Overflow Mentors

The primary requirement is a desire to walk alongside a student who yearns for a deeper relationship with Jesus. Mentor candidates are screened to ensure the match will be a good fit. Mentors receive initial and ongoing so they know exactly how to best disciple their students.

• Mentor candidates must be current employees of Southern Adventist University, or
• A background check must be completed and recommendation letters must be submitted for any Southern alumni or local church members who wish to be a mentor.
• Agree to semester commitment for the mentoring relationship.

The mentor and the student meet weekly for a minimum of 30 minutes.

You can do this! You don’t need to be an expert, a pastor or a chaplain. With help from our Mentor Guide and ongoing training just add your own personal experience. Your commitment as a mentor:

• Participate in a one-hour live online mentor training course.
• Complete weekly mentoring sessions for one semester.
• Engage in quarterly mentor training opportunities.

The Office of Ministry & Missions will provide instructions for how to engage with your student. Introduce yourself following notification of a match and agree on when to meet for your first session. Mentors will be offered a sample schedule for their weekly meetings and optional curriculum to help them offer students the most meaningful experience possible throughout the semester.

We’re so grateful that you are considering being a mentor especially in addition to all that you already give to our campus. Therefore, while we want to offer you resources to elevate your experience, we also want to this mentorship and discipleship experience to be as organic as possible by encouraging you to build on your natural gifts for mentorship and to support your own walk with God as you journey with your student.

Mentorship resources include:

• Training on how to be a great mentor
• Template samples for weekly meetings with your student
• Quarterly mentor gatherings for ongoing training, reflection, and support
• Gifts and incentives to inspire and celebrate all that you have to offer through this process

Your formal mentorship will end after one semester. You are under no obligation or expectation to continue the relationship. As a mentor, you can decide if you want to 1) appeal for ongoing mentorship for one additional semester if the student requests, 2) continue with informal discussions with the student after the mentorship concludes, or 3) discontinue the formal mentorship relationship but continue to support and affirm even from afar.

• Every student would experience a deeper walk with God.
• Every student would experience belonging in faith community.
• Every student would have someone in their life, other than family, they can go to for encouragement and direction.
• Every student would experience reduced stress and increased resilience as a result of their mentorship relationship.
• Every mentor would experience a richer discipleship journey.
• Every mentor would experience greater satisfaction in their work and ministry on campus.
• Our campus would experience greater spiritual vitality as a result of this mentoring and discipling.

Students participating in Overflow learn new skills that help them to experience God personally and intimately. To provide quantitative data about Overflow, we ask each incoming student to complete a survey to self-assess their current experience with God coming into the program. As a part of the mentorship experience, students will be prompted to formulate specific goals relating to their individual walk with God in areas such as personal worship, corporate worship, vocational calling, as well as service and outreach. Once the mentorship experience has drawn to a close, they will self-assess their progress achieved during the semester.