Skill Training: Equip Your Coaches to Develop and Disciple Leaders

A core understanding in my philosophy of small group ministry is that whatever you want to happen at the member level, will have to happen to the leader first. Once you acknowledge that basic understanding, it automatically follows that you now know most of what the coaches in your system need to do. This becomes their job description.

Whatever you want to happen at the member level, will have to happen to the leader first. Once you acknowledge that basic understanding, it automatically follows that you now know most of what the coaches in your system need to do.… Click To Tweet

See also, Life-Change at the Member Level.

Job Description of a Coach

Here's my shorthand for the job description of a coach: Do to and for (and with) the leaders whatever you want your leaders to do to and for (and with) their members.

Here's my shorthand for the job description of a coach: Do to and for (and with) the leaders whatever you want your leaders to do to and for (and with) their members. Click To Tweet

Now, if this is the simplest job description, really the root idea of the job description, can you see what your coaches need to do? Almost entirely, we should be equipping coaches to develop and disciple leaders. Can you also see what you might have them doing that they really don't need to be doing?

Equip Your Coaches to Develop and Disciple Leaders

Essentially, your coaches need to model the way we want leaders to develop and disciple their members. Coaching has a lot to do with the relationship they build with leaders, the conversations they have with them and the love they show for them. It has almost nothing to do with the information they pass on to them or collect from them.

Coaching has a lot to do with the relationship they build with leaders, the conversations they have with them and the love they show for them. It has almost nothing to do with the information they pass on to them or collect from them. Click To Tweet

As you can see, this isn't an idea that can be completely fleshed out in a single article. But I think we can begin here.

Questions your coaches should begin to ask:

• How can I pray for you?
• What are you learning in your daily time in God's word?
• What is the one thing you're hearing from God that you least want to do?
• What are you sensing Jesus is calling you to do next? What's your next step?

Don't Miss This

The kind of relationship that will enable and produce coaching conversations like this will take time to develop. It won't happen over the first cup of coffee. It also won't happen if your coaches haven't mastered the art of appropriate self-disclosure; if your coaches aren't learning to be appropriately transparent about their own journey.

The kind of relationship that will enable and produce coaching conversations like this will take time to develop. It won't happen over the first cup of coffee. It also won't happen if your coaches haven't mastered the art of… Click To Tweet

Finally, don't miss the fact nothing like this happens at the member level until your leaders have experienced it first. And nothing happens at the leader level until your coaches have experienced it first. If you aren't modeling this to your coaches...you cannot expect it to go very far.

See also, 7 Practices for Developing and Discipling Your Coaches.

Need Help?

My most popular mini-course is Building an Effective Coaching Structure. If you want to build a thriving small group ministry, building an effective coaching structure is a foundational step. You can find out more right here.