New Mentoring Program for Seminary Students

The Center for Community Change (CCC) in the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary recently launched a peer-to-peer mentoring initiative to help graduate students transition into new rhythms of academic rigor, spiritual formation and community life. On Tuesday, Sept. 9, the CCC held its first Peer-to-Peer Mentoring launch, where new students were introduced to their senior mentors.

 

“At its heart, peer mentoring is about the shared journey,” says Tina Leonor, project manager for the CCC. She shares that the center’s mission is to “cultivate a mentoring lifestyle that supports students throughout their seminary journey,” adding, “we aim to equip them with the tools, skills and experiences needed to extend this lifestyle of mentoring into their future congregations and communities.”

 

At a chapel service for seminary students on the morning of Sept. 9, Ignacio Goya, director of the CCC, spoke about discipleship based on “Christ’s Method Alone.” He reminded attendees that “Christ mingled with people as one who desired their good,” encouraging them to embrace Christ’s form of mentorship.

 

The students then met over a pizza luncheon on the Tan Hall lawn and became acquainted with their mentoring pairs. First-year students were matched with seniors, each of whom volunteered to serve as mentors. Caleb Matias, a senior Master of Divinity student mentor shared, “Mentoring for me will be a way that I can be open to see possibilities that I didn’t see in myself.”

 

The mentoring initiative was organized by Johnny Mata, placement coordinator at the CCC. He shares that the mentoring process, “brings a level of comfort and familiarity when you have someone who is closer to your age to go through this experience with.” The senior seminary students will work with the new scholars, offering support, encouragement and practical wisdom.

 

There are three distinct phases to the mentoring process. The first phase, “Interpersonal Mentoring,” fosters meaningful relationships between students and members of the seminary community, including faculty, staff, local pastors and other students. The second phase, “Community Engagement,” partners students with local pastors for their Advanced Ministerial Development—a mentoring course requirement—in association with the North American Division Evangelism Institute. Finally, in the third phase, “Passing the Torch,” students are equipped to step into the role of student mentors themselves, in turn impacting the next generation.

 

Leonor notes, “The Center for Community Change envisions peer-to-peer mentoring as more than a program; it is a way of embodying the seminary’s values and applying ‘Christ’s Method Alone’ approach in ministry. It reflects the call to discipleship, where leaders are formed not in isolation but in community.” She emphasizes the importance of building a rhythm of mutual care and growth, adding, “In walking together—sharing joys, struggles and discoveries—seminarians are reminded of a deeper truth: that ministry itself is a shared journey, and we are never meant to walk it alone.”