Can you remember the people in your life who helped teach you the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Once you believed and put Christ on in baptism, can you remember those people who helped you put on the armor of God and stand against the devil’s schemes?
Not every person in this world knows a strong Christian who can teach them about the joys of being in Christ. These people seek hope amidst a world of heartache and pain. Many have come across Mathetis to help them in their quest.
As a mentor, you can help these special individuals searching for answers. You can study alongside them and encourage them. God will provide the increase when we are willing to plant the seeds. But you might be thinking, I really don’t know how to do this using Mathetis. Here are some easy steps to get started spreading the Gospel seed using Mathetis.
1. Accept a Mentor Request
- Go to the Mentor Request board and check out the courses that are being requested. These are people wanting assistance with their study and seeking a mature Christian to help them. Click “+ Join as Mentor” of the request you would like to accept.
2. Send a Message in the Group Feed
- After accepting a mentor request, go to the Group Feed and leave a message for the person who made the Mentor request. Use their username so they get a notification that you left them a message. Their username has an @ in front of their name and can be found on the member’s profile. This message is an important first step to open the dialogue with the student.
- Say hello and introduce yourself. Tell them that you are a Mentor and you accepted their request. Ask if they have any specific questions or simply want someone to study alongside them. Be encouraging and share your excitement about studying with them.
3. Send a Friend Request
- Once you have accepted the Mentor request, send a friend request to the student as well. This will open another mode of communication and show that you are committed to studying together.
- We advise all members on Mathetis not to accept a friend request from someone they don’t know. For this reason, please do not send a friend request until you have accepted the Mentor request. This allows the member to know that you are interested in studying with them, filling their Mentor request and they will likely feel more comfortable to accept your friend request.
4. Complete the First Lesson of the Course
- Complete the first lesson of the course. This will show the student that you are interested and dedicated to studying with them. By starting the study, this also allows the student to get to know you a little bit before they put themselves out there and begin answering questions.
5. Follow Up
- Give the student at least a few days (or up to a week) and then post another message on the Group Feed encouraging them and showing your interest in studying with them. Life is hectic and it can take time for a student to begin studying. Look at the course every week to see if the student has made any progress. We suggest sending two follow up messages encouraging the student to begin studying and showing that you are eager to study with them.
In the next month or two, you will notice several updates to Mathetis. One of the updates that we are very excited about is more notifications about student activity within the group. This will allow Mentors to get a notification when a student has completed some of the course, so Mentors will no longer need to check the group to see if the student has been working on the course.
All these steps will help you to initially engage the student, and hopefully this will encourage them to study God’s Word with you. “What if the student never begins studying nor replies to your messages?” This is always a possibility, and this is a natural sequence of events for many websites. Many of us find an interesting website, sign up for that free site but never go back to it. Maybe we lost interest, found something better or forgot about the site. Be patient. Maybe one of your messages will bring the student back to begin studying. Maybe they will be encouraged by the willingness of a stranger to tell them the Good News and perhaps the seed will grow in their lives in ways that you will never see.
For the students who do study, you can make a lasting impression on their lives by teaching them about the Gospel and helping them to grow spiritually. Thank you for your willingness to be the person who helps them in their spiritual walk with God and helps them to know the joy that comes through Jesus. You will be their encourager who helps them through these hard times. You will help fulfill the Great Commission to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
