Brad Gromis, Dave KennedyAn important ingredient in the development of leaders is mentoring. Named for a character in Greek mythology, mentoring today usually involves pairing a less-experienced person with more experienced people who advise and serve as examples.
Pastor David Kennedy of Community of Grace Church, a Grace Brethren congregation whose facility is located just west of downtown Richmond, Va., is currently serving as a mentor to his associate pastor for family ministries, Brad Gromis. Kennedy, 59, has pastored for nearly three decades and has been at the Richmond church for 12 years. Gromis, 32, is in his first full-time ministry position.
Recently, the two sat down to talk about their relationship.
“We knew it was a unique opportunity for us to be able to input into his life for longevity in ministry,” says Kennedy. Gromis has now been with the Richmond congregation for about three years.
Gromis describes the experience as, “wonderful . . . because it’s not just Dave but others within the church who have been part of the process of discipling and mentoring.” He says, “Pastor Dave really invests time into developing me as he says, not just for this particular ministry, but for the longevity of ministry.”
Kennedy, in his sermon preparation, will often ask Gromis for his input. Gromis marvels that, “it was so clear that he valued the input . . . it said ‘you are valuable, and your input matters.’” Kennedy responds, “We have a mutual trust in one another and believe that God has brought Brad to our church for the purpose of helping in the ministry. This means helping individuals, including me as the pastor.”
One of the keys to the relationship working well, Kennedy says, is that “in a mentoring relationship it’s so valuable that both of the individuals are teachable. And Brad is very teachable. And yet, at the same time, he has a lot to offer.”
Reflecting on his own ministry experience, Kennedy says, “I know what mentoring has meant in my life, and that’s what I want for Brad. I know that he and his wife really feel God has called them into ministry. We read so many statistics of individuals who leave the ministry…I’m thankful that I have been entrusted by God to be able to encourage this guy.”
For his part, Gromis says he feels “blessed to be in the kind of relationship we have.” He recalls being in the presence of a number of other associate pastors and youth pastors where the majority were complaining about the senior pastors they work with.
Gromis recalls, “When it got to be my turn, I said what Pastor Dave and I have is a relationship that I see modeled in Scripture. He treats me like Paul treated Titus, ‘my true son of the common faith.’”
Kennedy summarizes, “It’s been a great relationship. We would encourage pastors to be involved in mentoring of young pastors like Brad, and do what we can to encourage more people in the greatest ministry—serving the Lord in full-time vocational ministry.”
Pointing out that in most gatherings of pastors he’s one of the youngest present, Gromis says, “I love the Fellowship [of Grace Brethren Churches]—the Lord used the Fellowship in my life in profound ways, and I want to see it move forward.”
“If we’re going to do that,” he says, “It will be through taking risks with young guys. We need to have more guys like Pastor Dave who are willing to say, ‘This is going to be work for me, to add this extra person, but it’s Jesus’ principle—it’s what He did to advance His kingdom.’”
