How to use Tools for Mentoring?

Tools for Mentoring works in one-on-one discipleship, small groups, and certainly for your own self-study. You can disciple with confidence because Tools for Mentoring is both flexible and thorough. By addressing the 19 topics you are less likely to overlook a fissure in your own or your friend’s foundation that could cause a wreck later.

One leader said, “TFM functions as the unbiased third party that calls my friend and me to sincere repentance, radical love for Jesus, and daily obedience.”

How to Get the Most from Tools for Mentoring

  • Look up every Scripture reference—it’s like a door behind which God is waiting to speak to you! Resist the temptation to breeze past the references and just read the teaching portions.
  • Respond to every question. The questions allow the Bible to speak for itself and encourage your personal application.
  • Don’t skip the specific action points and prayer suggestions. Use them to let the Holy Spirit change you. That way you don’t just read the Bible; you apply it.
  • If you are working through TFM with a friend, make your learning mutual. Take turns reading the teaching portions, Scriptures, and answering the questions. Every two or three paragraphs, ask each other, “What stood out to you so far?” You don’t have to already know something to pass it on to a friend—you learn together.
  • Consider using "TFM Selections for One-on-one Conversations" as a plan for intentional one-on-one conversations. The suggested TFM modules are divided into portions that two people could work through together in approximately 30 minutes.
  • In a small group, take turns reading the teaching portions, the Scriptures, and answering the questions. Have everyone in the group look up each Scripture while one person reads it aloud. That way each person is both seeing and hearing the passage. Every two or three paragraphs, ask, "What stood out to you so far?"
  • If all you need is a Scripture on a subject, go to the “List of Scriptures” at the end of the relevant module, skim the summaries by each reference, and find the one you want. Each "List of Scriptures" includes all the verses used in that module, as well as additional ones on that topic.
  • Create your own Bible discussion on a topic by using the “List of Scriptures” at the end of the module. The TFM module The Bible shows you how to create a Bible discussion.

Where to Start

  • Use the article "New Believers’ First Steps." It features small sections of 10 TFM modules addressing topics new Christ-followers need early on. Use this guide one-on-one or in a new believers’ small group. Start at the beginning of the list, or weave through it in any order that the Holy Spirit seems to be leading. It’s a foundational place to start for anyone, not only for those new to following Jesus.
  • Fill out the worksheet “Next Steps in Spiritual Growth.” This is like a spiritual inventory. You recognize what you already incorporate into your life and also where the gaps are. Then you work through the corresponding TFM modules as next steps in your growth.
  • You may want to choose from everything you can learn in all 19 modules, so look through the detailed Table of Contents in the Kindle version and click on what interests you. Enjoy!

Modules for Leadership Team Training

  • Time Management
  • The Yielded Life
  • Authority: Do all the sections through and including “Spiritual Leaders.”
  • Talking Christianly: Do sections “Ministry of Conversation,” “Giving and Receiving Feedback or Correction,” and “Resolving Conflict.”
  • The Bible: Do “Study Questions” section which includes how to create a Bible discussion.

Modules to Prepare a Short-term Missions Team

Use the relevant sections from the following modules (not necessarily the whole module).

  • Missions
  • Authority
  • Suffering
  • Talking Christianly
  • The Yielded Life