Do I Need a Church Planting Coach?

The Holy Spirit is the divine Person of the Godhead that church planters can depend on to lead them to discover their purpose and potential. However, God also uses human agents to assist his children. In church planting, we designate these human agents as “church plant coaches.”

How is church planter coaching different from counseling or therapy?

            A church planting coach, a type of life-purpose coach, is not a counselor. Counseling is for those people who are stuck in some state of mental dilemma. A church planting coach is different than a therapist. Therapists treat mental illness; coaches build mental fitness.[1]

What is church plant coaching?

            Coaching aims to assist a person, particularly a church planter, who currently is functioning at an ordinary or even higher level of performance to reach a more significant level of productivity. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential”[2] The coach assists a person in reaching their goals through designing a plan that sets goals, develops plans, coordinates the action needed to implement the plan and identifies the obstacles that may be encountered.

Do I need a church planting coach?

            Bill Gates once said, “Everyone needs a coach.”[3] Having a good coach that fits a person on a quest to find purpose and potential is a profitable step to take. Goals are important in church planting. Laying out the objectives to accomplish the goals as well as knowing the obstacles that will arise on the quest to reach a planter’s goals are important road signs to establish.

How can I pick the right church planting coach for me?

            The executive and life coaching arena has filled up with a plethora of available coaches who have been trained and certified by credible coach training institutes and schools. If the pool of coaches is considerable, how does a church planter select a coach who is good and fits their quest to reach their goals, discover their purpose, and realize their potential?

            A good coach is one that is professionally trained and has experience with a track record of references and testimonies who will attest to the coach’s professionalism. A good coach, specifically in the case of finding purpose and potential, possesses the ability to assist a church planter with discovering their purpose and moving forward toward realizing their potential.  Coaches have their niches of specialization. Therefore, find a coach who has experience with people who have had similar goals and purposes as you. For the church planter, find a coach with knowledge of church planting. It’s also helpful to find a coach with first hand experience with church planting.

Can my church planting coaching be Christ-centered?

Jane Creswell in her book, Christ Centered Coaching, discusses how coaching with Christ-Centered principles can help a person find purpose and tap into their potential.

“Christ-centered coaches can help a person on a macro level find his or her untapped potential to make each day productive, to move from being stuck to having a plan for dealing with day-to-day activities and to see at the end of the day where something has been accomplished; progress has been made… Christ-centered coaching focuses on promoting discovery… additionally utilizes the power of the Holy Spirit in that discovery process… Coaches help a person find answers rather than provide answers… Christ-centered coaches assume untapped potential in everyone and insist that it be discovered and developed (Psalm 138:14-16)… The success of the Christ-centered coaching experience extends through the client to other people and activities.”[4]     

         The church planter will need a good coach to assist him with staying focused on his goals, completing his objectives, handling the obstacles that will cause him to doubt or give-up, and reach his potential as a church planter.

Does Church Extension Ministries of the Bible Fellowship Church provide a church planting coach?

Every one of the church planters in Church Extension Ministries has a church planting coach as well as a mentor. The church planting coach (in most cases, our director) meets monthly with each church planter to review goals and the steps towards the goals. Not only will the progress towards the goals build the church plant, but will help the church planter grow personally in his spiritual life, family life, and personal life.

The mentors provide encouragement and a listening ear and will pray for each church planter. Each church plant also has a Transitional Leadership Team, a group of current Bible Fellowship Church pastors who give their wisdom and feedback on the church plant through monthly meetings. They also pray for each church plant and church planter.

Interested in church planting with the Bible Fellowship Church?

Fill out this brief inquiry form. Our director or mentoring assistant will have a brief phone call with you to hear about your interest in church planting and to see if we are a good fit to church plant together. We also provide Pre-Assessment and Church Planting Assessment if you are interested.

The Bible Fellowship Church holds to the doctrines of grace, baptism by immersion, premillennial eschatology, and local church rule by elder. Find out more about our doctrine with the Articles of Faith.