Search Leighton Ford Ministries

Mentoring American Pastors

Specialized support for pastors of small churches, congregations of color, and church plants. These leaders and churches face unique challenges. LFM’s Mentoring American Pastors is focused on providing safe times, safe places, and safe friends to support these often isolated and under-resourced pastors through mentoring communities.

Mentoring American Pastors equips experienced pastors to serve as mentors, partners with them to launch new mentoring communities serving these specific groups of pastors, and can provide three years of start-up support.

Lilly Endowment Inc provides initial funding and research for Mentoring American Pastors.

Potential Mentors

Are you an experienced pastor or ministry leader with a heart for mentoring? What is unique about LFM mentoring is that it is more “friend on the journey” than “master and pupil”. Click here to learn more about our Mentor Leader Training and review the application.

Potential Mentees

Thriving in Ministry is open to pastors of small churches (less than 300 average weekly attendance), congregations of color, and church plants. If you are interested in whole-life mentoring and are willing to regularly withdraw for time away with your mentoring community, Click Here to review the application.

What is a typical LFM Mentoring Community?

  • Eight to ten pastors, often serving in the same region or with a similar mission
  • Annual in-person retreat to allow time for silence and reflection
  • Focus on rest, listening, and prayer
  • Regular check-in meetings (in person or Zoom) based on rhythm of groups

At the core of each LFM mentoring community is a commitment to prayer and attention to you as an individual. We focus on three vital aspects of spiritual mentoring:

  • Attention to whole-life development
  • Withdraw for regular times together
  • Commit  to long-term, and hopefully lifelong relationships

Are you looking for mentoring options for pastors of larger churches, international ministry leaders, parachurch leaders, missionaries, and others? Click Here to learn about additional mentoring opportunities through Leighton Ford Ministries.

Please complete the form below and we will be in touch with more information.
Name(Required)
Church Location
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.