The University of Mount Olive is home to The Mantle Bearers Project (MBP), an initiative designed to create a system of support for clergy in their first ten years of ministry, as well as create learning and development opportunities for seasoned clergypersons. Through the framework of 1 Kings 19, we believe that God is calling us to train both the Elijah and the Elisha, the mentor and mentee. The MBP seeks to identify and train seasoned (thriving) clergy, in order for them to become mentors and facilitators of less-seasoned clergy. This project will also recruit and develop peer-to-peer networks of rural, small-congregation clergypersons who are serving in their first ten years of ministry. These formative years, according to previous findings, can be highly unstable if one does not have the presence of a stable mentor. Peer-to-peer cohorts will run annually, and upon completion, participants will be moved into a one-to-one coaching relationship with a certified coach. It is the goal of the MBP to create a minimum of 12 diverse peer-to-peer cohorts in eastern North Carolina over the next five years, and to train at least 25 clergy to become thriving mentors among rural, small-congregation settings.