Put Me In Coach!
In 2018, the church, where I was on staff, decided to put its training dollars into coaching as opposed to sending us on a trip to a conference. The concept was, that for about the same amount of cost, we would get 6 months of ongoing training, where at a conference, the training lasted for a week.
What a concept!
I began to do research on kidmin coaches. There were several on the internet who had established a history of coaching others. This was beginning to be exciting. Ultimately, I chose to hire Jim Wideman, children and family pastor at the Belonging Co church in Nashville, TN. Jim had a long history as a kidmin coach, and an even longer history as a children’s pastor and ministry leader.
Jim and I embarked on a 6 month journey, where we met via zoom twice a month for 6 months. Throughout this process, Jim helped me evaluate the ministry I was doing at the church, my personal mental health, my personal spiritual health, and my leadership health. He assigned me books to read. Some were business in nature, and some were for personal growth.
I can say this, my growth as a minister and leader was greatly effected by the coaching that Jim and I did. The majority of what he did for me was on a personal level. In fact, my first 6 months of coaching really ended up being about me growing as a person more than a kidmin leader. Which is why I ended up hiring him for another 6 months. Only this time, it was my personal dollars that were invested.
To make a long story short, through this coaching endeavor, God began to reveal to me that he wanted me to become a ministry coach. So, I hired Jim for another year of coaching to help me grow as a coach and leader.
One thing I’ve realized through this process, is that many smaller churches would benefit from hiring a coach, but they lack the budget to do so. In fact, the churches who can afford to hire a coach are looking for a well-established coach with many years experience. I mean, that’s what I was looking for. So I began this process by coaching some kidmin leaders who couldn’t afford to hire a “Jim Wideman” as coach. And it has been an incredibly rewarding process. I have been working with churches ranging from 40-600 in attendance.
During this time, I have begun to pray and ask God, “How can I help those churches who do not have the budget to hire a coach?” And the Lord has revealed to me a plan. The Mark Ministries exists to help churches and ministers hit “The Mark” that God has set before them. We use coaching, consulting, training, and guest speaking as an evangelist to help them hit “The Mark”. And while, I would love to simply coach these smaller churches at no cost, that isn’t realistic for me. But it is truly my heart, so I again asked God what to do.
The Mark Ministries is becoming a Non-Profit ministry that will raise funds in an effort to help smaller churches. For every $800 we raise, we will be able to coach a kidmin leader or church for 6 months. I truly believe that this is a God ordained ministry plan. And we are already seeing his faithfulness in the process.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me using our website to find out how we can work together to help your church grow and the leadership within the church become more effective. Check us out at themarkministries.com or email me at jeff@jeffhmeetings.com.
