In response, Stream of Life Ministries Founder and Director, Jim Hale, created The Mentor Corps. A successful long-term life skills coach and business consultant, Hale also became an ordained minister three years ago.

“God’s sovereign plan for me,” Hale said, “was to grow me as a seasoned disciple through many years of personal transitions and trials to become equipped to go help others hear life truths of salvation and deliverance through the Holy Spirit. This has become the most meaningful and exciting time of my life.”


Mentoring background
Hale first encountered mentoring while volunteering with the InnerChange Freedom Initiative Lino Lakes Prison program.

“That opened my eyes to what it takes to sustain success when re-entering society,” Hale said. 

The Mentor Corps design is based on understanding that in addition to mentors being committed, mature Christians, mentees also need to have surrendered to Christ for salvation and leadership and be prepared to submit to their mentor guide.

Working with the Holy Spirit, mentor and mentee reach new life skills and spiritual renewal together as a team following a solid plan and purpose—rather than experiencing short-term transition without sustained recovery.

“Mentoring partnerships may not be right for everyone,” Hale said. “The stakes are high. Though other programs may assign Christian mentors, mentees may be of other religions, atheists, or not ready to submit to intensive leadership.

“When both are Christian, transformation occurs as they partner for deliverance from old life patterns to healthy new ones.”


The Mentor Corps program
The new program’s “Mentoring for Success Tool Kit” includes recruiting tactics, accountability training, and ongoing equipping support. Hale hopes the new program will assist Christ-centered recovery/re-entry agencies and local churches to build renewal partnerships.

The Mentor Corps provides ongoing development to strengthen mentors toward Christ-like lives that will demonstrate: discipline, obedience, accountability, prayer, compassion, fun and constant commitment to the Word for life’s best answers. According to Hale, local and national statistics show that when mentors who use the Bible as their “Battle Plan” work with mentees who’ve accepted Christ as their Savior, they do much better at becoming whole and sustaining sobriety.

Though financial needs cripple many pilot programs, The Mentor Corps’ start-up phase was aided by Kingdom Oil, a Twin Cities Christian Foundation.

Hale is clear about The Mentor Corps’ purpose: “We issue the call to committed discipleship by implementing Bible knowledge with heart and life skills equipping to go and help others become disciples.”

Former Minnesota Gov. Al Quie was one of the first men Hale approached for counsel.

“Quie confirmed, ‘You get it, Jim. Mentors must grow as disciple-building teams so they can support each other. They must be equipped to lead mentees boldly, as Christ taught, towards transformation, not transition.’”

A powerful Advisory Team of Christ-centered leaders helps Hale grow the Corps through recruitment, training and ongoing discipleship development through workshops and retreats for fun and fellowship. Rocky DeYoung, Re-entry Manager for IFI at Lino Lakes, understands the need to equip mentors with guiding tools for order and obedience, as well as sound Bible training. DeYoung said, “Hale brought together many of the best concepts available to form an excellent training process through the Mentor Corps Mentoring for Success Tool Kit.”


Success stories
Homeless himself four years ago, Alpha Citicorp Director, Steve Erickson, said, “As I used the Tool Kit planning and accountability forms on myself and my mentee, we both grew. Beyond our growing friendship, this really strengthened our accountability relationship.”

Released from Lino Lakes last June, Justin Armstrong and Hale are mentor/mentee partners.

“In the beginning, Armstrong didn’t like structured weekly activity reports and accountability,” Hale said, “but he cooperated and we learned to communicate past news, weather and sports, to solve real-life issues.”

“This is exactly what I prayed for, though I didn’t know it would be this good for me,” Armstrong said. “My family is so pleased with my progress.”

A bounty hunter by trade, Herb Beer, has mentored for nine months.

“I wasn’t sure if mentoring fit my lifestyle,” Beer said, “but it’s what I needed to grow.”

“[Herb] Beer is consistent, persistent, and one of our best in helping mentees accept the need for spiritual change while obtaining work, housing, and solving other daily pressures,” Hale said.

The Mentor Corps is currently developing a “revolutionary concept” called “The Battle Plan for Deliverance.”

“We are building a Circle of Success program providing recovery, reentry and spiritual renewal for six men coming out of Salvation Army programs. This involves partnering with a Christian transitional housing owner, providing a base camp where the men live,” Hale explained. 

Local employers hire the men, and daily transportation is arranged for travel back and forth to work on time. Financial guidance comes from local companies or donors who become Renewal Partners that supplement funds for housing and transportation.

“There are also Life-Skills Bonus Savings Accounts when mentees complete a minimum of nine program months,” Hale said. “Mentors guide mentees through the transformational big picture. The Mentor Corps program is succeeding wonderfully in the north suburbs and will soon be ready to plant elsewhere.”

Hale is excited about the rich possibilities in Christ: “We cannot do things the old way and expect change. Now is the time to make a difference in Minnesota and our nation.”


ACTION POINT:
For more information about The Mentor Corps program, visit www.thementorcorps.org, or contact Jim Hale by phone at (612) 963-0820, or by e-mail at troutdaddy@earthlink.net.