On this site, we will assign you an e-coach or a spiritual mentor to take you through the process of discipleship. But why do need a coach or spiritual mentor you may ask? That’s because coaches or spiritual mentors help you identify and focus on what’s important, which accelerates your success. According to coaches.com, good coaches: Create a safe environment in which people see themselves more clearly; Identify gaps between where the client is and where the client needs or wants to be. Christian coach is key to discipleship.
A Christian coach can help your leaders, team members and volunteers live the vision that God has given. As they work together with one purpose, focused on Christ, He will provide what is needed to accomplish the goals.
We consulted expert Christian coach Kim Avery to answer some frequently asked questions about Christian coaching. She helps us understand what it is, how it differs from spiritual coaching, whether a Christian coach can help you make more money, and more.
What is Christian Coaching?
Life coaching is, in general terms, the process of coming along side someone and helping them identify where they are, where they want to be and how to get there. Christian coaching takes that concept and moves it into the light of Scripture and frames it in a Christian worldview.
Based on the concept that God has a plan for your life and is eager to enable you to live it, Christian coaching facilitates your discovery of that plan and encourages you as you flesh it out.
It is different from counseling. Counseling focuses on the past and how to recover from its effects so you can function well in the present. Christian coaching looks forward and encourages you to develop strategies for overcoming obstacles and achieving dreams.
It is also different from mentoring. A Christian mentor encourages growth by imparting what God has given him or her. A Christian coach draws what God has given you out where you can use it.
Consider a personal trainer, she works with you first to determine where you are, where your weaknesses and strengths lie and together you decide what you can realistically expect to achieve and how to do it. She is all about you, providing encouragement and accountability, keeping you focused on the ultimate goal and urging you to stretch out of your comfort zone because she knows you can do it.
Christian coaching provides you with a similar relationship. It is all about you. Your coach helps you rekindle hope and shines the light of God’s grace on the dreams He put in your heart. She encourages you and holds you accountable, helps you plan and cheers you on to become who God created you to be. She holds you up in prayer and is the keeper of your dreams.
I Go to Church Regularly. Why Would I Hire a Christian Coach?
Church is, of course, critical to our growth as Christians. However, there can be a disconnect between what we are taught, and the application of that knowledge to our unique circumstances. Christian coaching is not about telling you what to do or teaching you new concepts. It is a relationship dedicated to listening to you, and believing with you that God will show up and bring His power to bear on your life, enabling you to fulfill the purpose for which He created you.
Christian coaching will equip you with tools that will enable you to live a more satisfying and focused life.
How Do I Choose a Christian Coach?
How do you choose a doctor or a day care or a new car? Sometimes you start with recommendations from others, and sometimes you just see something you like. But you always get up close and personal before you make a commitment. Choosing a Christian coach works that way, too.
Here are six things to look for as you decide on which coach is right for you:
- Has the coach been through a professional certification program, and does he or she hold a coaching certification?
- How much coaching experience does the coach have?
- Does the coach’s training and preferred niche fit your needs?
- What kind of career or ministry experience does the coach have?
- Does the coach offer a free complimentary session?
- Do you feel comfortable talking to this coach?
What’s the Difference Between a Christian Coach and a Spirituality Coach?
Training for a Christian coach is facilitated by a group of professional Christian coaches and is approached from a distinctly Christian perspective. Its basis is a fairly conservative, evangelical nondenominational theological framework.
Christian coaching uses most of the skills, principles and strategies of professional coaching, but applies them through the lens of Scripture and within a distinctly Christian worldview. This means that some of the most foundational assumptions differ from those of a non-Christian coach.
For example, a basic assumption for a secular coach could be, We create our own reality. We are the scriptwriter and the director of our life drama, as well as the star. It is our responsibility to write a script that maximizes the good things and eliminates the bad things. We can attract people and success into our lives by intentionally seeing and feeling what our best life could be.
In contrast, the core assumption of Christian coaching can be summed up nicely by this quote from Tom Patterson in his book, Living the Life You Were Meant to Live
(Nelson): A Life Plan is God’s plan for your life. It is not a plan that you conceive and develop, but a plan that you discover through a series of helpful exercises and processes.
Originally posted on April 11, 2018 @ 9:24 pm
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