
What are some tools I can use to become a more effective mentor?
We live in a day in age where there is no shortage of books and other resources to guide in the process of mentoring. Here are some we recommend:
The Four E’s of Effective Mentoring by Kerry Hogan; this is a short book on how God reveled to me the importance of a real, organic and authentic approach to mentoring.
The Purple Book: Biblical Foundations for Building Strong Disciples; the ultimate goal of New Breed Mentoring is to help men grow in their relationship to our Savior Jesus Christ. Your time as a mentor may largely focus on the foundational elements of building that relationship. The Purple Book is a Bible study guide designed to help believers know and apply the essential beliefs of Christianity.
The Cure by John Lynch is a compelling work to help us understand the difference in “pleasing” God or “trusting” God. This book also ask the question, “what if God isn’t who you think He is and what if you’re not either?”
Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men, by Steve Mansfield. In this book Steve expresses his belief that the Western culture is in a crisis of manliness, and he issues a trumpet call of manliness for our current times.