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Because no one should do this alone.
Have you ever left a conversation with clarity, insight, and courage? That’s the kind of feeling you get with a great coach. That’s why we have experienced leaders to coach you as you develop a new worshiping community. We believe this is essential for healthy and sustainable ministry, so we would like to connect you with a specially trained coach. Coaches meet regularly with you to listen, ask great questions, help you discover your gifts, and enable you to discern the way forward when you get stuck.
Do you have a coach? Let us help you find a great one.
Details
We have 90 trained new worshiping community coaches from different regions and different cultures with experience in urban and suburban ministry. Our coaches are pastors or leaders who have started new communities themselves–or helped others start them. They are not experts. But they can help you: weigh decisions which must be made, pay attention to what God is doing, encourage intentionality in your actions, foster space for discernment and strategy, find courage to take risks, keep you on track and moving forward. We would love to get you connected to a coach to help you with your project.
The cost of a coach is $1,500/year plus any expenses of a site visit. The typical coaching relationship consists of one site visit per year (touring the ministry context, meeting with leaders/core group/stakeholders/presbytery teams) and two half hour to hour long phone conversations per month.
If you are interested in coaching, email that information to jeff.eddings@pcusa.org, who will ask you to write up a short description of your ministry and what you’re looking for in a coach. He will recruit a potential coach for you, and will connect you for an initial coaching conversation. If after that conversation you feel like it could be a fruitful coaching relationship, you and your coach will work out a contract.
The NWC investment grants and growth grants include the expectation of a coach, and have increased in value to assume the cost of coaching. Why not start now to get connected with a coach who can walk alongside you in this journey?
Coaching Expectations
The New Worshiping Communities movement encourages coaching for all new worshiping community leaders, as the work of starting new ministry from ground zero can be a grueling and lonely task. 1001 has a network of trained coaches to assist these leaders. However, in some cases, a leader or presbytery will choose to work with a local coach or a coach from another network. Where this occurs, we encourage intentional and ongoing coaching that takes seriously discernment and mission planning.
We encourage coaching that:
- Takes the posture of servant, not expert. The coach is there to ask questions that aid in discernment, not tell the NWC leader or team what they should do.
- Helps the missionary leader discover, clarify, and align with God’s mission in a particular context
- Empowers the missionary leader and key team members to use their gifts to fulfill the Mission of God in a particular context, developing strategies and key next steps.
- Challenges the missionary leader to rely on prayerful listening and reflection both private and corporate.
- Holds the missionary leader responsible and accountable to the mission of God.
We recommend that the expectations of the coaching relationship be clarified with all parties from the front end. This includes:
- The rhythm of coaching sessions—how often will coaching occur and what length will the sessions be? (a typical NWC coaching relationship is a twice a month 30 minute session or a once a month hour-long session)
- Is the coach expected to make a report to the presbytery oversight entity and, if so, what kind of report and will this expectation get in the way of an honest and helpful coaching relationship?
- In person coaching or phone/internet coaching or a combination?
- Is a site visit expected? Is the coach expected to spend some time with the NWC leader in the mission context?
- Will the coach be paid and what are the terms of those arrangements?
- Is the coach expected to meet with anyone beyond the NWC leader—core team? Presbytery committee? Mission partners?
If this coaching relationship has been pursued as a condition of a 1001 Investment or Growth grant, you will need to connect with the 1001 office to communicate the existence of an active coaching relationship. That communication can take the form of a copy of an active coaching contract, or a brief paragraph that describes the coaching relationship that has been initiated and the name of the coach working with the project. Please email that information to jeff.eddings@pcusa.org. When that information is received, the 1001 Office can confirm with the Mission Program Office that the coaching condition has been met and the grant monies can be released.
