Idea

rizz

rizz

New Member
This is just an idea i want to run by you guys see what you think.... It came to me in the middle of the night..lol

I am on a year out with my church and as part of that i am assigned a mentor who is a youth leader who has meetings with me regularly (every 2 weeks) to discuss stuff...

Accountability, matters for prayer, self improvement, any problems, spiritual development etc....

I think it would be a great idea if we had a load of volunteers in toj who gave their messenger names for people to do the same sort of thing.. I know i talk to a lot of people about a lot of stuff already as friends..

I was thinking we could add a more confidential aspect to it aswell.. so that people can come to some of us for advice where they wouldnt normally....

I dunno its just an idea and i think it would be a nightmare to implement but i like it...let me know what you think.
 
I moved this to general discussion under fear that the council would never find it.... I want some input on this i really think it could work but if its gonna then it needs for people to want to do it...

Please let me know what u think
 
It is certainly an interesting idea with good possibilities...but, like you said...it would be a nightmare to implement...
 
Ok heres a few parameters i thought up to get this thing into context..Still waiting on some constructive comments..lol

There would be one mentor to one or two people.
Mentors would be over 21 (or maybe over 18)
The goal of the mentor is to bring the person along spiritually and in other areas.
Mentors needs therefore to be quite developed spiritually.
It would be up to the person and his/her mentor to arrange meetings or times to chat.. informally or formally.
The whole thing could (in theory) run itself once i have set it up.

The usual format we have on our mentor meetings..
1. discuss anything that has happened between last meeting and this.
2. discuss any problems or anything that needs attention.
3. try and bring in one point for self-improvement in some area of the person.
4. round it off and pray ( which would be harder over AIM but not impossible).

Obviously the mentors selected would have to spend a lot of the first sessions getting to know the persons they have been put with... and they would have to devote a lot of time and prayer to this person... so that they can lead them effectively...

We had a leaders meeting last night and basically the idea was about waves.. The mentors who would be selected are the wave of leadership now but they have to build up the next wave.. and that lot have to build up the next wave.... If we dont get the next lot to the same level as us then we will see the group we are leading fail.

Theres some thoughts for ya.. i know i put a lot of time and effort into ToJ and its great. But theres gonan be a day when i wont be able to do it as much as i do now... I would hope that by then we have people God-appointed with the same skills and spiritual commitment to take ToJ to a whole new level....

ToJ isnt about gaming.. its about building a community of christians. We meet people we wouldnt normally see and it would be great to try and emulate the church atmosphere in here.
 
Rizz man i would be willing to do this, IF the leadership or council agree's to let me.

Only reason i would see them saying no is that i am not 18.... arg 4-4 is coming sooo soon.

Plus it would be a great way for me to get to know ToJ'ers and give me some practice to what God is calling me to.

Charlie
 
"This idea has officially received Tek7's Administrative Stamp of Approval™"

I like the idea...in part because I recently submitted a similar idea to the Christian Gamers Alliance staff. *chuckle* I called the volunteers "counselors" instead of "mentors" and the program was listed under the CGA banner instead of ToJ's, but the idea is essentially the same. The only difference is that the counselors program would begin with a list of approved volunteers on the CGA web site; members of the CGA community could contact these volunteers to discuss matters of life in complete confidence. In Rizz's outline, mentors would be assigned to members seeking the program. For that, I tend to favor Rizz's outline and believe that there might still be room for a CGA counselors program at a later date.

This leaves some very important questions, though: Do we begin this program as a ToJ venture or expand it to a CGA ministry? There are advantages and disadvantages to either method but I believe that the advantages of starting this program as a ToJ venture would likely outweigh those of starting it as a CGA ministry. ToJ members also spend more time with each other than other Christian clan members--which is to be expected, of course. And there's certainly nothing to say that we can't expand this ministry to all of CGA in the future and use ToJ as the "testing grounds" to iron out the implementation in the meantime.

So, I'd like everyone's thoughts on this. I would need to appoint a leader in whom I can place a great deal of trust and work with him/her to iron out all the program details.

In short, I most definitely want to see this project get off the ground and am willing to set aside some time with a program leader to see it prosper.
 
I also think the idea is great ! The one important thing is to create a safe(as possible) environment to work within and that the mentors/counsellors need some form of vetting (very difficult online) . I assume the mentors are to operate under covering and authority of the ToJ council with some ground rules attached. I agree that continuing under the ToJ banner would add something more (at this juncture). This is a great idea and I just spoke to somebody today regarding something similair as regarding to its importance today

kasi
 
re:cga i was initially hoping to get as many areas involved as possible but of course i only /know/ the guys in toj so that would make thinsg initially difficult..

I would suggest a trial period in toj and then expansion....

So where do we start...I would certainly volunteer to head up this operation.... While i have the time.. i may have to pass it on once its all been setup but i think it should run itself for the most part...
 
