Rather than develop a one-time startup training program, establish ongoing learning opportunities to encourage people to take the next step in their mentoring skills, knowledge and development.
L. J. Zachary
1. How to assess your mentee’s competencies (nanocourse)
This is a short, stand-alone online course focusing on how to set appropriate assignments for your mentees, how to assess their competencies and how to communicate that assessment in an effective way, with special attention to intercultural dynamics. It will take you about 4 hours to complete this nanocourse. You can work on it in your own time. SPECIAL OFFER: You can take it for free, if you sign up before the 1st November 2022. Don’t miss your chance! Sign up through SIL’s Training Hub site by choosing this nanocourse in the Browse for Training menu. If you need assistance, click here.
2. Introduction to Mentoring
SIL offers an 18-hour synchronous online course called Introduction to Mentoring to help mentors, mentees and managers clarify their understanding of mentoring and make the most of it as a staff development tool. Have a look at the syllabus here. The course is available in English and in French. Scroll down to see the dates for upcoming courses.
3. Practical Mentoring
As a follow-up course to Introduction to Mentoring, SIL offers Practical Mentoring, an asynchronous online course to help mentors in their continued professional development and to hone practical mentoring skills in an already existing mentoring relationship. This self-paced course offers a selection of 12 modules out of which you need to choose at least five depending on your interest. You can consult the syllabus here. It is an asynchronous course so you can engage with the materials at any time it is convenient for you.
Sign up for upcoming online training in mentoring:
| Course | Dates of Zoom sessions | Language of instruction | Sign up forms |
| Introduction to Mentoring | 29th Sept – 3rd Nov, Thursdays 14:00-15:30 UTC | English | FULL |
| Practical Mentoring (Intro to Mentoring is a prerequisite) | No organised group sessions. It is a self-paced course. | English | Sign me up |
| Introduction to Mentoring Eastern and Central time zones | 23rd Feb – 30th March 2023 Thursdays 6:00-7:30 am UTC | English | Sign me up |
| Introduction au mentorat | du 4 avril au 9 mai 2023 le mardi 14:00-15:30 UTC | Français | Je m’inscris |
Other resources to train mentors
- SIL’s Robust Mentoring Initiative (a short e-book that explains what robust mentoring looks like and provides tools for implementation).
- A very informative series of short videos about mentoring by renowned author and mentor Leighton Ford who during his service as Chair of the Lausanne Movement established an inclusive and fruitful Christian mentoring programme that continues to run successfully: 1) Mentoring and the Aspen Grove (2 mins), 2) What is mentoring? (6 mins), 3) Becoming a mentor (9 mins), 4) Mentoring like Jesus (3 mins).
- C. S. Lewis Institute’s Mentors Training Resources (22 downloadable audio files produced on how to mentor well in the framework of discipleship)
- DAI’s free, online training course called the Ministry of Mentoring (6 hours of course content, both avatar and video options available)
- Sydney Missionary Bible College offers a Graduate Certificate in Christian Mentoring study programme
Mentoring Matters 