Christian Leaders Institute begins the student path by stressing the importance of the mentor connection. We make sure right away that students understand that we want them to find local mentors. We believe it is of vital importance to our students that there is somebody who is there locally that they can connect to face to face and talk about their lessons.
But why do we think this is important? After all, students don’t need mentors, right? They can join without a mentor, and all they have to do is keep working to complete the courses.
Well, that’s half true. Students can join without having a mentor name and e-mail at this time. It’s also true that there are some very strongly motivated individuals who can motivate themselves to complete even the most difficult of courses. However, some of the course work requires review by a mentor, and there are several reasons for this. I will list them below briefly and then talk about how each one specifically relates to the local mentorship model.
The Importance of the Mentor Connection
- As noted in an article published in the distance education article, students sometimes experience a loss of interest or lack of time required to complete classes offered online or through other distance learning methods.
- CLI staff cannot be available every hour of every day, and certainly do not have personal experience with many of the cultural idiosyncrasies of many students’ countries.
- Mentors keep students accountable.
- Called leaders will experience spiritual attack.
Sometimes you may find that a course is not what you expected. It may be that you started out all fired up to take the course, but somewhere along the way the fire died out. You knew you were called and you know that you needed this training, but somehow you just lost interest.
Or maybe you didn’t have time. At first it wasn’t difficult, just an hour or so a day. Eventually, though, time just seemed to disappear. You would get to the end of the day and fall into bed, exhausted from the days work, and think “I just didn’t have time to study today. I’ll make up for it tomorrow.”
A local mentor is a great help in these situations. The mere existence of a time and place to meet with someone locally is a great motivation for students to get the work done. A mentor can work through your busy schedule with you and help you find the time that you could have spent on course work. He can motivate and encourage you to revive the fire that started you on the course in the first place. Most importantly, a godly mentor can help you to keep your focus where it needs to be – on your calling.
While Christian Leaders Institute has staff that is dedicated to giving students the best possible experience, they are just people like everyone else. Part of keeping overhead low is having a carefully budgeted staff that each perform their jobs during the hours allotted them. Since Christian Leaders Institute staff are located in America, this means that they are often not working during the times that somebody in Africa or Asia might need somebody to talk to about things. Also, the theological staff are especially busy, being mostly bi-vocational, and are even less available for student interaction.
Additionally, CLI’s American-based staff does not have a lot of understanding of cultural differences one might encounter in Africa, Europe, Asia, or even South America. This can make it difficult to help students sometimes, since we often revert to cultural norms when trying to explain a new concept.
A mentor connection with a local mentor can facilitate such discussions where CLI staff cannot. Local mentors are in the student’s environment and culture, and therefore possess a greater understanding of what the student wants to know and how to explain many questions. They are also available to discuss questions during the time that the student often has them, since they live in the same area and the same time zone.
CLI staff also is not able, because of time and budget constraints, to review all the sermons and student stories. Furthermore, even if they review written submissions of sermons, they are unable to provide feedback on other learned preaching aspects, such as delivery of the sermon. This makes it difficult for the student to honestly measure how much the training has really helped him or her.
A mentor helps by reviewing materials with students. Mentors also watch the students give their sermons. After watching the sermon, a good mentor can give a student important feedback. Mentors can tell them if they seemed nervous or uncertain. They can see if the delivery seemed weak. They can tell students if they’re making eye contact, looking out at the audience, or looking down while they’re speaking. Local mentors can provide all this feedback because they can actually watch a student as they are presenting their sermon, not just read the written content that is sent in.
And one very important part of having a mentor is aid in times of spiritual attack. Satan does not want to see new leaders raised up in the kingdom of God. His mind is set against God’s will, so when he sees a called leader pursue his calling, our enemy is quick to respond with an attack by his servants. That attack might come at any time, through any means.
CLI staff are far away from most of our students. Sometimes a student may be under attack, and we wouldn’t even know because we don’t see them. Even if we did know, the distance would make it hard to provide any real support during the attack. However, a mentor can often see when a student is under attack. He can help by providing sound counsel. A mentor can lend his or her mentees a listening ear, a ready shoulder to cry on, or perhaps even a temporary internet connection. He or she can provide students with encouragement and support.
While these are all good reasons to have mentors, there is one more that is the best reason. CLI has been providing online ministry training to students all over the world for almost a decade now. During that time, we have seen that students who have local mentors are 80% more likely to succeed in their studies than students who have nobody. The best reason to have a mentor is that while God may have called you, He also gave you a community of people who love and support you. And He wants you to utilize the strengths of the people that He’s put in your life to propel you onward toward your calling.
