Finishing Well: The Transforming Power of a Mentor

By: Tim Nelson

Mentoring Program Director

Cornerstone Conference IPHC

The School of Ministry and the Ministerial Mentoring Program joined efforts in October to sponsor an impactful day of training, focused on mentoring. Dr. Richard Clinton, who leads the Clinton Leadership 2.0 ministry, provided an exceptional day of training and development, emphasizing the importance and necessity of mentors in a leader's life. Dr. Clinton and his father, Dr. Robert Clinton, began researching mentoring in the mid-1980s. They asked questions like: "How does God form a leader? How does God make a leader? How does God develop a leader?" Their research took them to both biographical and historical data about leaders over a lifetime, discovering how God worked in their lives and how God developed them.

Richard said, "One of the things that my dad noticed first was that every leader who made it to the end and was doing good and finishing well at the end, all of them had between three and fifteen significant mentors along the way." Looking at more than 200+ cases, these leaders credited the mentors in their stories for enabling them to make it through the challenges of life and ministry. Having mentors enabled these leaders to survive and thrive. A significant discovery from this research, according to Dr. Clinton, was that "this mentoring thing is a little bit more than just a good idea."

Having mentors in one's life is critical to "make it through the challenges of life and ministry." A twelve-year study conducted among pastors, according to Dr. Clinton, indicated that "right when many were about ready to quit, a key mentor came alongside and helped them navigate whatever it was they were going through."

So this mentoring thing is more than just a good idea; it is vital for the mentee and for the mentor. And that is why we need to keep encouraging this essential ministry, and according to Dr. Clinton, "consider how to get more people involved in receiving mentoring, and make more people effective at mentoring."

Without question, mentoring is vital in the church and in the conference because it promotes spiritual and personal growth, helps build community, and ensures the continuity of faith across generations. Mentors provide guidance and share lived experiences to strengthen faith, offer practical wisdom for life's challenges, and equip individuals to be more effective in their service to God, the church, and the conference.

If you have interest or questions about the mentoring program, contact Tim Nelson, our Mentoring Program Director, by calling 336-970-7119.