If you are having a difficult time developing new friendships so you can have someone to mentor or so you can add new friends to mentor, then you need to go through this study. This is a study on what techniques Jesus used to develop the friendships He had. It is a study you could go through prior to starting Beginning: Year One or studying as a part of your Beginning: Year One training.

If you already have friends to mentor but would like to be developing more friends for your future mentoring, then you should spend as much time in this study as needed. It will help you be going through the natural course of your daily activities while allowing people to become a closer part of your life and mentoring. It takes very little extra effort to make it a part of what you typically do each day.

Another reason you might want to go through this study is to be able to help those of your friends who need to know how to develop friendships. You can work with them by taking them through this study and teach them a way of life that assists hurting people find the help they need.

This study is literally a lifestyle of making new friends; it takes all your business and casual relationships to another level. It helps you learn how to ask those around you non-threatening questions that invite them to open their heart up to you.

As you give people opportunities to grow in their relationship with you, you are able to know what to do next when they indicate they are willing to share various information about their lives with you. If this is something you would like to know and grow in, then “Friendship Development” is the study for you.

Most of the relationships we are involved in during our day are business relationships. They aren’t people we could call friends; they are just people we need in order to help us get certain needs met. If you were asked to tell some personal information about them, you would probably be at a loss. You don’t know what kind of things most of them like, what they are going through, or what they are doing to try to make themselves happy.

We see people get food, clothing, housing, and medical treatment from people who are basically strangers to them. Even in church, we can go in, sit down and try to get our spiritual needs met by people who don’t know us and we don’t know much about them. Jesus is trying to help us change that approach in our way of living the Christian life.

We have been allowing Jesus to deal with us concerning a close and intimate relationship with our heavenly Father, a godly relationship with ourselves, and a close and personal relationship with our friends. Friendship is the first step to relational, financial, emotional, physical, and spiritual healing provided by God. Our relationship with Jesus, our relationship with ourselves, and our relationship with our friends are the keys to all the benefits from God.

Mark 12:30-31 (NIV) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.