Think back to the first person who really believed in you. Maybe it was a pastor who invited you into responsibility before you felt ready. Maybe it was a leader who wasn’t afraid to ask you hard questions, or someone who simply showed up again and again and spoke life over you. Whoever it was, they probably didn’t just teach you something; they walked with you. They mentored you. Mentorship is different from influence at a distance. It’s personal. It’s the intentional decision to move toward someone, to invest time and attention, and to help shape who they’re becoming, not just what they can do.
For those of us in student ministry, the pace of life doesn’t slow down easily. There are messages to prepare, events to plan, trips to coordinate, schools to visit and all the other “duties as assigned” that fill the margins of our weeks. The calendar fills fast and, before we know it, the urgent has pushed out the important. If we’re not careful, we can run effective, busy, well-attended ministries and still miss the deeper work of disciple-making. Strong leaders don’t define success only by what gets done. They measure it by who gets raised up along the way. John Maxwell says it well: “A leader’s value is in the investment he makes in others, not in what he can do personally.” That kind of investment doesn’t happen accidentally, and it can’t live on leftovers. It has to be a priority.
Mentorship takes time, and it’s rarely efficient. It happens in conversations after church, across coffee, over meals, during Bible study and sometimes in uncomfortable moments of correction. Much of it goes unseen. None of it is easy. But it is never wasted. Long after the event is torn down and the sermon notes are forgotten, the fruit of intentional mentorship continues to grow. Disciples aren’t mass-produced; they’re handcrafted. If we want to see lasting fruit in student ministry, we have to move beyond managing crowds and commit ourselves to investing in people. That’s how leaders are formed. That’s how the work God has entrusted to us continues long after we step out of the spotlight.
With that in mind, I want to share three reasons mentorship can’t be optional in our ministries and why it deserves a permanent place in our weekly schedules.
Mentorship Produces Spiritual Growth
Have you ever noticed how students can know all the right answers about God and still struggle to live like it actually matters? Have you ever seen students have all of the correct theology and not live like it’s real? That gap is where mentorship becomes so important. Mentorship creates space for students to grow, not just in what they believe but in how those beliefs shape the way they live.
Good mentors do teach. They open Scripture, explain the Gospel and help students understand the bigger story God is telling. But mentorship doesn’t stop at information. It moves into formation. Mentors help shape character, integrity and holiness by walking closely with students and letting them see faith lived out up close. Students learn as much from what we model as from what we say. Character is often caught, not just taught. When students watch a mentor pray, handle conflict, make wise decisions and depend on God in everyday life, faith starts to feel real. Mentors help students face weaknesses, welcome accountability and pursue growth in areas they might otherwise avoid. They walk with them through spiritual disciplines like prayer, Scripture reading, worship and service – not just telling them what to do but helping them understand why it matters.
Mentorship also gives students a safe place to wrestle. They can ask hard questions, talk through doubts and process real-life decisions with someone who loves them and points them back to Christ. Over time, faith becomes practical. Students begin to apply God’s Word to their relationships, choices and daily rhythms. They start to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and develop habits of obedience that last.
In the end, mentorship doesn’t just pass along information about faith, it helps form it. It turns knowledge into practice, curiosity into commitment and short-term enthusiasm into a deep, lasting spiritual maturity.
Mentorship Forms a Faith That Lasts
It’s no secret that many students, some who were once deeply involved in our ministries, drift away from the church after high school. Some slowly disengage. Others walk away from their faith altogether. That reality should sit with us, not in a way that produces guilt but in a way that sharpens our sense of calling and responsibility.
In Faith for Exiles, David Kinnaman points to five practices that help form a resilient faith in young adults, and one of the most significant is mentorship. He notes that “four out of ten resilient disciples … have had an adult mentor at church, someone other than a staff member” and that more than half of those resilient disciples regularly seek wisdom from an older believer when facing difficult decisions. What those findings highlight is simple but powerful. Faith tends to last when it is rooted in relationships.
Over time, faith shifts from something borrowed from a youth group or a favorite leader to something personally owned and genuinely lived out. Students aren’t just repeating what they’ve been taught; they’re learning how to follow Jesus for themselves.
Mentorship isn’t an optional add-on in student ministry. It’s a primary pathway to spiritual maturity. As Scott Pace, provost and a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, puts it, “Making disciples requires us to be mentoring disciples.” When student pastors and adult leaders commit to consistent, relational mentorship, they’re doing more than fostering short-term engagement. They’re helping cultivate a resilient, deeply rooted faith – one that doesn’t end at graduation, but continues long after students leave our rooms and step into adulthood.
Mentorship Develops Calling
Mentorship doesn’t just shape a student’s faith, character, or calling, it also helps them begin to see what God might be calling them to do. As Pace writes, “Sometimes it is difficult for students to see beyond their immediate stage of life and circumstances … God’s work during this season of their lives is formative preparation for His extended will for them.” Mentorship gives students someone who can help them lift their eyes, see the bigger picture, and discern what God is calling them to do. Through mentoring relationships, students begin to understand that their passions, gifts and opportunities are not accidental. Whatever vocation or path they eventually pursue, those things can be leveraged for the Gospel. Mentorship helps paint a vision for how everyday faithfulness can bring glory to God. Over time, it reshapes not just what students want to do but how they see themselves and the purpose of their lives.
This is especially important in a season when student pastors are in short supply. As church leaders, we carry the responsibility of investing in the next generation, equipping young people to step into future leadership and ministry. Mentorship is how we pass the baton. It’s how the work God is doing in students today continues through the leaders of tomorrow.
One of my favorite moments in ministry came through mentoring a student who sensed a call to ministry but couldn’t fully see it yet. He doubted himself. He questioned whether he was capable or whether God could really use him. We met regularly and studied Scripture together, prayed over the direction of his life and talked through his concerns. Slowly, I watched him begin to recognize his gifts, step into leadership and grow in both confidence and character. Mentorship helped him see what God was doing and where He was leading. Today, that same student is on his way to becoming an extraordinary pastor, someone who will influence countless lives for Christ. Stories like his are a reminder of why mentorship matters so deeply. It’s more than teaching or guiding. It’s choosing to walk alongside someone as God shapes their faith, their character and their calling. It’s an investment that reaches far beyond one student or one season, extending into generations we may never fully see.
On the first day of my very first seminary class, my professor asked, “Who are you discipling one-on-one?” It’s a question I’ve never forgotten. He challenged us to always be intentionally pouring into someone beyond the walls of the church. That moment reshaped the way I understood ministry. Mentorship isn’t optional; it’s essential. As student pastors, we’ve been given both the privilege and the responsibility of investing in the next generation. We don’t just lead programs; we walk with students as they grow in faith, character and calling. Every conversation matters. Every prayer counts. Every moment of guidance, even the ones that feel small or ordinary, has the potential to shape a life.
The time you invest in mentoring a student today may ripple far beyond what you can see. It might influence a future family, a ministry or even the direction of a church years from now. Don’t underestimate the power of simply showing up consistently and walking alongside someone. Faith that lasts, real spiritual growth and a clear sense of God’s calling are often formed in the quiet, faithful work of mentorship.
Jon LaMarque serves as student minister at Coosada Baptist Church, Coosada, Alabama.
