Anyone who has ever been a mentor or had a mentor always defines it as a "unique and unforgettable experience.  The mentoring relationship in Lifesteps Training is a non-negotiable key element.  Each participant is paired up with her own mentor.   It has a biblical basis as is found in Titus 2:3-4, as well as in the lives of Moses and Joshua; Naomi and Ruth; Paul and Timothy; and Jesus and the 12 disciples.

            The mentors in Lifesteps Training are trained volunteers who make a commitment to fulfill the responsibilities of a mentor as specified by the local ministry.  She willingly submits to reference and background checks and is open to ongoing training.  Because of the nature of the program each mentor is to be a Christian woman.  She walks alongside the participant in her journey, serving as a role model, a good listener, a resource person, and an evaluator.  Perhaps her most important responsibility is to be a "pray-er" as she models the importance of prayer not only for the participant but also for family members or close friends.

            Mentors commit to contact the participant at least once a week for the length of the program.  Weekly meetings can be done in person and/or over the phone.  During these meetings, mentors and mereas will review goals and potential obstacles.  Weekly report forms will then be submitted to the mentor coordinator.  Mentors are also encouraged to attend monthly mentor meetings.  The purpose of these meetings is for mentors to get together with other mentors to encourage and prayer for one another.

 Our goal is that the mentoring relationship will have grown and will continue with follow-up contacts as the participant goes through the transitional period following graduation.  The mentor and participant may choose to remain friends even after the mentoring relationship is terminated.

            Certainly mentors do not posses any magical powers and they are not fairy godmothers, but they do facilitate a participants move to self-sufficiency by providing a hand up, not a hand out.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SERVING AS A MENTOR, PLEASE CONTACT lifestepstraining@yahoo.com.