So if you’re considering joining CLI, or you’re already a student who just hasn’t had time to find a mentor yet, what are you waiting for? Make the mentor connection now and open the door to opportunity. You’ll never make a better move in pursuing your calling.
Free South African Bible School
I was born 1972 at a place called Soweto in Johannesburg, South Africa) Life in Soweto was not smooth. Most young man have to fend for them selves. The political atmosphere was tense. It was the survival of the fittest. I grow up under my grandmothers care, since my mom got married after she parted ways with my father. She started her life without me. I stayed with my grandma and cousins. When my grandma died, life changed and I started smoking and drinking at the age of 13yrs. I felt unwanted at home so I drop out of school and wherever I laid my head that was my home. My mom came back two yrs later and she brought me home to in Voslooru in 1988.
I was still trapped in Soweto life style of drinking, smoking and womanizing. Three years later, I went back to school and I met my wife and she she became pregnant. I matriculated in 1994 and 1995, I started working but still trapped in my old ways. I bought a house by then I had three children 2002 we were pregnant again. I was still living my Soweto lifestyle. My wife got born again in 2000, she started praying me for me and everything I used. I am talking about my cloths, shoes, beers, smokes, my car and everything. I was starting to hate myself and the way I lived One day in 2003, I started crying like a baby asking God why do live like this?
I want my life to change and God to be part of it. A few weeks later, one sunday I just woke up and went to church. Since that day I never smoked again or drink again. I started working very hard at church even my wife started complaining about the time I spent at church. I guess she was thinking that I am up to my old trick again. A few months down the line the pastor invited me to the committee meeting and I was ask to join the organizing committee. It was not long I was ask take the offerings then one thing led to another and I was preaching on sunday and when we have gatherings by 2010.
I was called to do more for God. I was ordained for ministry in 2011. I am now preaching full-time. A church member showed me Christian Leaders Institute, this free South African Bible school online. Now I can get a knowledgeable ministry training. God answered my prayers. I have very little and I want to be used by God to raise up more leaders to advance the kingdom. The World needs institutions like CLI to where the ministry training is free so that more Christian Leaders can be trained to reach the lost, minister to the poor, bring recovery of sight to the bring and declare the year of the Lord. I used to say, the sky is the limit. Now I say, heaven is the limit!
Note: This Free South African Bible School now has thousands of students enrolled from South Africa.
I live in the San Francisco bay area of California in the United States of America. As with most areas of this wonderful country there are many Christian churches in this area that have a diversity of denominational influences. There are many affluent people in this area but also many people who are struggling and need a lot of help. I can help in some ways, but I know the One that can help in all the ways that truly matter.
After many years of prayer from my faithful Grandmother, and during the last few months of my Grandfather’s life, I watched my stern, unrelenting, stubborn Grandfather get to a point that all he wanted to do was hear the word and praise and worship music. I realize that some people who wait until 12th hour to surrender to God, die in the 11th; but my Grandfather’s transformation during those last few months really led me to realize how real God is and inspired me to seek Him for myself.
My ministry dream is simple in theory but the details have yet to be worked out. At the risk of sounding cliché, I truly want God to open the doors to which I’m to walk through and close those that I should not. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want the responsibility of doing what is right or that I’m unwilling to put forth the works to my faith in finding which path God would have me to take, but ultimately I want His word and His way to be the lamp unto my feet and the light unto my path. It has been prophesied over me that I will be in the ministry and I believe this to be true, I’ll let God lead me in the direction He sees fit.
A scholarship to CLI is important to me because man dies from a lack of knowledge. Moreover, as your lessons have already taught, the best way to become closer to God and truly know Him is by studying His word (to show thyself approved). I have been involved in the ministry in some capacity for a number of years but at a young age (26) I’m not foolish enough to believe that I don’t have a whole lot to learn. As I mentioned before, I want to be led by God in everything I do, but I want to do my part in preparing myself for whatever avenue He so chooses for my life.
My wife and I covet your prayers for us. To be specific: praying for God’s direction in my life and my wife’s health. My wife has been diagnosed with severe Fibromyalgia and degenerative arthritis. She has been going through severe pain and sleepless nights for almost 3 years. Thank you, sincerely.
High Quality Classes. Study At Your Own Pace.