What is Christian Coaching? An Overview

A coach is someone who is available to:

to train or tutor or to act as a trainer or tutor.

coach’ ing

n : the job of a professional coach [syn: coaching job]

Coaching is all the rage in the business world with many companies installing or planning to install management/employee-coaching programs.  The idea behind coaching is to guide a person or group from where they are now to where they want to be.  Coaching carries with it the idea that as each person fulfills their desired goals they in turn can begin coaching the next person. The one who is being coached then becomes a coach and the process goes on and on. 

If you want to get the general idea of what a coach is all you really need to do is think of a coach on a sports team.  A coach is there to make sure each player not only does their part for the good of the team the coach is there help each person on the team expand their vision, build confidence unlock potential at the same time increasing their skills and helping them proceed towards their set goals. 

This is the heart of Christian coaching, helping each Christian expand their vision and knowledge of God, while building confidence to use the talents they have while unlocking potential they did not know was there and at the same time increasing their skills and helping them proceed towards their set goals as well as what God wants them do with their lives.  The idea of Christian coaching is centered on Jesus and how He guided His disciples from being a group of fishermen to a group of individuals who would become the founding members of Christian.

Now that is coaching taking a group of guys who did not know they had it in them and training them into great leaders. Now there is one thing we need to get one thing straight right from the start.

While Christian coaching is similar in nature to mentoring or discipleship there are some notable differences.

A lot of people confuse coaching with mentoring and discipleship.  While there are similarities coaching carries with it the idea of being a gentler more patient approach.  Also mentoring and discipleship are more one on one in nature when you view their root definitions, where coaching can also be done as a group or team as in the case of the disciples

What Makes Coaching Christian? An Overview

How does Christian coaching differ from conventional coaching?

1. Biblical Worldview

In most coaching sessions the person is taught how to look deep inside to find the resolve and the desire to move forward and excel.  As Christians we know that the true source of our strength and skills comes from God and it is only through Him and by His strength that we can hope to ever achieve any measure of success.

 This Biblical worldview is at the heart of all of our relationships including Christian coaching.

2. Our Approach

The typical business coach will seek to create a worldview based on what the latest trend in society is or the latest program their company is running.  A Christian coach is already ahead of his or her business counterpart because their worldview does not change. This is because it based on the Word of God and not on changing trends. 

A Christian Coach approaches every aspect of their lives from a Christian point of view. This means that our Christian beliefs will shape who we are as a coach and as a person and will be at the center of every one of our relationship. . It is as simple as that and as complex as that.

3. We Are Not Neutral

Christian coaches know that none of us is neutral.  We all have opinions and worldviews that shape our beliefs and viewpoints and how we interact with others.  It is the job of the Christian coach to help the person they are coaching to identify and clarify their values, without posing any of their own ideas or agendas.

4. Christian Coach Is Committed

A Christian coach is committed to learning new techniques and then applying those techniques to his coaching as well as to his or her own personal life. A Christian coach is also committed to praying for and helping the person or persons being coached.

Why Would Anyone Want Christian Coaching?

1.       The main reason people seek out coaching or Christian coaching is because they know they want something different from their lives or they want to reach another level in their Christian walk but they do not know how to get there on their own.  A Christian coach not only offers them information but also the push that some people need in order to get up out of there chair and start moving forward.

2.       There are many other reasons people seek Christian coaching, some of which include motivation, accountability, low self esteem, procrastination and the list goes on and on. Truthfully there are as many reasons for Christian coaching as there are coaches.