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Sermons For Youth - 10 Characteristics of Successful Mentors
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According to a study of Big Brothers, Big Sisters in the USA, one of the largest mentoring organizations in the world
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1. Be a friend • Don’t act like a parent • Don’t try to be an authority figure • Don’t preach about values • DO FOCUS ON THE BOND
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2. Have realistic goals and expectations • Focus on overall development, not performance and change • Center initial goals on the relationship itself • Emphasize friendship over performance
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3. Have fun together • Youth spell love – TIME • Informal activities lay the foundation for formal ones • Shared activities become great discussion starters
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4. Give your protégé voice and choice in deciding activities • Help them to explore possibilities and then make their choices • Listen more than you talk • Question more than you Preach
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5. Be positive • Praise and encouragement build selfesteem • Be supportive rather than critical – focus on solutions rather than problems
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6. Let the protégé have much of the control over what the two of you talk about • Don’t push, be patient • Be sensitive and responsive to cues • Let them know that can confide in you without you becoming judgmental
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7. Listen • Let youth vent without criticizing them • When you listen they see you as a friend, not an authority figure
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8. Respect the trust your protégé places in you • Respond in ways that show you understand. This is not the same as agree • Reassure the protégé that you are there for them • Advice should not be dispensed but mutually discovered
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If you have to convey concern or displeasure, do it with caring and understanding Sound like a friend not a parent… youth easily discern the difference
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9. Remember your relationship is with the youth and not the youth’s parent • Maintain cordial contact, but you are not there to be a spy for parents. You are there to be a champion for the youth
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• Keep your focus on the youth • You are not there to bring about the parents wishes, but to help the youth discover their potential • Be non-judgmental about the family
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10. You are responsible for building the relationship • Take responsibility for making and maintaining contact • Don’t expect adult to adult relationships
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