Watch the video above and talk about it with a friend or mentor.

Every mentoring relationship will be effected by emergencies and moments of panic. Mentors can handle the crisis with intentionality to point the mentee toward Jesus.

Several kinds of crisis will emerge in mentoring relationships

Often people look for a mentor because they are facing a crisis. In our ministry, going through a faith transition is often a serious crisis in itself. Even if that is not the case, everyone faces emergency circumstances in life – surrounding finances, health, relationships, and more – that create stress and panic. These can be amplified by a faith transition, or can amplify that faith crisis.

Keep in mind some basic goals as a mentor when a crisis arises

Your role as a mentor during a crisis situation will probably have to change. You won’t be able to walk down the pathway you had planned, but you can still be intentional.

  • First, be a safe place.
  • Second, make sure you prioritize empathetic listening.
  • Third, become more available. If you live in the same area as your mentee, consider taking on aspects of practical help that they might need. Think about increasing your normally scheduled appointments.

You can be more available but still maintain good boundaries

Mentoring through crisis can take a toll on you. To stay in the game, you need to set boundaries – even when your mentee is in a time of serious need.

  • Find other resources and people who can help.
  • Use technology to control their access to you. Instead of receiving phone calls at any hour, let them send you a message via text or video (like Marco Polo). Then they can immediately express their feelings,  but you can also process their message when you have bandwidth and attention to do  so.

Use times of crisis to help your mentee connect more fully with Jesus

Even though you may not be able to follow your mentoring plan when times of crisis hit, you can still use every meeting to help others develop their relationship with and trust in God.

  • Use the situation to go to scripture, to learn what God says about handling the crisis.
  • Model dependence on God through prayer together.
  • Invite them to develop their own spiritual practices in response to what they are facing.
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Key Points:

  • Several kinds of crisis will emerge in mentoring relationships.
  • Keep in mind some basic goals when a crisis arises.
  • Be available, but still maintain good boundaries.
  • Use times of crisis to help your mentee connect more fully with Jesus.

See Also: Mentoring

Talk About It
  1. What kinds of crisis experiences do people often face when going through a faith transition?
  2. What are some other typical kinds of crisis you – or your mentees – have faced recently?
  3. What does it look like to “be a safe place”? Why does this matter so much?
  4. The video mentions a mentor’s three basic goals during crisis. What others might you suggest?
  5. Share some ideas on how you can be more available to someone in crisis,  while still keeping good boundaries.
  6. How have moments of crisis deepened your relationship with and trust of God? 
  7. How can a mentor use crisis to help others develop those same responses?
  8. What is your personal action step based on this conversation?