What are my congregational coaching options?
Here are the types of congregational coaching I specialize in to help churches reach their hope-filled new normal. Click here for current rates. Note that while pandemic precautions remain in place, I am available to do the work below by online meeting platforms.
Visioning/discerning the church’s next steps
Congregations are blessed with all kinds of tangible and intangible gifts, and within them lurk ministry invitations from God. Many of these strengths go unnoticed and untapped, however, leading to missed connections and opportunities. I offer a visioning process that focuses on drawing out these strengths of church and surrounding community, offering gratitude for them, and considering what God might be nudging the congregation to do through them.
Pastor search team coaching
Pastor searches, done well, set up churches and ministers for years of fruitful mutual ministry. Searches done poorly, however, sow seeds of future conflict over pastor-parish mismatches or unstated or wide-ranging expectations that can hamstring a congregation’s effectiveness. I offer a proven process rooted in hospitality to the voices of congregation members, neighbors, candidates, and the Holy Spirit. (Click here to learn more about Searching for the Called, my approach to pastoral searches.)
Pastoral transition facilitation
The time in between settled pastors can be anxious, but it also offers the chance to reflect on the church’s past and present and to discern who God is calling it to be and what God is calling it to do from this point forward. This work lays a solid foundation for a thoughtful pastor search and for the incoming pastor’s quick start and long tenure. I offer a process based on identifying God-given strengths that leads congregations through these essential conversations.
Conversation Facilitation
Some conversations among congregants or leadership team members are easier and more fruitful when they are guided by an outsider. This is especially true when there is conflict or high anxiety among the participants. I offer the framing needed for hard conversations and the facilitation that allows church members and leaders to focus on sharing and listening deeply.
Leadership training
Congregations are systems in which new leaders are always emerging, and with new leadership comes the need for resourcing and for getting clear on how leaders will work together. I offer team-building and process development among staff or lay leadership teams, orientation for new lay leaders, or focused learning around a specific topic such as navigating change.