01 / The frame
What mLeiten is.
mLeiten is a citywide leadership development process connected to MainProjekt and the Evangelische Allianz Frankfurt.
Its purpose is to form Gospel-shaped leaders who can take responsibility for themselves, for others, and for the work entrusted to them, with the goal of further development and growth.
The process combines three elements:
- 01
- Training. Twelve units across two years, with six training nights per year.
- 02
- Mentoring. A mentor walks with one mentee through the process, helping them apply what they are learning in real life.
- 03
- Citywide collaboration. Leaders and churches across Frankfurt contribute together, because no single church can develop all the leaders the city needs.
mLeiten is not simply a course. It is a formation process.
02 / The role
What a mentor does.
A mentor sees, invites, walks with, and releases.
See.
You notice someone with potential. Not perfection. Potential.
Look for spiritual seriousness, teachability, responsibility, faithfulness, and a growing desire to serve others. Look for someone who may not yet see clearly what God is forming in them.
Invite.
You name what you see. You tell them why you believe this process could be significant for their growth.
The invitation should be personal and specific. Do not simply say, "You should join this program." Say what you see in them.
For example:
"I see that you already take responsibility for others. I see spiritual maturity in you. I think God may want to develop your leadership further, and I would like to walk with you through that process."
Walk with.
You meet regularly, listen carefully, ask honest questions, pray with them, challenge them, encourage them, and help them apply what they are learning.
This is the core of the mentor role.
Release.
The goal is not dependence. The goal is maturity that multiplies.
You are helping your mentee become established enough in Christ that they can stand, discern, lead, and eventually form others.
03 / The shape of the role
What a mentor is and is not.
A mentor is not only a friend.
Friendship may grow, but friendship is not the whole role. A mentor carries responsibility for formation.
A mentor is not merely a coach.
A coach often starts with the goals a person brings. A mentor has a direction in mind: maturity in Christ, Gospel-rooted leadership, missional courage, and the ability to form others.
A mentor is not a controller.
You are not building a copy of yourself. You are not dominating their personality, calling, or future. You are helping them become the leader God is forming them to be.
A mentor is a formative presence.
You bring attention, prayer, experience, correction, encouragement, and direction. You help connect training content to life, faith, mission, church, and leadership practice.
04 / Discernment
Who can be a mentee?
You are not looking for a finished leader. You are looking for someone ready to be formed.
Use these seven questions for discernment.
- Is this person a mature Christian who lives a credible and visible life of faith?
- Has this person already shown leadership experience and demonstrated the capacity to take responsibility?
- Does this person have clarity in the Gospel, theologically sound and content-clear?
- Does this person live in real relationships with people who do not yet know Jesus, and do they have the instinct to help others grow in that direction?
- Does this person have enough time and focus to be mentored for a full two years?
- Is this person committed to a local church and actively involved in it?
- Does this person live in healthy relationships, family, friends, and church, such that we can expect they will do the same with their own mentee one day?
These questions are not a grading rubric. They are a frame for honest discernment.
Are they already everything we hope they become?
Is there enough maturity, hunger, responsibility, and openness here that two years of intentional formation could bear real fruit?
05 / The rhythm
The two-year rhythm.
mLeiten runs as a continuous cycle of twelve units across two years.
There are six training nights per year, roughly every two months. The units run in a cycle, which means a participant can begin at different points in the year and still complete the full process.
What your mentee commits to
Your mentee is expected to attend all twelve training units across the two-year cycle.
What you commit to
You are welcome to attend the training nights, but you are not required to attend every one.
After each training, you receive:
- The video recording
- A written summary
- Reflection questions
- Any relevant materials or assignments
Your responsibility is to engage enough with the content to help your mentee process and apply it.
Minimum mentoring rhythm
You meet with your mentee at least once between each training night.
That means:
- 6 mentoring meetings per year minimum
- 12 mentoring meetings across two years minimum
- At least 90 minutes per meeting
Many mentors meet more often. Some meet weekly for a period. Some take a longer walk, plan a half-day, invite a mentee along on a trip, or use real-life ministry situations as learning moments.
