My name is Dmitry.
My testimony has several points, rather than just one, which is really great as I can see how the Lord is working in my life and in my ministry through my mentor.
I had been praying to God for a long time to give me a mentor. The Lord was merciful and He answered my prayers. First of all, my personal quiet time with God became deeper and richer. Sometimes when I read the Bible I make some conclusions and learn some lessons, but our joint Bible study with my mentor can be compared with digging for gold. So, as we work through the passage together we dig deep and carry out the most precious, the truths of God. And, what is most interesting, after applying all the efforts and getting out God’s truth from the text – both of us receive so much delight from reading the Bible. This is so captivating that I want to study the Bible like this every time, getting from its depths valuable thoughts and lessons. Just recently, I decided to read the Bible outdoors, so I opened it and I fell into it. After reading the Bible for about a minute I looked at my watch and understood that actually I was reading it for 30 or 40 minutes!
Second, for me as pastor it is very important to work with souls, the members of the church. It is crucial to do the work right and well. However, one of my strengths sometimes is a hindrance to that. Since I like to motivate people to action, it is challenging for me to listen and especially to hear people. But through our meetings with my mentor I am learning to work with people the way I should, helping them with their spiritual growth. This is rather a difficult process. But, I can say that I have already changed my strategy of working with people (church members and team members). Now I try to ask people the right questions, listening to them closely. As a result, I have noticed several times that during my conversations with people they themselves came to right conclusions while they were reasoning about their issues.
Third, I’ve noticed that I am growing in my preaching skills. Among all the sermons that I have ever presented at church most of them were topic-based. Bible exposition was a rare thing for me. I think that Bible expositions are crucial for the spiritual development due to several reasons. Our meetings with my mentor helped me to implement the truth learned from our joint Bible studies into my sermons. This is really exciting! As a result of that I get encouraged by learning how to preach well and by uncovering the Scripture to others. I have a few people in my team, whom I regularly mentor. All of them are leaders and my desire is to help them avoid mistakes in their collaboration with others. So, everything I learn from our meetings with my mentor I apply practically in my work with them.