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What does a coach of church planters need to know

By charlie worley
You may not need experience as a church planter in order to coach leaders of new churches, but there are some things you should know and use in coaching. Read on for some suggestions so that you can be a great coach for church planters.

When you are coaching a leader of a particular ministry such as church planting, there are some who believe that only those who have experience with church planting can coach church planters. I do not. Positive experiential knowledge of church planting certainly helps when you are coaching church planters, but good coaches can adapt their coaching skills to fit the need for helping planters and church planting teams. Just don't pretend to be an expert in the field.

 

I do believe a coach of a church planter needs to acquaint himself with some basic knowledge of church planting and those who are called to this ministry.

 

For example, under ideal circumstances, a coach of a church planter will have two shared experiences with his friend who is working in the trenches of starting a new church. The first is participating in or sitting in on the church planter assessment process that his friend goes through or has completed. Through this experience, you will gain invaluable information about the personality, strengths, liabilities, skill sets, church planting experience, and knowledge of the planter. Coaching questions can then be sharply focused on the uniqueness of the planter and his needs and learning style.

 

Another invaluable shared experience is participation with or observation of the planter during a Church Planting Boot Camp or similar training experience. This will acquaint the you with an overview of the church planting process and how your friend will navigate the process of beginning a new church. The training modules covered in a Church Planting Boot Camp can then become areas of questioning and application of the coaching process.

 

To supplement the experiences mentioned above or to gain an overview of the church planting process, it is recommended that if you will be coaching someone leading a church planting ministry you should read at a minimum the following books:

 

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission by Darrin Patrick (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010)

 

Planting Missional Churches: Your Guide to Starting Churches that Multiply, Second Edition by Ed Stetzer and Daniel Im (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2016)

 

A good earlier alternative to Stetzer and Im's book is Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal, Third Edition by Aubrey Malphurs (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004)

 

What would you recommend that a coach of church planters read or research?

 

Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash

 

 

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