Inspire: Peer Mentoring Groups
Interview with the Inspire Women's Cohort
Inspire Group Provides Safe Place after Loss
The Magazine Article
How would your life be different, if your first job after college came with the advice of someone who actually knew what they were doing? New and veteran youth ministry leaders now have this growth opportunity, thanks to a unique partnership between NCU’s Center for Youth and Leadership and the Minnesota District A/G. It’s a dynamic relationship that seeks to energize, support, and prepare youth pastors for long term leadership. Could this kind of thing happen in your city, in your institution and line of work?
This mentoring project, called “Inspire,” matches veteran youth pastors with a “cohort” of about six youth leaders who share similar ministry demographics. Most groups meet around eight times a year from September through May for focused, intentionally programmed co-mentoring. Mark Dean, Minnesota District Youth Director couldn’t be happier to have 26 Minnesota youth pastors pursuing personal growth through Inspire. “Each of the cohort leaders are current or former youth pastors with a heart for replication,” he said. “The reports from those involved have been extremely encouraging. They are forming life-long relationships and receiving tremendous counsel and support through the challenges of day-to-day ministry. I applaud the churches for their willingness to invest in this tremendous group of young leaders."
Dr. Tracy Paino, Co-director of The Center for Youth and Leadership, believes the objective of the mentoring relationship should be learner-centered. “Mentoring groups can establish long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships where individuals learn from one another,” he stated. “The process of mentoring becomes a powerful growth experience for both the mentor and the mentee. All those involved learn new things about each other, themselves, and ministry.”
This means NCU youth ministry majors will have an opportunity to be involved in Inspire groups. “They will be given the information and encouraged to be a part of the program,” Paino said. “Right now the ones in Minnesota will have a better entry ramp
into an Inspire group because we have Inspire groups already in place
and the program running in Minnesota. The goal and the conversations
are to expand those even further out from the Twin Cities and outside
the state of Minnesota.” Imagine.
The Inspire experience addresses practical challenges like conflict management
and budget building, as well as discussion of real events and current situations.
What Chad Spinler of Northridge Church (Owatonna, MN) appreciates is,
“the invitation to be real, discuss real issues, and come to real
conclusions together that can work in a real ministry or personal circumstance.”
Who wouldn’t love to go back and start over with a group of peers who
are continuously investing in them? The program offers participants a
chance to add the wealth of experience each member brings to the table
to their own knowledge of youth ministry. Marcus Refsland of Emmanuel
Christian Center (Spring Lake Park, MN) said it has, “given me that
extra motivation to go after my goals and make new ones.” Many value
the peer fellowship and naturally occurring sharpening that happens in a cohort. “To have the input and support of peers who share my same passion for youth has been incredible,” said
Patti Neumann of St. James A/G (St. James, MN).
Yet, more than a program, Steph Peterson, veteran youth pastor and Inspire Project Facilitator, values the Potential of impacting the approximate 1,500 Minnesota students through the participants’ student ministries. “INSPIRE continues
to evolve into so much more than even I realized it would,” Peterson said. “Yes, it
is training, networking, idea exchange, but it is also support. The trust level grows
exponentially every time we meet. Just yesterday one pastor went in to a major personal crisis. The other pastors in the cohort rallied around unlike anything I have ever seen. Another pastor had a complete change in job description. Again, that pastor had a safe place to share the challenge. This is what is needed for every type of minister in every area of the country!” At least one lead pastor has inquired whether there was an inspire group for senior pastors. The primary reason this co-mentoring model is effective is that youth pastors are more likely to listen to input from peers who understand them and where they’re at than they are from the ‘expert’ in the room.
Nate Ruch, Co-Director of Center for Youth and Leadership, said, “The whole concept is, the facilitator doesn’t act as the teacher telling people lessons. They act as one who creates an environment where people sharpen each other.” Inspire leaders hope it’s a catalyst for a mentoring movement that will reproduce future leaders. To Ruch; the bottom line questions for every senior leader are: What are you doing to help others make it? Is your legacy a building or lives of people? “Some people, their legacy is a building,” he said. “Other people, their legacy is lives of people who succeed when they’re gone.”
Nate Ruch, Co-Director of the Center for Youth and Leadership, leads the national peer
mentoring “Inspire” group comprised of six youth pastors, all with minimum seven years experience, serving full-time at large churches with over 1,000 in attendance on Sundays. Several have youth facilities. All pastor multiple layers of paid and volunteer staff along with their student group. This combination means the group members must deal with some issues differently than in a smaller youth ministry. They gather at the site of one of the youth ministries each of the eight total times they’ve agreed
to meet.
Like the Minnesota cohorts this national group usesthe “co-mentoring” model - essentially peer mentoringwith a facilitator. At each meeting, one member is in the “spotlight,” meaning they share their personal, church,and career history, leadership style, strengths, and weaknesses – all with a PowerPoint presentation. Everyone else then weighs in on what they see and hear, challenges[they observe], and give their life experiences [tothat end].
Ruch comes with a credible history of youth pastoring, having led a large youth group (appx. 700) in a large church. Yet as the facilitator, he doesn’t consider himself the primary influencer in the group. He provides particular subjects, but doesn’t take the role of teacher. Together this national cohort drafted a mission statement for their particular group, to answer the questions: Why are we doing this? How can we justify it to our families and churches? Why is it worth this investment (to fly to another location seven of the eight meetings)? “Inspire exists to breathe life into each other so that we can fulfill our God-given mandate to our families, our churches, and other leaders.” Of course, the peer-mentoring model can be adopted in any venue or business. The point is that if lead pastors across the country can find this mission to be a worthy cause, perhaps the next generation of senior leaders will be as strong, well-equipped, and passionate as the current one.