Who Can Be a Spiritual Mentor?

Anyone can be a spiritual mentor: a child, a teacher, an officer in the church, or a newcomer. Official church membership is not required. Of course, we naturally look for at least two things: respect and rapport. We look for someone who has something in his or her own spiritual journey which we respect, and for someone with whom we have rapport for ease in sharing.

Some of us feel we can take the church as a whole for our spiritual mentor, but many find this too impersonal and may instead choose several individuals as spiritual mentors.

Experience suggests that it is best to choose a spiritual mentor from among those of our own gender in order to avoid misunderstandings, and resentments in our families.

Perhaps some would like the pastor to be the automatic spiritual mentor to everyone in the church. However, we remember that the pastor may not have the key of rapport with everyone in the church. We bring our pastor the stories that have not been or cannot be heard effectively elsewhere.

Why would a person be a spiritual mentor?

Some of us find the the Gospel such new life that we want to talk about it. The request to serve as a spiritual mentor gives us that opportunity. We also recognize from personal experience that sharing our current story is the only way we can maintain our own spiritual growth. This is why we try to relate to one another, especially to those new among us, in ways that will build trust and invite the request to serve as spiritual mentor.