Ministry of presence

You are enabling mentors to consistently show up and be fully present for children and young people. 

Mentoring in schools was once a staple ministry through SU in WA, but over time it dwindled. When Sally Howe, Senior Ministry Coordinator, discovered the remnants of the program a few years ago, she was keen to revive it. 

The program currently sends mentors into three primary schools in Perth once a week. Each mentor spends the length of a period (approximately 40 minutes) with their student. What they do in that time is led by the student and ranges from sitting and chatting, to going outside for a game of handball. 

“The idea is that there’s one safe adult who turns up every single week who gives them focused attention, listens to them, is reliable, and is not there to teach or discipline them. It’s amazing how that one little period a week impacts the kid so much,” Sally describes.

While chaplains, teachers and support staff do incredible work, there is simply not enough capacity to meet the emotional and social needs of all students. Mentoring aims to complement the existing foundation of support built within schools. Students are nominated by the school chaplain or deputy to participate in the program, being identified as someone who would benefit from the extra support.

Jo (an intern last year) was matched up with a boy in Year 3 who was noticeably disconnecting from school and others. After two months of meeting up with Jo, his parents noted that he was looking “brighter, happier coming to school, engaging more with everything because he knew that Jo was turning up just for him.”

While becoming a mentor may seem like a daunting task, Sally wants to encourage people not to discount themselves from having something to offer.

“It’s something that a lot of people could do. We run mentoring training, but apart from being a qualified SU volunteer, there’s no specific skills that you need to have. And so I think it’s a beautiful entry point into ministry. It’s less of a solid time commitment like a camp or mission might be. But it’s quite important to be consistent,” Sally explains.

“It’s that ministry of presence that we as Christians can bring into any place that I think we underestimate. We think about what we can do, but it’s actually the turning up, being present, and listening and noticing and seeing these kids. That is the beauty.” 

If you’d like to volunteer in your area, head to su.org.au/get-involved/ to discover how you can get involved.