Power of Ministry Coaching

Ephesians 4: 11-13 says, 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ…

Pastors and ministry leaders are called to “equip” those they lead so that the “body of Christ may be built up.” From my experience, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. As pastors and ministry leaders, you are also called to provide governance, oversight and direction to your congregation. People expect you to have answers to their questions. People expect you to lead.

The challenge here is where to draw the line. What areas really need your direct oversight/decisions and what areas can you entrust to others? What are the consequences of being engaged in too much?

Projects get delayed – This one is almost too obvious, but it’s still true. If most things have to have to run through you or other top leaders for the final decision, things don’t get completed in a timely manner.

Leadership gets overextended – There are things that only the you can decide, but there are several areas where the top leadership doesn’t really need to give the final decision.

Stunts growth of others – Ephesians 4 tells us to “equip” and “build up” the body of Christ. If you are the one always answering the questions or providing solutions, no one else grows in their leadership capacity.

I’d like to offer enlisting a coach approach to your leadership arsenal as a means of combating this dilemma. What is coaching? Chad Hall, President and Co-Founder of CAM, in a blog post gave this definition of coaching, “Coaching is a profession (or endeavor) based on communication. Coaches employ words effectively in order to support the client as she or he creates new awareness, designs new actions, and thereby generates desired results.”

How does this apply it to a ministry setting?

Creating new awareness – As the person gains more awareness about herself, her area of ministry, the church body overall – this will be an incredible asset in helping you develop new potential leaders. The body of Christ grows in its overall leadership capacity.

Design new actions – As the person puts action plans in place, new ministry projects can be completed in a more timely manner. Ministry projects aren’t delayed.

Generate desired results – As a byproduct of the new awareness and action plans being developed and completed – you are freed up to make the decisions that only you can make. Pastors/Ministry leaders aren’t overextended.

As this approach is both practiced and trained within your church body, the congregants can’t help but feel more empowered, equipped and energized.

It is my hope that this post gives you enough information both see the value of ministry coaching and to seek out addition information and training on coaching.

If you’d like, feel free to respond to this post and let’s set a time to talk!