1. Coaching is goal-driven as it reflects on the past for the purpose of context and focuses on creating goals that lead individuals into the future. Counselling focuses more on gaining wholeness & healing from past events.

2. Coaching is about drawing out of an individual what God has put in them. Mentoring is about imparting to an individual what God has given them.

3. Coaching relies on the belief that a person is the expert in their life & circumstance and is capable of creating their own solutions. Consulting relies heavily on the influence of the expert in finding a solution.

1. That God is already at work initiating change within the participant in their current circumstance. The coaching relationship brings greater awareness to what God is doing and focuses on the participants responsibility to embrace & follow through with this change.

2. A participant is capable of coming up with their own solution, creating their own path forward. When this happens, the participant’s level of buy-in and motivation increases thus increasing their follow through and commitment towards the change they seek.

3. Self-awareness helps provide clarity on what change/growth a person desires.

4. Rather than provide advice or answers, it’s better to listen intently and ask good questions that cause a leader to reflect on their motivation and their desired change. This empowers them to create their own solutions to future challenges. 

Resilience is NOT about asking, “when will I arrive” or “when will this be over”, or even enduring adversity. Rather, resilience asks the question “How far can I go?” Coaching is not about a destination but a journey with landmarks along the way.

Practically this means that coaching is not only about being solution oriented, but it’s about being capable to create solutions that keep you in a growth trajectory. Instead of feeling stuck or even behind in ministry, this ability to move forward develops confidence in a leader who experiences growth.

Secondly, coaching provides a unique supportive structure to a pastor who often feels isolated due to the nature of pastoral ministry.

Personally coming from the perspective of a pastor’s kid and a pastor, I understand this unique leadership role. However, it’s not our entire identity and coaching can help bring clarity to your growth not just as a pastor, but as a person. The reality is greater theological understanding, better preaching or vision casting will not sustain our ministry if we don’t have greater theological application in our lives. Simply put, we need to keep growing and have a growth plan because it doesn’t happen by accident.

Secondly, as pastors, there are a lot of voices, opinions & ideas that get thrown your way. This can sometimes make the role of pastoring feel more like that of a chef whose job is to create a gourmet meal out of a conglomeration of thoughts. This is a part of the role in some sense, however a pastor will lead best when they lead from a place of clarity and relationship with Jesus.

Because coaching meets you at the intersection of what God is doing in your current circumstance, you can pay close attention to what your thoughts are without having to formulate your answers according to what you think someone else would want. You get to be you!

When you are you, you can more clearly discern where your thoughts & actions align or don’t align with God’s leading. With that clarity you can then adjust to create goals & solutions that take you towards the growth you want to see.

Yes, I have a downloadable pdf that is curated with church board members in mind…link is just below!