I would definitely be interested. We do something like that in the Men's Ministry at my church, we chose someone as our partner and were accountable to each other. In theory, we call each other whenever we need prayer, and at least once a week. Over the internet could be easier, since they don't need to be online to email them.

I am available everyday.
 
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Hey, here's some thoughts, though it's not all my complete idea's, just my initial ones.

I think it could work. Don't use the councellor word though. Legally you become liable. If it's mentoring or encouraging (which it is) then you don't need insurance.

A couple of safe guards?

I would have a criteria maybe? for people wanting to start. I would suggest that people are already in an accountable relationship first. And add this to that, OR have a goal where after 3 months(or whatever time?) if they find this beneficial that they then add a mentor from a local church.


Negative co-dependency. Some people just talk about the same issues and are not able to grow. They would need to get those issues sorted out with their local church leaders first before they are really able to move on.


Serious issues need to be passed on. We need to be able to say 'this is to big for me' and be able to get them to see their local leader. To do this we may need contact details of the pastor of their local church. So if something happens, there is someone locally who can go see them. Maybe have a form that their local pastor fills out so we know the bigger picture, and can play a more effective part in that. (that way we are accountable for what happens)

I think it's great to build one another, but we will only truly grow, when we are planted in the local church...... (eww there's a hairy statement) This needs to be part of our realtionship with other christians, not a substitute for it.

I hope this starts up some thoughts.

be cool


sealcomm

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Some good points there...

If im gonan head up this thing...(which i really want to) then i am going to spend a lot of time in prayer over the people who are selected to mentor.. and those who want to be mentored...

We certainly shouldnt dominate their growth... once they have gotten used to the idea they should seek a Real Life mentor by asking their youth leader or pastor.. Of course this scheme is not to be the persons only source of christian iput.. If it is then theres a problem... They need to be (well the scheme could encourage this) actively involved in their home church life and part of the groth process is releasing them into and finding their ministry..

As for the co-dependance... yeah that is often a problem.. that is why the mentors need to be spiritually mature and wise to themselves... if you are mentoring a person who is further on spiritually than you then it will just cause problems...

Well i think thats my thoughts on that bit.. i just got up so its a bit hazy still
 
Well I'm the wise realist who always ponts out problems, or something like that, so I might as well now. My biggest one is that genuine relationship can not be forced and only comes from real time spent together. Yes relationship can be built online but there is alot that's missed that are the little quirks of life that just happen and don't come through online. Just my two cents. :-)

-Trevor
-amusedtoe
 
I used to be a youth counselor back in High School, and from my side it was one of the most powerful things I ever did, we def should do this if it is at all possible, however, I think the 'mentors' should be established ToJ members that can be trusted in something so important, although that prolly would exclude me considering Ive only been here a lil over a month now
 
I really think this will run or fall on the people chosen to mentor... and of course those who want to be mentored...

As for the not knowing them thing... my current mentor on ym year out didnt know much of me till this year. He knows me but was totally unaware of the stuff he was letting himelf in for..lol.. Its all part of building the relationship when u find out everything about the guys your looking after.
 
I think that its also important to get some peer to peer type of accountability/encouragement. The way you have it outlined, the mentors don't have no one helping them, and it doesn't seem that the "mentor" really has to be a "mentor" at all. Although having someone stronger than you watching out for you is good, I think it would be good to have someone that is more of your peer helping you too.

Perhaps whoever has the same mentor should be given contact as well to encourage each other and such? I also think it would be a good idea to either hold the mentors accountable to eachother, to those they are mentoring, or both. The people under the mentor can still encourage the mentor in variouse ways, even if they arn't as strong.

Just my contribution, and I'm all for it (apart from the fact that we need more accountability).

P.S. I agree that the internet really isn't a substitution, and you should have other people holding you accountable and encouraging your walk. I've set this up with a friend of mine, and I really wanna get it set up more, as the current friend of mine is kinda flakey
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. Pray for me to find someone to be accountable to guys, thx.
 
thats a really cool idea.. setting up a scheme so that all the mentors could talk to each other about things.. while maintaining confidentiality to their person aswell.

I am very wary of creating a structure so complete that it does become a substitute for real church life... It should just be an addition...
 
I agree with Rizz. We do not want to try and replace a guys home cell or Men's Group. For a lot of us this should just be an extension of our current experience with God ... and the more input you get in your life (subjected to the Word and your common sense) the better and faster you will grow ... Also, it is amazing to realise that for a lot of issues/problems/struggles we face someone can come and give you one piece of advice which could lead you into a totally new way of living and enable you te really enjoy a victorious and blessed life ... Accountability is a big factor here ... You need accountability on many levels of your life ... work, marriage relationship, home cell , and of course if you are in some church / cell / ministry leadership position you need accountability in that area too. The forms it takes differs but the end result is the same - a more fulfilled and mature Christian !
 
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