Most people who become followers of Jesus receive little or no instruction in what it means to become a follower of Jesus.

In a Christian context, mentoring is often referred to as 'man to man' or 'woman to woman'. It is a one on one teaching program to help a new believer to understand the basics with specific reference to their particular situation. The basics of the new life can also be taught in small groups or in a classroom situation. While much can be taught in a small group, one on one mentoring ensures the new believer is able to bring up any individual issues that he or she has that would be inappropriate to discuss in a group setting.

In an Awakening

In the context of an awakening, once things really get moving, there may not be enough people to mentor all the new believers. While it is important to spend at least some time with each new believer, much of what is discussed here may need to move into the small groups. There will be instances where people will need some one on one help. These will need to be scheduled and handled as time and resources permit.

For new believers

If you are a new follower of Jesus, it is a good idea to find a mentor to help you grow in this new life. If you can't find a mentor, at least find a small group such as a Bible Study group, connect group or micro church where you can get to know everyone and discuss issues. Joining a traditional church that has no small groups or mentors will usually result in your spiritual starvation.

For Mentors

This section is aimed specifically at those doing the mentoring. If you lead someone to Jesus, they are a newborn in Jesus and you are responsible to see they learn sufficient to be able to look after themselves. Once they can look after themselves and learn on their own, they are disciples. The ultimate aim is for everyone who chooses to follow Jesus to become a multiplying disciple, that is, someone who can also pass on everything they have learned to others.

NOTE: Not everyone who accepts Jesus will want to become a disciple. If they do, great. If not, encourage them and pray for them but never force them. God has a unique plan for each individual but they must decide for themselves whether they want to be involved. There is a cost involved. Many will not want to pay the cost. The parable of the sower is relevant here. (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23) Some have no root and just wither and die. Some allow the world and its values to choke their decision. Some will take root and produce much fruit. (When you are talking to people about Jesus, you should make them aware of the cost of discipleship, as well as the benefits, before they make a decision.)

Within the context of an awakening, there will be a significantly higher proportion of those who accept Jesus going on to become disciples.

The new believer must be taught that they become a follower of Jesus by repenting. Unfortunately, many preach the message of Jesus without indicating the cost. This leads to people accepting Jesus as saviour by saying the sinners prayer only. They make no commitment to repentance because nothing was said about it. They have no idea that Jesus is now their Lord and that their life must change. If you find yourself mentoring such a person, you will need to begin with the reality of repentance. Don't be too negative. Talk about the positive aspects such as the joy, peace and guidance that the Holy Spirit can bring to those who commit to doing what Jesus wants. You will, however, have to mention that those refuse to repent are not actually saved.

(NOTE: If you have not repented and turned your life around, you are unqualified to help someone else to do so.) The only real measure of repentance is how well the fruit of the Spirit is growing in your life. NOTE: The gifts of the Spirit, speaking in tongues, prophecy, miracles, healing, etc. are NOT an indication of spiritual growth. The gifts can be counterfeited by the devil. The fruit of the Spirit cannot be counterfeited.

Because this is a major change, you should be reading and studying God's Word, The Bible and also depend on guidance from the Holy Spirit. The most important thing to do is emphasise the new things the disciple needs to do, but not too quickly. As the new disciple begins to read God's Word and pray, he or she will begin to see what needs to change. Encourage them in their changes and also encourage them to trust in God to help them through the changes.

Suggested Plan

So where do we begin? There is no fixed order but daily devotions is a good place to start. Most people spend 30 to 60 minutes on daily devotions, but someone just starting should only spend 5 to 10 minutes. Start with the New Testament readings only. Pick a passage of the Bible and go through the SOAP process with your disciple. Share what you found with each other. Get them to begin doing this on their own and go through what they found at your next few mentoring sessions. Don't move onto other things too quickly.

Once you are established in daily devotions, move on to Scripture Memory. Even though iPhones and iPads can have 50 different versions of the Bible in them, it is still good to learn some key verses. The verses that you learn are with you 24/7, even when your iPhone battery is flat.

A good plan is to learn one verse a week. Encourage them to not move on till they have mastered the verse. Also, it is important to regularly review all verses learned. It is far more important for them to have 100 verses thoroughly memorised that to have 10,000 verses that they really are only vaguely aware of.

Once they are grounded in Daily Devotions, you should also start looking at Evangelism. Not everyone is called to be an evangelist, but everyone has friends and acquaintances they could talk to about Jesus. Many won't want to know but others, especially during a revival or an awakening or if they have seen a change in your disciple's life, will want to know what it is all about.

Once they lead someone else to Jesus, then they can mentor their new believer as you have been mentoring them. They may need a bit of help to do this.

In the same way as parents are responsible for their children until they can look after themselves, you should mentor your new disciples till they can look after themselves. In the case of awakening, where much of this has moved to small groups, it is still important to see that your new disciple is actually growing in the small group. Unlike parents, mentors are not legally bound to look after new disciples and should only do so with those who agree to be mentored. Once a disciple has learned the basics, they may no longer need a mentor and your job as mentor is ended. However, those who want to really move powerfully can benefit from further mentoring. In this case, they need a specialist mentor. If they want to be a leader, they need mentoring from a successful leader. All believers need to continue learning but most can learn sufficiently in their small groups.

One final note: God is interested in every area of our lives. This includes our social lives. Mentors should be able to be involved in, or even organise, social events so you can have fun together. New believers need to understand that being a follower of Jesus is not just about the activities discussed in this web site but in every area of their lives.