Use your judgment. The minimum is not the ideal in every season.
06 / Every meeting
The four conversations every meeting should include.
Every mentoring meeting should touch four areas.
These do not need to be equal in length every time. Some meetings will focus more deeply on one area. But over time, all four should remain present.
1. Training content
Help your mentee deepen and apply what was taught.
Ask
- What stood out from the last training?
- What confused you?
- What challenged you?
- What did you agree with but have not yet practiced?
- What does this have to do with your current leadership context?
- What is one concrete step you need to take?
Your role is to help the content become personal, contextual, and practical.
2. Missional life
Keep this in every conversation.
Ask
- Who are you praying for right now who does not yet know Jesus?
- Where are you building real relationships outside the Christian bubble?
- What conversations have happened?
- Where do you feel fear, resistance, or uncertainty?
- What is your missional frontier right now?
A missional frontier is a place, relationship, network, or subculture where your mentee already has proximity and where the Gospel has little visible presence.
This might be a workplace, neighborhood, school, family system, friend group, cultural scene, or ministry context.
Do not let this become theoretical. Name real people.
3. Leadership practice
Talk about where your mentee actually leads.
Ask
- Where are you carrying responsibility right now?
- What is going well?
- Where is there friction?
- Where are you avoiding responsibility?
- What decision, conversation, or action is needed?
- How does the current training theme apply here?
Leadership is learned on the job. Your mentee needs a real context where they are practicing responsibility.
4. Personal walk with Jesus
Ask how their faith is really doing.
Ask
- How is your relationship with Jesus right now?
- Where are you experiencing joy, gratitude, or conviction?
- Where is prayer alive?
- Where is prayer thin?
- What are you avoiding with God?
- Where do you need repentance, courage, comfort, or clarity?
Then pray with them. Out loud. In the meeting.
Do not make prayer an optional add-on. Make it normal.
07 / Meeting structure
A simple structure for each mentoring meeting.
You do not need a rigid script, but a basic rhythm helps.
Before the meeting
Prepare by reviewing:
- The most recent training summary
- The reflection questions
- Any notes from your last mentoring conversation
- Any action steps your mentee committed to
- Anything you want to ask or follow up on
Do not show up cold.
During the meeting
A simple 90-minute structure could look like this:
Ask how they are doing. Pay attention to tone, energy, and what they are not saying.
Talk about faith, prayer, Scripture, repentance, trust, joy, and struggle.
Discuss what they learned and how it connects to their life.
Talk about where they are currently leading and what needs attention.
Talk about real relationships with people who do not yet know Jesus.
Pray together. Agree on one or two concrete next steps before the next meeting.
After the meeting
Take a few minutes to note:
- What seemed most important?
- What did you sense God may be doing?
- What did your mentee commit to?
- What should you follow up on next time?
- What should you report through the mentor app?
08 / First meeting
First meeting guide.
The first meeting sets the tone. Do not make it too formal, but do make it intentional.
1. Name why you invited them
Be specific. Say what you see in them:
- Faithfulness
- Responsibility
- Hunger for growth
- Leadership potential
- Care for others
- Missional instinct
- Spiritual maturity
- Courage
- Teachability
2. Ask for their story
Ask
- How did you come to faith?
- What has shaped your relationship with Jesus?
- Where have you grown most in the last few years?
- Who has invested in you?
- What leadership responsibilities have you carried?
3. Clarify current reality
Ask
- Where are you currently leading or serving?
- What responsibilities are you carrying?
- What feels fruitful?
- What feels difficult?
- Where do you feel stretched?
4. Talk about mission
Ask
- Who in your life does not yet know Jesus?
- Where do you already have meaningful relationships outside the church?
- Where might God be calling you to live more intentionally?
5. Talk about the two-year commitment
Make sure they understand:
- Six trainings per year
- Regular mentoring meetings
- Preparation and reflection
- Active participation
- The expectation that they apply what they are learning
6. Pray together
Ask what they want prayer for. Then pray with them.
