CONCEPTS OF WELLBEING AND
identity are important to me as a
Christian and as a mentor. Often our
wellbeing wrestles with pressures such as
stress, listening to our inner critic or failing
to give ourselves compassion. A few years
ago, I heard Patrick Reagan from Kintsugi
Hope, a charity concerned with mental
health, speak about wellbeing. He advised
taking a day at a time, accepting our own
story, learning how to manage our selves,
showing self-compassion and holding onto
our own identity.
Our identities are unique. Jesus said He
came that people ‘…may have life, and
have it abundantly’ (John 10:10), and
in his first letter, John refers several times
to Christ’s followers as ‘Children of God’.
How are we living life abundantly and
how are we helping others to do the
same? How does this relate to mentoring
in school?
When I heard a youth
worker asking for
voluntary mentors for the
local secondary school I
felt that God was calling
me to serve in this way,
helping young people to flourish. I decided
to sign up for training with Connect
Mentoring, run by Wiltshire Youth for
Christ, who have been involved with
mentoring in schools for many years. One
stormy January day in 2019 a group of us
turned up for the course in a church hall
in Trowbridge.
We discovered that the aims of Connect
Mentoring are about helping young people
to ‘…maximise their potential’ to ‘…
develop their skills and behaviours, improve
their levels of achievement at school and
become the person they want to be’
(Bennett A, Webb D 2019 Connect
Mentoring Wiltshire Youth for Christ,
p. 4).
We learnt how this mentoring
process helps the young person to
make their own choices and
changes. It relies on asking openended
questions, reflecting back what the
young person has shared, showing
empathy and affirmation. We looked at
developing trust with those we mentor,
being aware of their behavioural
preferences and giving encouragement
and challenges through discussion
and activities.