Abstract

Intergenerational mentorship, where usually an elder person (mentor) provides wisdom, guidance, and support to the less experienced person, usually the younger one (mentee), is essential for institutional sustainability. At the same time, the experience is that in many cases, this is easier said than done, even in churches. Incumbent leaders do not make an effort to mentor their potential successors, and sometimes even frustrate them and even go to the extent of changing the rules of succession in order to stay in power. Sometimes, some well-meaning leaders simply do not know how to mentor. And some mentors mentor the wrong people.

Through analysis of selected biblical texts in the book of Acts and several Pauline letters, this paper seeks to demonstrate how Paul’s mentorship of Timothy could provide some insights to a biblical model of mentoring. The paper reveals that intergenerational mentorship is a multifaceted, long-term process. It includes identification of mentees, establishing and developing trust, which enables learning and accountability, accompaniment of the mentee, which involves intentional training as well as commendation and promotion of the mentee. However, the paper also notes some of the challenges in mentorship practice in current African settings.