Whether in your personal life, your ministry, or other organization having a coach assist and lead you to become more effective is always a plus with great benefits to you and those around you and your organization. Why not choose a coach to help you be the best you possible? However, be cautious and selective when searching out a coach.

There are differences between consultants and coaches. Not all consultants are coaches and not all coaches are consultants. To boil down the main differences use these two trains of thoughts:

Consultant – one who gathers, reviews, and interprets data, information and observations which he/she uses to advise and give suggestive direction for the church.

Coach – One who through a series of properly formulated questions guides church leaders to making well informed decisions based on information, facts, data, and observation. Coaching questions deal with the God-given resources, opportunities, and potential of the church.

The history of church consulting has been for the consultant to come into a church, spend a few days gathering information and interviewing members, writing a report, and delivering his report to the leadership of the church. With this rendering of the report, the consultant’s work is finished. The pastor now has the unfortunate pleasure of adding this to his already full plate of ministry demands on his time. In many cases this report gets placed on a shelf with the pastor’s intent to get around to it – in time.

It is my belief that a church should seek out a consultant or coach who is committed to seeing the planning and implementation processes through to the end with the church. Note: A consultant or coach cannot be with the church full time. However, a schedule can and should be established for the church and coach to communicate regularly and meet occasionally throughout the planning and implementation process. This is where a coach comes in stronger than a consultant. A gifted coach should be well versed in assisting the church in strategy planning. Consultants can give you the ideas. Coaches are trained to walk with you leading and guiding the pastor and church into a desired healthier position based on who they are and the gifts and resources provided by God.

Working through the processes outlined in Reaching the Summit, it is my belief that the most beneficial path for each church to undertake is to locate a coach who can and will commit to walk with you through each step of the process.

When seeking a church coach, church leaders should first discuss the needed experience and qualities the coach should possess for effectiveness with your particular church. Also, to be discussed is your expectations as a church (understanding these may need to be increased or decreased as you interview and select a coach for your situation.

Some information you will want to know to assist you in the exploration and selection of a coach includes:

• Credentials – Just because someone calls himself a coach, does not make one a coach. What consulting/coaching experience, training, certifications does each potential candidate have? Again, certifications are not always the “yes” answer we are looking for. Effective and successful coaching experience is a greater indicator than a certificate.
• The ministry experience of each candidate. (Is it varied or very specific? Which best fits your needs?) Some consultants are top notch with certain age groups or particular areas of church life (i.e. financial). However, they may not be ideal for an overall church coaching experience.

Ministry experience to consider:

• Has he worked with similar size, culture, and demographics as our church?
• Has he worked with churches in our denomination? I recently worked with a conservative church on the brink of closing who had worked with a consultant two years prior from a much more charismatic denomination. The recommendations in his report were based on his own knowledge base through his experience in his denomination. The result had been devastating for this particular church. We all work out of our own knowledge base. Be sure the doctrinal stance and beliefs of your consultant and coach are similar to those of your church.
• What accomplishments in his ministry can the coach identify as God-driven for kingdom expansion?
• Does the coach show genuine interest and enthusiasm for working with your church? You need at least one member of your church with the gift of discernment in the room when interviewing candidates. If you have a Human Resources person or someone who has studied and understands body language can help you in discerning. Observation and listening to the words of the candidate can tell you much. Is he more concerned with telling you what he can do (or has done) than hearing your story and asking questions pertaining to your situation?
• Is the candidate’s character and personality one that appears to be a workable match with church leaders of your congregation? The most effective church coaches are confident, but humble understanding they are not the “savior” for your church.

This is only a beginning point, an introduction to exploring the possibilities and selecting a coach to assist your church through the Vigorous Face to Face Summit With Reality and the ensuing planning and implementation processes to a healthy and growing congregation for God. Certainly one place to look is within your denominational entities and judicatories (local, district, state and national organizations within your denomination).

For more information selecting a coach to work with you or your church contact George Yates and purchase your copy of Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church.