For the last 15 years, the USMB initiative LEAD Coaching has offered a holistic approach to personal and professional development. Nearly 40 people have completed coaching, according to the head of the program, Ed Boschman. He says that while most of the coachees have been pastors and other church staff members, he has also coached others not directly involved in ministry as their career.
“We’re trying to help people develop a godly sense of peace and purpose and confidence, and expertise in serving the local church,” Boschman says.
At the beginning of the program, coachees are asked to fill out two in-depth inventories related to personality and emotional intelligence, as well as go on a personal retreat to have a time of introspection and goal setting. Then, coach and coachee “meet” for their first coaching phone call to discern the coachee’s needs, goals and areas of struggle.
“We talk about what the individual’s core values are (and) what they would like the coaching focus to be,” Boschman says. “If you feel stuck or stressed, we want to identify what those things are and work through them.”
Coachees read books, listen to podcasts and work on action steps between twice monthly calls with their coach.
The value of an outside perspective
Two pastors in Kansas who have completed LEAD Coaching cite wanting an objective, outside perspective on their ministry as part of what prompted them to sign up for the program.
Aaron Halvorsen, pastor of Community Bible Church in Olathe, was nearing the 10-year mark of serving in his position, as well as his 40th birthday, in the fall of 2023 when he began coaching.
“You hear often from more seasoned pastors that your forties and fifties are your most productive years in ministry,” Halvorsen says. “As I was heading into that, I wanted to be prepared and think through, ‘What do I really want to focus my time on, and where do I want direction?’”
Halvorsen says the coaching helped him in practical ways with things like organization and time management, as well as in more big picture ways such as developing vision for his church congregation.
“Basically, every pastor has an unorthodox schedule; very often you don’t know if you’re either being too lax on yourself or too demanding on yourself, so having someone else to look at that was really valuable,” he says.
Kyle Goings was prompted to begin coaching about five years ago, and the experience helped him expand his ministry at Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, where he had been serving in youth ministry since 2014. After starting as a middle and high school pastor, he expanded to include young adults as well.
“I was really frustrated with several of our high schoolers every year leaving the involvement of the church in general, so I got into studying generations and working with college students and now young adults,” says Goings, whose position is now called NextGen pastor. “Coaching kind of kickstarted all of that.”
Goings says that having a coach with an unbiased perspective helped him slow down and evaluate what was working and what wasn’t. He also gained valuable insights into his own identity and became better at developing other leaders.
“What helped me expand my leadership was that I had the chance to see how God created me, both strengths and weaknesses, and then use those for God’s glory,” Goings says.
A worthy investment
The cost for LEAD Coaching comes to about $2,000, and while the financial commitment may seem intimidating on its front, Boschman says they’ve never had to turn anyone away because of a lack of funds.
“We don’t want the cost to be a reason why someone wouldn’t do coaching, and so we have often pulled together a partnership to cover the cost,” Boschman says.
He says a combination of resources from the national level to the district and church levels have often been used if the coachee doesn’t have the personal capacity to cover the cost.
In recent years, the option of doing a six-month program was also added for those whose situation may not warrant a full year of coaching.
Vivian Wheeler is the director of church operations at Birch Bay Bible Community Church in Birch Bay, Wash. She participated in the shorter version of the program from August 2024 through February of this year.
“I really felt I needed to gain a balance between home and work and church,” Wheeler says. “It caused me to do some introspection and look at what my personal goals were and what my work goals were, and how to get there.”
Wheeler adds that the accountability provided by the coaching calls was especially helpful.
Halvorsen, Goings and Wheeler all agree that the benefits of the coaching outweigh the sacrifice of time and energy required.
“If you implement the things you are coached on, you are able to find the time to do what you need to do,” Wheeler says.
Goings adds: “If something helps you become a better leader, pastor, missionary, doctor, whatever, I don’t know any excuse that’s good enough not to do it.”
Jessica Vix Allen is a freelance writer living in Blue Springs, Missouri. She and her husband, Joel, are both graduates of Tabor College. The couple has three children.
