Earlier this summer, I learned that my high-school journalism teacher, one of the most important mentors in my life, had died late last year. In the days that followed, I reconnected with friends from those days I hadn’t talked to since we graduated, and in our online and phone conversations, the stories flowed.

All of the stories had a common thread: Our teacher had believed in us when we didn’t believe in ourselves.

That’s the power of mentoring, and because of her and a string of mentors throughout my life, much of my professional life has been marked as a mentor, a coach, a guide. We need mentors, and more than in our professional lives, we need them as we walk with Jesus.

Coming out of the pandemic, I’ve gotten to meet with First Pres teams to start thinking about how we communicate a return to some of our regular discipleship efforts in the fall. “We’re back,” we’ve been saying as we think about what we want to communicate.

To be back, though, the discipleship teams need people to tend the nursery, wrangle kids in children’s church, teach a Sunday school class or develop relationships with teens. Don’t let the word “mentor” scare you. All you have to be is yourself. All you have to do is be a presence, willing to guide those younger in the faith.

So, I hope you’ll say yes when asked to serve. Better yet, get in touch with these teams and let them know you’re in! They’ll be encouraged, and you’ll be on your way to guiding the coming generations.