March 2010

Why You Should Give Ministry Coaching a Try

Every professional athlete knows the value of  a coach.  Every Olympic athlete this year thanked their coach for helping them to get there. A Coach helps people to succeed. And this is not just limited to the world of athletics.

In the business world, many of the top executives have personal or business coaches who have helped them to get where they are. In fact, the service of Life Coaching is exploding in popularity right now.  Many, many people are realizing that if they want to achieve their dreams and climb higher in life, they are going to need someone to help them along the way.  As they say, 'You can't do it alone.' Almost anyone who has been a success in life has had people help them along the way.

That is, except for the average church pastor.  Most pastors are trying to go it alone, from a human perspective.  Of course, Jesus has promised His presence and the indwelling Holy Spirit is our constant companion.  But even Jesus when He was on earth, had companions to assist Him in His ministry.  But many church pastors feel pretty lonely, even in a church filled with people.  And why is that?  Because except for a monthly board or council meeting, the pastor is pretty much it for all decision-making and forward progress planning in the ministry.

This is why most pastors could benefit greatly by getting a Ministry Coach.  Through the power of coaching, a pastor can get the help, guidance, accountability, objective analysis, and thought-provoking questions needed to really get some things done in the name of the Lord.  If you want to read my personal testimony of the value of coaching, you can find that in my coaching testimonial on this site.

What makes coaching so powerful?

1.  Powerful Questions

They say that asking the right question gets you half-way to the right answer.  Experienced coaches know how to ask questions that help you to re-examine your assumptions, or realize your options, or see things in a new way.  Powerful questions help you to think clearly about what you want to achieve in the name of Jesus.  Powerful questions can help you to succeed in the ministry.

2.  Gentle and Safe Accountability

Many pastors long for a safe person with whom to talk through their issues.  A Ministry Coach provides a safe place to try out new ideas.  A Ministry Coach also provides gentle accountability in the form of a person who will ask you if you followed through on the things you committed to do, but who won't attack you if you haven't.  The gentle accountability of a friend who asks you how you are doing on your selected projects has been proven to powerfully improve productivity.

3.  Objective Perspective

Talking through issues with a person who is not in your church or ministry often provides just the right perspective needed to make good decisions.

4.  Confidentiality

A Ministry Coach provides absolute confidentiality to you and your ministry.  Since s/he is working for you, you can be assured that you have an ally who is their to help you succeed.

A Ministry Coach, then can help you in some key areas:

Sermon Preparation

An experienced Ministry Coach can help you greatly improve the impact of your sermons.  In fact, HighPower Resources provides a special Sermon Coach focus, which includes a free copy of SermonBase Message Planning Software.

Staff Development

Helping staff grow and develop into all that they can be is a full-time job.  Some churches hire executive pastors to help make that happen.  But many smaller churches depend upon the Senior Pastor to preach, lead, and develop staff.  A Ministry Coach can help you develop a growth plan for each of your staff.

Team Building

Ministry Teams are the lifeblood of the church.  A Ministry Coach can help you to figure out what you want to do, and how to do it, so that your entire church is pumping on all cylinders for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Task Completion

Sometimes there are really important projects which need to get done, but you are just not sure how you are ever going to find the time to make it happen.  Hiring a Ministry Coach can help you to formalize the plan, and then begin to attack it in a systematic way. You will find yourself getting more work done than ever before. Dr. Bill has a special three-month project coaching program available on the HighPower site.  Take a look at it.

So many people in other life endeavors have discovered the power of coaching.  It is time that you too discover how much greater work you can achieve for the Kingdom of Heaven than ever before.  God has put so much potential within you, but you are tapping only a small portion of it.  A Ministry Coach can help you to achieve more in your life and ministry calling.  God deserves your best effort, and a Ministry Coach can help you to achieve it.

Contact Dr. Bill Miller today to sign up for a Free one-hour Coaching Session, and discover for yourself how powerful coaching can be!

Check out the Coaching options you have at HPR:

1st - Free Coaching Session

2nd - Three-month Coaching Plan

3rd - Free Coaching, Planning, and Leadership Development Resources

4th - Just contact Dr. Bill for more info

What's new at HighPower Resources?

Again! During the month of April, more Pastors than ever before have visited our site looking for ministry tools to help them serve God in a more productive way