Investing in the Right People

We pastors plan many things. We plan our preaching. We plan meetings and meeting schedules. We plan outreach, fellowship, and community events. Many of us plan our reading and study schedules for the year. But as a new year approaches, I wonder how many of us are strategically planning to invest in someone.

I think it is safe to say that the most meaningful ministries I have ever been involved with have been mentoring and individual discipleship. In the context of these relationships, God does some wonderfully profound and powerful things. He knits together hearts as each person opens themselves up to another for the purpose of spiritual friendship, guidance, and formation. He provides healing for hurts, and He brings clarity and understanding into times of confusion.

The most difficult part of these relationships is getting started. As a younger man, I always struggled when a well-meaning authority figure challenged me to seek out an older person to disciple me. It just felt odd. I wondered whom I should approach and how I should approach him. I didn’t want to be a bother.

Honestly, I never had much success at it. I would ask, but all of my attempts to secure a mentor all fell apart, whether quickly or slowly, and I always felt disappointed in the results.

What was the problem? I think one of the problems was this: The initiation of the mentoring or discipleship relationship should not fall to the younger person. I wonder what would happen if we older Christians took the initiative to relationally invest in others. Why not identify one or two people to mentor this year? Choose people in whom you see a great desire to serve Christ and with whom you would like to build a more meaningful relationship. Invite them into your life, and invest in their spiritual success.