Mentoring Pastor
LAUNCH is a Radiant School of Ministry distance education program that partners with local pastors and their churches to train working adults for ministry leadership. RSM provides the online classes, in-person retreats, and overall program structure. In the local church, as the Mentoring Pastor, you provide mentoring and ministry experience to the student. You and the student will choose a Discipleship Partner who will offer the student practical discipleship, accountability, and care for their heart. Together, we can equip working adults for ministry leadership.
If you have a student that you want to join the LAUNCH program
under your supervision, these are the next steps…
Talk with the Student - Have a conversation with the student where you express your desire to see them prepared for ministry, recommend LAUNCH, and direct them to the website to fill out the application by August 15th.
Student Fills Out the Application - The acceptance process starts officially with the student filling out the application. Their application will prompt us to send out references and we will also do an interview with the student during this timeframe.
Pastor Fills Out the Mentoring Pastor Reference Form - The Mentoring Pastor Reference Form includes your insight into the student’s history with the Lord, overall health, and character. Included in this Mentoring Pastor Reference Form are questions regarding your commitment to walk alongside the student throughout the 2 year LAUNCH program.
Pastoral Phone Call - We will call you to connect briefly about the program over the phone, clarify expectations, discuss if this is the right next step for the student, and answer any questions you may have.
Student Acceptance - After these steps, our Admissions Team will review the application and reference forms. If we feel that your student is a good fit for LAUNCH, you will both be notified of their acceptance.
Student Enrollment - After the student enrolls in the program, we will send you all the resources you will need to walk with the student through the program. Our goal is to partner with you to raise up future ministry leaders for your church and region.
Mentoring PAstor Requirements
Connect your student(s) to ministry opportunities within your local church. As your student(s) demonstrates maturity and readiness for increased levels of responsibility, you as the Mentoring Pastor will connect them with different ministry opportunities. Our team will provide ideas based on the students’ classes, but it is your decision based on your church’s needs and your student’s readiness.
Meet with your student(s) for 1-2 hours two times per month. This is a time for you to connect with the student(s) and equip them in key areas such as ministry skills, leadership principles, theology, etc. In your meetings, there may be some overlap into more discipleship based topics. Although there may be overlap, the student’s Discipleship Partner will be the key voice to focus on those elements so that you are able to focus on mentoring your student(s) on the practical, hands-on side of ministry. If you have more than two students interested in the program and you’re curious about what group mentoring could look like, please contact us.
Select and meet with the Discipleship Partner. A Discipleship Partner is someone who would also be meeting with your student at least once a month. A Discipleship Partner is someone who will focus on providing practical discipleship, accountability, and care for the heart of your student. We ask that you connect with the Discipleship Partner at least once a month to partner together to identify areas where the student needs specific attention, conversations, and prayer.
Questions?
It is a joy and a privilege for our team to equip people for ministry leadership. If you have any questions about Radiant School of Ministry, please contact us.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Click the question to reveal the answer.
How much does the program cost?
The tuition for a student in LAUNCH will be $3,200 each year ($6,400 over 2 years). This includes everything except their textbooks and their travel costs to attend the retreats. For three or more students from the same host church, we offer a discount applied directly to the students’ tuition.
Does my church pay anything to have a LAUNCH student?
Payment of tuition is the responsibility of the student. However, we do encourage you to sponsor the students in some way if you have space in your annual budget.
Your church could:
- Pay for the student’s textbooks
- Pay for the student’s travel costs to attend the retreats (3 retreats per year)
- Pay a portion of their tuition.
What is my role as a Mentoring Pastor?
Your role as a Mentoring Pastor is to equip the student in practical ministry skills and provide them with real-world ministry experience at your church. During the two year program, you will meet twice per month with the student to mentor them as they train for ministry leadership. You will also connect the student with ministry opportunities within your church where they can gain valuable ministry experience.
I have multiple students interested in the program, do I have to mentor them all individually?
The short answer is no. However, we want to make sure that each student is receiving valuable and sufficient mentoring to prepare for ministry. Please contact us to discuss the options.
How long does this program last?
LAUNCH is a 2-year program. There will be breaks for holidays and the summer.
When are the retreats?
The retreats will be held in September, late January and early May. Our final retreat concludes with a graduation ceremony for our Year 2 students. We invite Mentoring Pastors and Discipleship Partners to be in attendance and celebrate the graduates. We hold this final retreat and graduation in the days leading up to the Arise Shine Conference. This allows our students, and you as the Mentoring Pastor, to only have to make one trip to Michigan if you plan on attending both the graduation and the Arise Shine Conference.
Am I committing to hire the student at my church after graduation if I commit to participate in LAUNCH?
No, neither the church nor the student are committing to employment at the end of the LAUNCH program. However, we expect that there may be some cases where employment is mutually beneficial to both the church and the student after graduation.
What do I talk about during our 1 on 1 meetings?
We will provide you with a guide that includes: an overview of the student’s term classes and meeting sheets that correspond to certain weeks throughout the term. These meeting sheets include basic questions that are repeated on each sheet along with specific questions that correspond to where the student is at within the term. However, you are free to customize the content of these meetings to fit your situation. We will also provide the Discipleship Partner with a similar guide for their respective meetings.
Am I required to meet 1 on 1 with the student if they are the opposite gender of me?
The mentoring meetings are essential, but you aren’t required to meet alone. If your student is the opposite gender, we recommend that you include another staff member or the student’s spouse in the meetings. You could also meet with them in a public place.
Does a lead pastor have to be the mentoring pastor?
No! In medium to large size churches, it may be a better fit for another pastor on staff to be the Mentoring Pastor for the LAUNCH student.
Is LAUNCH a good fit for a recent high school graduate?
LAUNCH is designed to train working adults for ministry leadership. Radiant School of Ministry’s Full Time program in Kalamazoo, MI would be a better fit for recent high school graduates who want to go into ministry. If you aren’t sure which program would be a better fit for a potential student from your church, please contact us.
What is the student's commitment?
The student’s commitment is between 13 and 15 hours per week. This includes 6-8 hours of service in your church, 4 hours a week to complete their online classes and homework, and a weekly Zoom call with their cohort and members of the LAUNCH leadership team. In addition, this includes meeting with you, their Mentoring Pastor, twice a month, as well as meeting with their Discipleship Partner at least once per month. Lastly, students are required to attend three in-person equipping retreats in Kalamazoo, MI, as a part of their training.
I’m interested in being a mentoring pastor for a LAUNCH student. What’s my next step?
Your next step is to have a conversation with the potential student(s) about LAUNCH, if you haven’t already. If they apply to the program, you will be sent a link to a pastoral reference/commitment form to fill out. We will also contact you for a phone call to get to know you, clarify expectations, and answer any questions you may have.