What is an Owens Mentor?
Since Owen’s Garage is supported and promoted as a faith based Christian ministry, we want to openly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a loving and honest way. Therefore, an Owen’s Mentor is an adult believer in Jesus Christ who desires to make a difference in the lives of vocationally minded young people by sharing and modeling the love and Good News of Christ with them. A Mentor should live an “incarnational” life style as best they can to be able to pass on the attitudes and character traits of Jesus as the Holy Spirit provides “opportunities” or teachable moments. This does not mean a mentor needs to be perfect or that they should put on spiritual airs but it refers more to honesty, humility, transparency, responsibility, and genuine care and concern for the well being of people so that personal connections can be made, encouraging influence can be gained, and real life stories, strategies, or instructions can be passed on to facilitate life change and personal growth. Here are some key behavior characteristics:
• A mentor should follow the same rules as the students so they should:
1. Faithfully attend curriculum based meetings (classes and field trips)
2. Notify other mentors (not by proxy) when unable to attend on time or at all
3. Show up on time for meetings when able to attend that day/night
4. Come prepared for each meeting based on prior commitments or current agenda
5. Commit to 6 hours per week of class minimum (holidays & vacations excluded)
• A mentor must pass a criminal background check to work with students in Texas
• A mentor should have a good understanding of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. They do not have to be theologians but should be growing in their knowledge of Bible truth and application.
• A mentor should be able to articulate and pass on the plan of salvation to others. This can be done in a variety of ways like the “Bridge Illustration”, “Four Spiritual Laws” , the “Roman Road” , or through personal testimony and sharing of scripture. (HCBC and other churches offer periodic workshops designed to help with this).
• A mentor should be free from dependency on or use of illegal and party drugs (marijuana, bath salts, huffing etc.), alcohol, tobacco or vaping and should not encourage or condone their use in any way.
• Each Mentor is responsible for shop safety, If an operation is being performed unsafely and/or without the proper tools or protection, or shop conditions, he needs to speak up to stop the procedure immediately and correct the problem before proceeding.
• Each mentor is responsible for shop security. He needs to ensure the grounds and shop are free of unauthorized personnel when working and the shop is locked and “turned off” (lights, grill, compressor, heaters, A/C etc) before going home.
• Each mentor is responsible for shop cleanliness and should take initiative from time to time to clean work area, counter and table tops, floor, refrigerator, and empty trash as needed. Remember our mothers don’t work here.
• Each mentor is responsible for tool inventory and control, requesting tools and their replacement or repair, requesting and/or purchasing parts or chemicals with Owen’s money provided in advance or after the fact with a CC purchase. All receipts must be turned in after purchase.
• An instructor may be a non-believer but must be of good character with a good reputation and trustworthy referral. He could become a mentor some time after receiving Jesus Christ as personal savior if he desires to do so (assuming he has been faithfully performing his duties and demonstrating Christ-like character). The aspiring mentor must present his conversion testimony to the Owen’s staff (and perhaps students also) and allow a time for prayer and vetting prior to consensus promotion to mentor.