Sojourners 1:1 (Continued)

​

The Role of Walking Partner (Mentor):  None of us feel qualified to be a mentor, yet ALL of us are mentoring and speaking truth into many women & girls in our lives.  A mentor is NOT a life expert who dispenses advice or “fixes” problems.  For these purposes, a mentor is someone who can listen to the Spirit, can speak truth, and can help point their fellow sister to Jesus.  Very simply, it’s someone willing to listen and share.   They also do not need to be older than their walking partner.  

​

We would love for you to sign up to be a mentor!  These women would need to have a LH ministry application on file, agree with LH’s statement of faith, & agree to personal leadership commitments (available upon request).  There will also be a short training to help equip these women.

​​

​​​

The Role of Walking Partner:  The walking partner is someone who would like to have an intentional friendship with someone who’s a little further along in the process of walking with Jesus, either in general, or in a specific area of life that she’s encountering.  Her role will also be to encourage, bless, and point her fellow Sojourner to Jesus as well.     

   

​​​

How Sojourners are “Matched”--Two Ways

1.  On Your Own:  The first way this can happen is to simply pray about and ask someone to partner with you.  We would suggest going through the attached “Preferences” sheet together, to make sure you’re on the same page. 

2.  Through Living Hope:  Another way a Sojourner match can happen is by signing up online (and filling out the Sojourner 1:1 Preferences form).  We would use this form as a starting point and then find out more about what season a woman is in & what she’s looking for, and then prayerfully talk to one or more mentoring women to see who might be a good match.  For example, someone may be looking for parenting or marriage wisdom or discipleship beyond the basics of faith.  

​​​​

What Talking or Meeting Together Looks Like:  The preferences form will help narrow this down, but it will look differently for each pair depending on their availability, areas of interest, and such.  For some women, it might mean meeting in person every other week for 6 months and then checking-in to see where they are at.  For others, it might mean a weekly phone call at a set time.  As far as structure, we do suggest some type, whether it’s going through a study together on a specific topic, or just sharing from the Word and praying together.  We can provide suggestions for resources.

​​

“Starting the Match”
We suggest that Sojourners go through the preference sheet together, using it as a starting point to set up what your meeting times will look like and what structures you will have. Before ending your first conversation, make sure to schedule your next chat or check-in. 

​​​

“Closing the Match”
A natural part of the mentoring journey is that seasons in life change and needs change.  When this happens, it important to have an open and honest conversation with your match about this rather than simply ending contact.

To make this process easier, it’s helpful to normalize that idea of closing a match from the very beginning and revisit it periodically.  The 3-month and 6-month milestones are good opportunities to gently remind each other that it’s normal for mentoring seasons to conclude at some point and to ask each other where each of you are at.  Once you agree that it’s time to end the mentoring season, please let us know.

​​

​​

​​

​​

​​

​​

​​

​​