Why Do Some Mentoring Programs Fail and Others Thrive?

Transformational leadership really matters in urban ministry. Many well-meaning Christians seek to start programs in the inner city, but far too often those programs end up struggling from a lack of effectiveness and sustainability. Sports outreach programs, mentoring programs, and many other types of outreach efforts fall apart for a wide variety of reasons. No matter what the issues are with the programs, at the center of the break down usually lies the issue of leadership.

I spoke with a leader of a school this morning who told me that they had tried to get several mentoring programs started there, but the programs were not effective because the mentors quit the program and there was no pipeline for additional mentors. That is so sad! High risk youth face many struggles in modern society, and it is a shame that those mentors chose to add to that list of obstacles that those children had to try to overcome. It would be better for people to not mentor at all than to get involved as a mentor in the life of a young person and then give up on them after only a period of months.

While the mentors in the ineffective mentoring programs might be to blame, upon closer look I would bet that the leaders of those failed mentoring programs were the cause. Good mentors need strong leadership, and strong mentoring programs usually have leadership in place that understands how mentors need support, ongoing supervision, effective training, and resources in order to be able to more effectively build a transformational relationship. Transformational leaders are visionary, but they are also hands on and deeply committed to making sure program goals are implemented consistently and effectively over time. Programs do not run themselves, as many ineffective program leaders would like to believe. Healthy mentoring programs that truly impact the lives of at-risk youth are driven by highly effective mentors who are being led and supported by strong leadership. LAMP still has a long way to go before we will be able to determine how effective our matches have been, but we are off to a good start. And I am passionate about leading well through complex circumstances so that current mentors feel supported and new mentors are always entering the program. Mentoring is too important to the kids that we are trying to reach for LAMP to fail because it was managed poorly.