So what is "life to life for life"? We hope the following simplifies it for you and inspires you to live for the same purpose. The Apostle Paul said it best:

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God,

but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” 1 Thesslonians 2:8

“Life to life.” One to one. A mentoring relationship in which one participant shares knowledge, wisdom and guidance with the other in order to encourage growth as a person and as a believer in Christ. It is investing mentally, emotionally and spiritually in the life of another person. It is an ever-growing relationship that profoundly affects the beliefs and behaviors of the pair involved.

“For life” speaks of both purpose and commitment. The purpose of the life-to-life relationship is to help the mentoree find the abundant life Jesus spoke of—the fullness of life He promised His followers if they would live by the principles He taught. The commitment is one that says, “I will do more than simply tell you the way to live; I will show you, and I will do so as long as it takes for you to grasp it on your own.”

The goal of a life-to-life relationship is to create and empower disciples who are then able to reproduce the same results in someone else. The elements involved in a life-to-life-for-life commitment are: 1) God’s Word; 2) Prayer; and 3) Relationship.

Our life-to-life ministry at Joy El is best understood by examining the lives of the Apostle Paul and of Jesus Christ while He was present on earth. Both Christ and Paul invested their lives in others in such a way as to cause significant life change in those they mentored. Both Christ and Paul understood the value and the cost of such an investment. The value is to bring abundant life to the mentee and glory to God. The cost is the life of the mentor.