Ministering Forward

Do you want to have a part in helping tomorrow’s Christian leaders fulfill their destiny?

Have you been asked to be a mentor but did not know where to begin?

Does it excite you to see someone you have encouraged advance to a new level?

Ministering Forward will help you to understand how you can be a guide and encourager to those who want to tap into your experience. As a mentor, you are part of a universal tradition of transferring faith and ministry to the next generation. Scripture contains many examples and models for us to follow.

You will learn how to be purposeful and intentional in a mentoring relationship that allows the learner to determine their own mentoring agenda while you nudge them towards self-awareness and guide them along critical growth pathways. You will discover how to forge a mentoring agreement that keeps the relationship on track, as well as identify mentoring activities you can pursue. This book will leave you with no doubt about how you can fit into a mentoring role.

Book Endorsements

Dr. Rainer Mittelstaedt and his wife Elizabeth have lived what he shares in this powerfully practical book you hold in your hand. Understanding how to mentor other leaders is a critical need in the Church today. Having known and worked with the Mittelstaedts for over twenty years, I have been able to observe his growing passion for this area of Christian leadership. He followed his passion with research and applied living. This book will become a must-have textbook for the future training of leaders who are being equipped for meaningful impact in their various spheres of ministry. It is practical and scripture-based, covering the why’s as well as the how’s in becoming an effective mentor. Every person who desires to follow the pattern of Christ in discipling for this generation and the next will treasure the insights found on these pages. Try it. It will change your life!
—Rev. Dr. Naomi Dowdy
Founder, Chancellor TCA College, Singapore
Former Senior Pastor, Trinity Christian Centre, Singapore
Trainer, Consultant, Mentor

It has been said that leaders don’t lead followers, they lead other leaders. Rainer Mittelstaedt has captured the essence of this truth by not only providing a biblical and theoretical foundation for mentorship, but laying out a practical pathway for establishing mutually enriching leadership development relationships. Surely there is nothing more effective for producing godly leaders than living life-on-life with an emerging leader in an intentional mentorship experience. It is the ultimate leadership legacy.
—Dr. Kirk Kauffeldt
GlobalEd Director, Pentecostal Assemblies
of Canada International Missions

Rainer’s Ministering Forward is an exceptional manual on the important process of mentoring the next generation of Christian leaders in any cultural context of the world. The biblical accounts of leaders who invested in disciples and teams of servants provide solid practical examples for contemporary application. This book presents not only a wise rationale for mentoring but the core values and steps which must be taken to equip and enrich the next generation of productive leaders for the challenges we face today. I heartily recommend this book for those who are serious about discipleship and training.
—Dr. Wilf Hildebrandt
Dean of Education, Summit Pacific College

Leadership matters and the development of other leaders must be the life-long commitment of all leaders. At every point along the journey, leaders need mentors and models. Rainer Mittelstaedt offers a guide to those committed to multiplying godly influence through mentorship. This guide is rooted in the Scriptures and in the life of Jesus and has been tested in the multiple leadership contexts and cultures where Rainer has been a faithful witness for Christ. He has personally modeled the radical reversal from worldly leadership patterns, a reversal taught and modeled by Jesus and demanded of his followers. Enjoy these proven insights from a faithful servant of God.
—Rev. D. Murray Cornelius
Executive Director for International Missions
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada

Born out of passionate curiosity, grounded in solid research and animated by practical mentoring experience in a variety of cultural contexts, Ministering Forward: Mentoring Tomorrow’s Christian Leaders is an indispensable tool for leaders who want to personally grow today and also leave a legacy for tomorrow through the lives they have engaged.  Rainer Mittelstaedt has done a fantastic job in bringing the critical principle of mentoring alive in this work.
—Peter McIntosh
Lead Pastor of Bethel Pentecostal Church, Ottawa, Canada; former Southeast Asia Regional Director, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada International Missions

It is an honour to endorse Ministering Forward, by Dr. Rainer Mittelstaedt. There are numerous high-quality resources available on the subject of coaching but few that do justice to providing clarity as to the why, what, how, when, where, who, and for whom of mentoring. This resource brings well-defined clarity to the question of why mentoring is so essential to multiply the growth, development, discipleship, and shaping of increasing numbers of high potential persons who will carry ministry forward.

