Online Mentoring
TechCrunch.com recently announced the private beta launch of the site iMantri.
From TechCrunch,
iMantri seeks to match mentors up with mentees using a niche social network that focuses on “goals” and “competencies”… Members can list themselves as mentors and/or mentees for any needs imaginable. For example, you can become a mentor for someone who wants to develop better time management skills or you can seek help with project management.
Although iMantri isn’t targeted toward churches, the concept of goals and competency centric mentoring is very interesting. If a similar site was developed with ministry-related application in mind, the possibilities of sharing our knowledge, wisdom, passion and ideas to others globally could have a tremendous Kingdom impact.
I get asked about mentoring programs and tools from time-to-time. We do don’t currently use one (at least that I am aware of).
Have any of you seen a site/application that does this for ministries? If not, maybe iMantri can be adapted…or one of you can take on the project :)
Visit 
Bobby - I have not seen a similar application developed for ministries. I think this would have a great deal of application. I do wonder about the ongoing relationship that may be helpful in a mentoring relationship. I think that there may be a good deal more effort needed to catch someone up with the current setting of one’s work in order to be able to provide effective mentoring.
I think that this might increase in effectiveness if it were to be a tool that was used for better ongoing mentoring with someone where there was an actual physical relationship initially.
I think this is a great idea! I have not seen anything like this before. I do think that an application should be developed around this idea. God really has placed mentoring on my heart. I have been reading Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels and discovered that mentoring was something God has given me a passion for. This week I started my pursuit of my holy discontent by serving at SWITCH.
Hi Bobby,
I’m a web developer by profession (church planter by heart). I own a web development company.
From the church planter perspective, and from someone who lives in an area where off line mentoring is not available, I have been looking for possibilities of an online mentoring tool and/or web site.
If the community sees it fit that a web application can be created to facilitate online mentoring for the ministry, I will be willing to invest in such an endeavor. I’d like to receive support with regards to suggestions and ideas if I will proceed, though, as I have never been mentored nor know how mentoring goes and what would an effective online tool for that will look like.
At Seacoast we’ve developed an online learning resource for developing new leaders call MyNextSteps. It a mentored based system.
http://www.mynextsteps.org/
I’m about to sign up for iMantri, I’m really excited about it. When I was younger I was lucky to have some great advisers that really had a profound affect on my life. For a lot of reasons I don’t have them in my life like I once did and sometimes that’s hard. I’m really seeking someone to mentor me through this part of my life and this is a great tool to help accomplish that.
Very interesting. I’ll check to see if there are other existing platforms similar to this or if I should just create one :)
[...] Online Mentoring Bobby asks “Have any of you seen a site/application that does this for ministries? If not, [...]
Everyone, thanks for the feedback.
Trace, I need to learn more about your site. It’s been a while since I visited it.
Sounds like a few of you (including those that emailed me) are interested in building something. I encourage you all to connect and work together if possible. If others of you have suggestions on features for a mentoring app…just use this post to make the suggestions so everyone can benefit
Thanks!
[...] Online Mentoring by Bobby Gruenewald links to a fascinating resource for this possibility. [...]
Hi Bobby,
Just learned that Darren Whitehead (Youth Pastor at Willow) has started an online peer community for youth leaders. I checked it out and it looks excellent. It incorporates a form of peer mentoring…
http://www.iyouthministry.com
Mark,
I remember Darren talking to me about that last year. I’ll have to check it out..thanks for sharing that with everyone.
To whom concern
I work in a nursing home some of my coworkers are getting burn-out. I would like to help them, Iam in the peer mentor at work.
Anne Jackson wrote a book called “Mad Church Disease” about burnout among those on church staffs. You might read the description and reviews on Amazon to see if it could be applied to your situation.