7. Agree on the next step
Before you end, clarify:
- When you will meet next
- What they should reflect on before then
- Whether they need to complete any mLeiten onboarding step
- Whether there are questions to bring into the discernment conversation with MainProjekt or church leadership
09 / Reference
Common scenarios.
The situations you are most likely to encounter, with a starting response for each. Tap to expand.
01 My mentee missed a training.
Have them watch the recording and work through the summary and reflection questions. In your next meeting, help them process the material.
If missed trainings become a pattern, address it directly. The issue may not be scheduling. It may be commitment.
02 My mentee is not taking initiative.
Name it calmly.
- What is making it hard to engage?
- Is this still the right season for you?
- Do you understand what this process is asking of you?
- What needs to change before our next meeting?
Do not carry their responsibility for them.
03 My mentee has no missional relationships.
Do not shame them. But do not ignore it.
Start with awareness:
- Where do you naturally spend time outside church?
- Who do you already know?
- Who do you regularly see but have not moved toward?
- What would one small step of intentionality look like?
Help them begin with real proximity, not abstract mission.
04 My mentee is in conflict.
Use it as formation.
- What happened?
- What do you want?
- What are you afraid of?
- What part of this belongs to you?
- What would faithfulness look like?
- What conversation needs to happen?
Conflict is not a distraction from leadership development. It is often where leadership development becomes real.
05 I am not sure my mentee is the right fit anymore.
Do not decide alone.
Talk with someone from MainProjekt or the relevant church leader. Bring concrete observations, not vague impressions.
Possible issues:
- Lack of commitment
- Lack of teachability
- Unresolved relational concerns
- Theological confusion
- No real leadership context
- No capacity for the two-year process
The goal is not to remove people quickly. The goal is to be honest.
06 I do not feel qualified.
That may be a sign of humility, not disqualification.
You do not need to be finished. You do need to be credible.
- Am I living a credible life of faith?
- Am I clear on the Gospel?
- Have I carried real leadership responsibility?
- Am I willing to prepare and engage seriously?
- Am I living missionally myself?
- Am I willing to be shaped through this process too?
If the answer is mostly yes, you may be more ready than you feel.
10 / Commitment
What we ask of mentors.
Time
- Minimum 6 mentoring meetings per year
- At least 90 minutes per meeting
- Preparation before each meeting
- Follow-up after each meeting
- 3 to 4 mentor collaboration meetings per year
Posture
You should already be:
- A mature Christian with a credible and visible life of faith
- An experienced leader who has carried responsibility before
- Clear on the Gospel and able to articulate it
- Living in real relationships with people who do not yet know Jesus
- Actively involved in a local church
- Living in healthy relationships across family, friendships, and church
Optional ways to go further
You are also invited, but not required, to:
- Attend training nights
- Contribute to a training unit
- Help think strategically about the future of mLeiten
- Share feedback from your mentoring experience
- Help us improve the process over time
11 / Begin
How to get started.
The videos explain why mLeiten exists, what a mentor does, how the process works, and what we ask of you.
Write down questions as they come up.
You may already have someone in mind. If not, begin praying and paying attention.
- Who is already taking responsibility?
- Who shows hunger for growth?
- Who might need someone to name their potential?
- Who could become the kind of leader who forms others?
Tell them what you see. Explain what mLeiten is. Invite them to consider the two-year process. Do not pressure them. Give them room to discern.
Meet with Stephan or Phillip from MainProjekt, or with a leader from your own church. In that conversation, you will talk through your questions, the possible mentee, your capacity, the fit on both sides, and the next training opportunity.
Your mentee attends the next training night. You schedule your first mentoring meeting. The two-year rhythm starts.
12 / Contact
Contact.
Few investments are more strategic than helping one leader become the kind of person who can form others. If mLeiten is going to bear fruit in Frankfurt, it will happen through mentors who are willing to do that slow work.