Mittelstaedt’s comparisons to other processes used for multiplication enhance the clarity of what the essence of mentoring is. The model depicting how mentoring is done brings functional clarity to the “how” of mentoring. The final section of the book provides guidance on how to keep mentoring clear, focused, and purposeful for team building and group work.

Having taught and actively engaged in coaching, mentoring, and facilitation for just under fifty years, this resource fills a resource gap that will be used as a guide for teaching and doing mentoring and coaching into the future. Thanks for an exceptional resource and I can’t wait to add it to a course textbook list.
—Paul Magnus, PhD
President Emeritus, Distinguished Professor of Leadership & Management with Briercrest and Tyndale Seminaries; Coach; Consultant; Facilitator

Mentoring, as a subject, is much loved but often poorly defined, and imprecisely executed. Ministering Forward addresses this paradox by offering a simple, straightforward, and comprehensive approach for ministry mentoring relationships. More than just a step-by-step, how-to textbook—which clearly the book is—Ministering Forward offers a meaningful and convincing rationale for why leaders must embrace purposeful and competent mentoring to realize God-given vision and extend their impact beyond their lifetimes. If you want to build people, develop leaders, and transfer vision forward, but don’t know where to start, reach for Ministering Forward first.
—Peter Dove
Southeast Asia Regional Director, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada International Missions

At a time when many talk about the need for personal work, discipling, and mentoring but few are willing to devote the time to do such work, Rainer Mittelstaedt faithfully gives himself to investing in emerging leaders in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. This experience, combined with serious academic study on the topic, has resulted in a concise, comprehensive, and very practical book on mentoring. I pray that it would contribute to reversing the trend away from this vital ministry in the church.
—Dr. Ajith Fernando
Teaching Director, Youth for Christ Sri Lanka; Author, Jesus Driven Ministry

Rainer and his wife Elizabeth are global workers with many years of experience doing exactly what this book talks about—making a strategic investment of their lives in mentoring leaders overseas. Rainer’s work is solidly grounded in Scripture and rich in its depth of application, yet he writes in an easy-to-read style. This book comes from a person whose expertise is grounded in informed research as well as practical skills derived from actual engagement in the mentoring process. It thus represents a rare blend of robust scholarship and hands-on experience, covering an impressively broad spectrum of topics and material crucial to Christian leaders around the world. Ministering Forward addresses a great need in a much-neglected area in leadership training. If you are serious about being a mature leader who prepares other leaders for the Church of the future, then this book is for you!
—Dr. Ivan Satyavrata
Senior Pastor, Assembly of God Church in Kolkata; Chair, Board of World Vision-India Chair, Bombay Teen Challenge; Author of Holy Spirit, Lord and Life Giver and God Has Not Left Himself Without Witness; Former President, Southern Asia Bible College, Bangalore.

Ministering Forward is a biblically grounded, thorough, and accessible guide to practically walking alongside others in mentoring.
—Dr. Steve Brown
President, Arrow Leadership; Author of Leading Me: Eight Practices for a Christian Leader’s Most Important Assignment

Mentoring is one of the tried and true methods of developing the next generation. Rainer has done the church—indeed, any leader—a service in providing not only the biblical rationale but practical and easily applicable ways to practice mentoring. Having worked in multiple cultural contexts, the author is sharing with us principles that will find relevance regardless of the context. I recommend the book highly.
—John F. Caplin
Certified Executive Coach

The empowering words and actions of a mentor always leave an indelible mark on the soul of their protégé. Living faith cannot be inherited; it must be passed on from one generation to another through the power of trusted mentorship. The cruelty of our critics will never erase the inspiration of our mentors. Ministering Forward: Mentoring Tomorrow’s Christian Leaders exposes many theological and practical aspects of mentorship, in ways that are significantly relevant for every ministry context. This book is a must-read for every Christian leader and should be used as discipleship curriculum for local churches.
—Rev. Ken Russell
District Superintendent, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, BC and Yukon

Dr. Rainer Mittelstaedt has been in Christian ministry for over forty-five years. He has been a pastor in Canada, a missionary in Africa and South Asia, and an educator in various contexts. In 2013, he completed his Doctor of Ministry degree in Leadership Studies at Tyndale Seminary and University College. The focus of his thesis was on ministry mentoring in a South Asian. context.   Rainer currently serving as a part of the GlobalEd team for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada International Missions.  He holds mentorship training seminars for Christian leaders and oversees the curriculum development of the Ministry Essentials Training Program for GlobalEd Institute. 

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