The #iMentor Initiative was started to honor the investment of mentors all over the world, and to encourage potential mentors to take the initiative in starting an intentional relationship with a college student today.
———————–
Why do I mentor? Because my life is a result of mentoring.
A few godly men took the time to intentionally invest in me during my formative college years, and they each helped mold and shape my life.
One of my professors, Doug Hodges, took a special interest in me my freshman year in college. We started off having casual conversations after class about general things in life, but soon I found myself eating lunch with him almost on a weekly basis. I’m not quite sure how it happened. All I know is that he made himself available to me; he was always willing to listen and offer wise counsel. In him, I found someone who genuinely cared about me and wanted me to succeed in life and ministry.
During our times devouring cheeseburgers and fries at the local diner on campus, I found myself being deeply challenged by Prof. Hodges. He saw something in me that I hadn’t seen. He believed that God could do great things “in” my life and “through” my life. Doug inspired me to pursue Christ wholeheartedly and serve Him fervently.
God used Prof. Hodges to help me understand what biblical mentoring and discipleship was supposed to look like.
Toward the end of my sophomore year in college, Doug gave me some sad but exciting news. He and his wife were going to retire from the university and move back to the mission field. God was calling him to plant a church in San Pedro de Macoris, a city on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. That summer, I served as an intern with Doug helping him plant the church in San Pedro. Through that internship and time with Doug, God instilled in me a passion for world missions, the local church, and of course mentoring others. Doug’s investment in my life has forever impacted the way I do college ministry.
#iMentor >> Do you?
Gus Hernandez, Jr.
College Pastor
Brainerd Baptist Church
Chattanooga, TN
@GusHernandezJr
———————–
Mentors are just ordinary people, who avail themselves to being used by God — in the life of another — in extraordinary ways. Check out the #iMentor page and consider how God might want to intentionally use you in the life of another. I bet you’ve got a story to share!
