Gospel Friendships vs. Mentor Relationships
We were created in the image of a communal God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Which means, we were created to do life, and grow as disciples of Jesus, in community! That means in the joys of new opportunities, in the struggles of illness, in the pain of loss, in overwhelming times of transition and even in times of disagreement and division, we need deep, intimate, and authentic relationships.
I am often asked to help people find a mentor in their life. This is a beautiful desire. We want to feel like there is someone older, wiser, and more experienced than us to help us walk through the unexpected or the new or the challenging parts of our lives. And although I highly recommend mentoring, I have also come to appreciate a relationship that we like to call a “Gospel Friendship.”
Gospel Friendships are a powerful process for our growth in Christ. In Gospel Friendships, we share in each other’s joys, sorrows, hopes, and fears—seeking to listen for, and point each other towards, the voice of Jesus (the Gospel). We celebrate the ways we see Jesus working in each other’s lives. We commit to reading God’s Word and listening for His voice, we focus on growing in our spiritual maturity, and we pray for one another and for those who are not yet followers of Jesus. Basically, a Gospel Friendship is one in which we are seeking to help each other redefine and reorient our lives around the gospel of Jesus Christ—knowing God as our Father and ourselves as His children, and all that means.
Gospel Friendships are a way that we can live out the command from Hebrews 10:23-25: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
A Gospel Friendship can look like walking side by side with a peer in a similar stage of life, or with one person slightly ahead, holding out their hand to guide you and direct you as a mentor. What’s important in either kind of relationship is a desire to keep the Gospel central, to speak God’s truth, to listen for the Spirit, and to remind one another of Jesus, our anchor in the storm and our light in the darkness.
So, what kind of Gospel Friendship do you need in your life? One with a close friend and peer where you are journeying side by side, encouraging and spurring one another on? Or more of a mentor to guide and direct and provide wisdom that you have yet to experience? Maybe you already have this kind of relationship in your life, and that’s wonderful! Or maybe you are desperate for it, but you don’t even know where to start. I encourage you to start in prayer. The best Gospel Friendships are natural and organic. Ask the Lord if there is already someone in your life that you could create a deeper and more intentional discipleship relationship with and then reach out to that person and ask them if they would be interested in exploring a Gospel Friendship with you. There is no harm in asking!! Once you begin this Gospel Friendship, we have also created a great resource and starting place for how to cultivate conversation within your Gospel Friendship. Check out www.theweeklyliturgy.com/gospelfriendships.
Our Community Life Team also wants to help you make connections, so reach out to us! And, if you are interested in serving as a mentor to our Emerging Adult population, please let us know! I pray that God will guide us all into deeper relationships as we seek to grow as disciples of Jesus, walking in Christ with one another.
