The Northeastern Iowa Synod’s Coaching Ministry helps ministers, lay leaders and congregations unlock their potential for growth and transformation.
Certified coaches use deep listening, powerful questions and intentional exploration to help congregations and leaders discover their strengths and where God is leading them. Coaches give guidance to help clients discern how they might best use their gifts, resources and energy to address challenges, set goals and achieve transformation.
Coaching can be used for a myriad of opportunities:
-
Personal leadership growth.
-
Growing as a head of staff or lay leader.
-
Skillful handling of congregational conflict.
-
Strategic planning and building ministry teams.
-
Dealing with grief—such as loss of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of health or congregational closure.
For Ministers
-
Coaching is a confidential process that can help ministers with problem solving to manage their stress and prevent burn out.
-
Coaching can help ministers with discernment of a call, leaving a congregation or other transition.
-
Coaching sessions can focus on the personal part of a minister’s life or issues within their congregations, and help the minister develop a plan to move forward.
-
Coaches can serve as a sounding board to help ministers clarify their thinking as they prepare to work with a congregation.
For Congregations and Lay Leaders
-
Congregational councils, committees and leadership teams seeking to form a new vision or accomplish a change together can benefit from a formal relationship with a team coach.
-
Team coaches can help congregations and synod networks move forward in mission development, congregational vitality, race relations and more.
-
Lay leaders may want to connect with a coach when beginning the call process, forming a new outreach program, discerning closing a congregation or entering a shared ministry partnership.
-
The synod offers a pilot program for coaches to help congregations in the closing process.