Lenten Mentor/Youth Guide

Week 1 – Who Am I As a Child of God?

Week 2 – Faith & Worship

Week 3 – Faith & Job/School

Week 4 – Faith & Family

Week 5 – Faith & Social Life

Week 6 – Closure & Evaluation

Who Am I As a Child of God?	Week 1

First of all, it’s important to get to know each other.  At this first meeting, spend some time sharing your answers to the following questions:

Who am I?  What are my interests and hobbies, sports and activities, place of birth, place of baptism (if you know it), where do/did I go to school, what are/were my favorite musical groups and why, who is/was a part of my family?

What I like most about……..(answer those which apply to you)

a.	Being in school
b.	Going to work
c.	Staying at home as a parent
d.	Being retired

What are a few happy memories of your childhood?  A sad memory?

Find out something about each other’s faith experience.

	Have you always been a church-goer?
	What is important to you about being a church member?
	When did you first know you were a Christian?

See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?  It’s time to close your time together.  Say the following prayer out loud together:

Dear God, thank you for the opportunity to get to know each other better as followers of You.  Be with us in these weeks of Lent.  Help us to be honest and respectful of one another.  Remind us to pray for one another until next week.  In Jesus’ name,  Amen.

Faith & Worship	Week 2

Since your last time together, share a highlight from the past week.

This time, you will talk about worship together.  Worship is a time to give thanks to God.  What are some things you are thankful for?

Share your answer to the following questions:

	In what ways can a person worship either privately or with others?

Using your memory, try to remember everything that happens during a formal service of communion.

Share with each other all of the parts of worship you can remember.

Now, what is your favorite part of the worship service?
Do you feel included in the congregation worshiping on Sunday?
Are there times when you don’t feel included?  Explain.

Everyone has their own thoughts and ideas about worship, like how often to worship and even whether or not it is necessary to worship together.  In the Bible, Psalm 95:6 says, “O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.”  Share your answer to the question, why is it important to worship together?

If you can, think of one time in your past when you have felt close to God and share it with each other.

Close in prayer together:

Dear God, we thank you for worship.  We pray for all of those people in our church family that need prayers (name them).  Be with them.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Faith & Job/School	Week 3

Share a highlight from this past week and/or a low point.  Then, share with each other what your life is like at school/at work.  What do you do?  How do you spend your days?  Who do you come in contact with?  What do you like about your daily life at work/school?

In the book, The Jesus Life, by Alvin N. Rogness, it says, “Every follower of the Lord has the same vocation, no matter what their job.  Each of us who goes out to follow Jesus is to be concerned with other people.  We are to love them, as God has loved us.  This is our ‘job.’”  If this is true, how can your faith help you to be more loving, caring and empathetic in dealing with those whom you come in contact (like bosses, co-workers, teachers, other students, etc.)?

Do others involved in your occupation/school know you are a Christian?  Why or why not?  How does your faith help you deal with social pressures imposed on you by co-workers/classmates, such as drinking, gossiping and putting people down?

Think of ways people volunteer in your community.  Share your ideas with each other.  In what ways have you volunteered outside of your job/school?  Is volunteering also a part of our “job” as Christians?

When you are having a difficult time at work/school, what do you do?  What helps you through the tough times?

Close in prayer together:

Dear God, we thank you for our jobs and for school.  Give us the courage to use our faith to help us when we are confronted with tough situations.  Help us to remember that You are a part of our lives even when we are not in church.  Remind us each day to be kind and loving to one another just like Jesus taught.  We ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Faith & Family	Week 4

Share a high and low point of this past week.  Then…spend some time describing your family.  Who lives in your house now?  Has this changed in the past few years?  What was it like for you growing up?  What are some of your favorite traditions (such as holidays, rituals, etc.)?

Everyone has a few heroes in their lives.  Who are they for you?  Who has been an important person in your life to share values of faith?

Share a time when your family has affirmed you and how they did it.  If you can, also share a time when you have been hurt by someone in your family and how was the situation resolved?

Which best describes my family?  Choose the following that apply & discuss.

•	We’re close, but we don’t say it
•	We’re close, and we say it all the time
•	We talk about when we did that was wrong
•	We kiss and hug a lot
•	We love each other, but we don’t show it too much
•	We don’t say “I forgive you!” – but we know when it’s over
•	I know my parents have faith in God, but we never talk
•	We talk about matters of faith at least once a month
•	We talk about faith on Sundays and have devotions
•	We go to church together
•	We don’t go to church together

Dear God, thank you for families.  We pray for our own family members (name them out loud).  Help us to remember that you are a part of our family, God.  When we hurt each other, help us to forgive and when good things happen, remind us to praise one another.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Faith & Social Life	Week 5

What do you do for fun?  With whom do you hang out?  What did you do for fun when you were younger?

What negative and positive pressures do you experience from your peers?

Discuss the realities of being tempted in this “chemical society” and in this “material world.”  How does society shape what we think and do?  What part does the media play?

How can a person’s faith affect what they think and do?  How does your faith help you when you are tempted?

It’s a different world……..or is it?

How do you go about figuring out the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong?  To whom do you go?  What do you do?

Can you think of a time when you learned a hard lesson about right and wrong?  Are you willing to share it?

Hopefully by now, you have gotten to know each other pretty well.  Write a thank you prayer on a separate piece of paper about your mentor/mentoree.  Include some things about this person you have appreciated.  Thank God for this new person in your life.  To close, read this prayer to them now, and then give it to your mentor/mentoree.

Sharing	Week 6

1.	When we first got together I remember thinking….

2.	One of the most important things I learned about you is….

3.	A way that you have helped me is….

4.	The most meaningful thing of my time together with you has been….

5.	A Christ-like quality I see in you is….

6.	I’m thankful God brought us together because….

Used with permission from Janice Lee, Zion Lutheran.