In the beginning, we did question whether mentoring should be added to our list of schoolswork activities. Largely, because mentoring is about listening rather than talking but also because it is a completely different style of work.
With assemblies, lessons and lunch clubs, we are there to serve a purpose: to share our belief, what Jesus means to us, and how we believe we have a friendship with Him. Of course, we don't preach (we wouldn't be here after 20 years if we did!), but our role is to share the Christian faith from unique perspectives and further support the schools in giving young people opportunities to learn about personal beliefs.
But mentoring is different.
There is no 'agenda' for us. The focus, the point, is all about the student; can you imagine how inappropriate it would be for us to respond to the student's dilemma with "you know, Jesus was faced with a similar dilemma....". Billy Graham might be impressed, but the school certainly wouldn't!
No, it's not the time to share Jesus explicitly, but we can certainly imitate Him in the way we react to shocking news, or the patience we radiate when in a room with a student struggling with ADHD, or the peace we hopefully create when a student with anger issues is on the verge of damaging property or harming themselves.
So, CYO hasn't changed. But, the mentoring is certainly an arm of the charity which has taken into a new field of outreach. It is an opportunity to serve a young person by listening to them, providing a space of nurture and safety, and hopefully walking with them through a particular stage of their life. Jesus may not be mentioned, but we're certainly doing our best to imitate Him.
And He is there with us at all times. Through your prayers and ours, Jesus is in the mentoring room before we arrive, He is very present when we are there...and of course, we can pray that God can create the right antidote in the lives of each young person when they leave....but we say it in our hearts!
And may we never forget that we serve God when we serve others.