Bridge Ministry
“Interested in mentoring Christian college students at Ashland University?”
WHO: College students and Adult mentors meeting one-on-one for the purpose of Christian Spiritual Formation.
WHAT: A relational discipleship process.
WHERE: To be determined by the student and mentor based upon the availability and flexibility of their schedules.*
WHEN: Weekly meetings are expected.*
*given the expansive changes in technology, these meetings may also take place in a variety of different cyber-settings. These include chat-rooms; video conferencing; Skype; IM; etc. Just as historical spiritual-formation often took place through letters we expect these technology advancements will be utilized for effective community and communication in these areas. This also offers the potential of life-long relationships between both parties.
HOW: Spiritual formation differs slightly from small group discipleship in that it is form-fitted to the student and their developmental needs. Individual or group discipleship often has a formal curriculum. However, in the case of formation we are following a more classical “spiritual director” format.
The mentor as a “spiritual director” is less interested in impressing a curriculum into a student than surfacing what the Holy Spirit is already doing in the student’s life in terms of revelation, convictions, calling, etc. Thus the mentor is committed to prayer, reflection, and is viewed as a Biblical wisdom resource. Although curriculum may be used it should be done so only after surfacing what the Holy Spirit is doing in the student’s life and applying the correct materials to what God is doing in their spirit.
WHY: University students are building their first tier of life-coaches while in college. Having left the direct supervision of their parents and pastors, they are looking for new relationships that fulfill that void in their lives. The center for religious life seeks to provide a relational platform for potential mentors and mentorees to find one another and explore a spiritual formation relationship.
Application process for a mentor:
1. Submit a brief biographical statement about who you are, what you are passionate about, denominational affiliation, and the background of your life experience. This will be used for students to look-over in determining which potential mentor’s profile best aligns with their needs. [For example: a business major may be interested in how to be a Christian businessman or a literature major may be more interested in how to be a Christian writer than perhaps an accountant] A simple format for this information may be found at the end of this letter.
2. A background check may be required for any potential mentor outside of Ashland University and Seminary employment. [For example: local pastors; non-profits; church-members; etc] In addition if you are under the age of 25 you will need to be approved as a mentor by Aaron Wardle [Assistant Dean of AU Center of Religious Life] via an interview.
3. There may be a training seminar and / or some social mixers with students that will greatly enhance this process. If your application is accepted you will be informed when and where these activities will take place.
Obligations and Expectations for a mentor:
1. The mentor / mentoree relationship will be gender exclusive [i.e., male to male or female to female. There are no exceptions to this rule].
2. The mentor will meet with the student in regular time slots. We are aiming at weekly meetings, but this is flexible.
3. The mentor will pray for the student. While this sounds obvious, in spiritual formation this is intrinsic to the process. The mentor is searching for discernment from God about what the Holy Spirit is doing in this student’s life.
4. The mentor will offer guidance to the student from the Bible, their reflections in prayer; their life experience, and secondary resources they have gathered through life.
5. The mentor will form a safe relationship with the student for them to explore things like calling, doubt, confession, etc.
6. The mentor will help the student implement the changes that Christ is forming in their spirit by helping to create practical applications they can engage.
If interested please contact Jillian Van Duyne, who is in charge of recruitment of mentors, atjillianvanduyne@gmail.com. You may also contact Quinn Wright, intern for GROW discipleship ministry’s small groups. He is an Ashland Seminary student working in the Center for Religious life. qwright@ashland.edu
For help in mentoring techniques, journaling, acquiring resources please contact David Sherwood at dsherwood@5stones.org who is acting as primary liaison for spiritual formation in the Center for Religious Life.
Application deadline is August 17th 2009
Simple Application Format
Full Name:
Telephone Number: (cell/home)
Address:
E-mail:
Gender:
Denominational Affiliation:
Biographical Information (who you are, what you are passionate about, the background of your life experience, how you came to know Christ):
