When I was younger, an elderly couple became my spiritual mentors. At the time, I didn’t call them that. I only knew they were a couple who hosted a small group. We called it a covenant family group — and there was a good reason for that. This couple cared about me and my spiritual well-being. They were so warm and hospitable that one day, they even called me an angel, which I thought was kind of them! 

But joining this group started when the wife of the deacon and discipleship class leader, who led the home group, asked me to join. The discipleship class leader, her husband, had asked me once before. But at the time, I didn’t take joining it that seriously. When she asked, I said, “Okay!” I joined the covenant family group shortly after and my life was never the same again. The type of rich spiritual nourishment I got from the group, especially the leaders of the group, who were married for over three decades, strengthened my faith and spiritual journey. They were not only a support group, but they were also people who had sound spiritual teachings I truly understood and appreciated. This elderly couple was so advanced in faith that my relationship with them and their mentorship naturally stretched my faith and challenged me to love God more.

As a young adult, you need a spiritual mentor. 

How Spiritual Mentorship Can Change Your Life

When I interviewed bestselling author Tez Brooks about his book on living with integrity as a young adult, especially when away from home, he highlighted this necessity of a spiritual mentor. “We need mentors, even if it’s someone who’s just a few years older. There are so many young people that are making plans to propose, like a guy making plans to propose to his girlfriend, and he’s getting his advice from people his own age who have never been married,” Tez said. Instead, he said that person might want to ask someone who has actually been through a proposal and has been married a few years.

Spiritual mentorship helps avoid peer pressure and temptations.

Brooks said mentoring is helpful because young adults can face peer pressure. “There’s a lot of peer pressure to give into … like you have to have a certain amount of money you’ve got to make or else, you’re looked down upon.” Spiritual mentorship can guard you from making some of these mistakes by helping you put things in the right perspective and through godly counsel. 

Spiritual mentorship helps develop a steadfast faith.

Research by the Barna Group shows that when it comes to learning about Jesus, for young people, discipleship, and more specifically spiritual mentorship, is the strongest factor to help them develop a steadfast faith.

Some past research also shows that to help young adults thrive spiritually in young adulthood, there needs to be mentorship for them. 

Spiritual mentorship deepens relationship with God and others, and develops grace and wisdom.

In my experience with spiritual mentors, I learned from the intergenerational relationships I had at my local church, and particularly the one with the elderly couple. These experiences pulled my attention closer toward God, which should be the goal of spiritual mentorship.

From my experience, I particularly learned a lot about marriage and grace from this couple. I saw how they complemented and helped each other in ministry, leadership and life. I learned what a godly marriage looks like, especially because they had been married for such a long time. I also saw how a couple can respond graciously and lovingly to each other.

I gleaned wisdom from them. I gained wisdom for  my relationships. But I also saw their faith in God and how much they trusted Him. I observed how they held on to His Word — and learned from their testimonies. I discovered that while we try to serve God wholeheartedly, there may be times when we make mistakes, and it’s okay to admit and grieve over them. It’s human. 

These experiences enriched my life. They strengthened my spiritual life, increasing my faith while helping me to understand my weaknesses as a human.

A Blessing in Plain Sight

In all of this, I learned that spiritual mentors are truly blessings. It’s not only a blessing when you find a spiritual mentor, but also when God prepares one and brings him or her into your life for His glory.

This article was originally titled “Rooted and Growing” in the December 2025 issue of Peer.