What is Christian Mentoring?
At Northern Rivers Lighthouse our mentoring uses the MEQ (Mentor Equipping) model. This mentoring is a relational ministry in which one person empowers another with God given resources. The mentor offers encouragement, support, skills and resources so that the mentoree can grow as a person walking with Christ. The goal of mentoring is to help the mentoree reach their God-given potential as a person and as a skilled leader1.
What is Pastoral Supervision?
The Association for Pastoral Supervision and Education in the UK defines Pastoral Supervision as:
a regular, planned, intentional and boundaried space in which a practitioner skilled in supervision (the supervisor) meets with one or more other practitioners (the supervisees) to look together at the supervisees’ practice
a relationship characterised by trust, respect, confidentiality, support and openness that gives the supervisee freedom and safety to explore the issues arising in their work
spiritually/theologically informed – works within a framework of spiritual/theological understanding in dialogue with the supervisee’s world view and role
psychologically informed – draws on relevant psychological theory and insight to illuminate intra-personal and inter-personal dynamics
contextually sensitive– pays attention to the particularities of setting, culture and world-view
praxis based– focuses on a report of work and /or issues that arise in and from the supervisee’s practice
a way of growing in vocational identity, role competence, self-awareness, spiritual/theological reflection, quality of presence, accountability, response to challenge, mutual learning
attentive to issues of fitness to practice, skill development, management of boundaries, professional identity and the impact of the work upon all concerned parties.
The Australasian Association of Supervision states that supervision is an opportunity for the supervisee to reflect on their practice to gain a broader perspective, opening up a space in which to discover possibilities for personal and professional growth.
At Northern Rivers Lighthouse we seek to support supervisees as they critically reflect in a safe and confidential space on who they are in Christ and what that looks like in their professional practice – where it aligns and potentially clashes. We seek to have God at the centre of this process because it is He who grows us in Christ’s likeness through the Holy Spirit.
Why consider mentoring and/or supervision?
The challenges that Christians in ministry and education (and many other professions) face today are many and varied. Acute and chronic stress, burnout, being overworked, feeling out of your depth and ill-equipped, exhausted, lonely, disconnected from God, possibly feeling unsure who to trust or maybe silently struggling in sin, are all examples that we can give.
However, having an intentional, interpersonal, safe and regular one-to-one relationship (like mentoring and supervision) is a proven tool to help you navigate these challenges for the long term as you seek to serve our King Jesus.
This blog post gives a helpful outline of Christian Mentoring – The Importance of Mentoring.
Here is a great article about Pastoral Supervision in a ministry context (the article calls it Ministry Supervision) – ‘Ministry Supervision’ – What it is and why your ministry needs it.
Here is a helpful article about pastoral supervision in an education context – If it’s not Super, it’s not Supervision.
What might a typical session look like?
| Pastoral Supervision (1 Hour) |
| Aim Put simply, pastoral supervision seeks to help the supervisee, in a safe and contracted space, to deeply consider what they believe and how they are or aren’t living out that belief. |
| Check-in About 5 minutes. This allows us to touch base and briefly review the supervisee’s life since we last met. |
| Introduce focus topic and prayer A few minutes. Supervisee introduces the general issue/objective/experience/ topic for the session. We give this to God in prayer asking for God’s wisdom and guidance as we seek to unpack it and critically reflect on it together. |
| Consolidate the focus and reflect on it together Roughly 45 minutes. Initially we will press into the issue/objective/experience/ topic to ensure the supervisee has a clear focus to critically reflect on and give guidance in this time of deeper reflection together. Underpinning this time will be ‘The Three-Legged Stool of Supervision’ with Restorative, Formative and Normative functions. Restorative – seeks to support the supervisee. Formative – seeks to help the supervisee grow. Normative – seeks to help the supervisee consider any ethical, managerial and boundary issues. |
| Review session About 5 minutes. Allows for a final check-in. How was the session? Aims going forward, etc. |
| Finishing up the session and prayer About 5 minutes. Allows for any final questions or thought, and finishes in prayer focusing on the supervisee and what has flowed out of the session together. There may also be a brief discussion about the next session together. |
| Mentoring (1.5 hour session or 2 hour session) |
| Aim Mentoring is a relational ministry in which one person empowers another with encouragement, support, skills and resources so that the mentoree can grow as a person walking with Christ. The goal of mentoring is to help the mentoree reach their God-given potential as a person and as a skilled leader. |
| Pastoral check-in 10 to 20 minutes. Start the time together in prayer. Starting with a pastoral check-in allows for some time to reflect on how life has been for the mentoree since we last met. |
| Accountabilities 5 to 15 minutes. This allows for time to touch base on particular areas of accountability for the mentoree and give support and encouragement towards them. |
| Growth based on objectives, goals, exercises and action points. 20 to 30 minutes. This time is given to particular objectives and aims of the mentoree. This allows time to step through each objective with any discussion, action points, resources or exercises to investigate. |
| Reflective Supervision About 45 minutes. The same as is outlined above for a supervision session. |
| Review session About 5 minutes. Allows for a final check-in. How was the session? Aims going forward, etc. |
| Finishing up the session and prayer About 5 minutes. Allows for any final questions or thought, and finishes in prayer focusing on the mentoree and what has flowed out of the session together. There may also be a brief discussion about the next session together. |
What costs are involved in mentoring, pastoral supervision and consultancy with Northern Rivers Lighthouse?
Please contact each of us directly via our profiles. We are more than happy to share the costs and see if we can work together.