In a national survey of pastors, over half (59%) of reported dissatisfaction with the way their church functions or operates. These pastors showed the greatest level of agreement with statements such as:
- “I feel like I’m wearing too many hats.”
- “I don’t have as much time or energy as I would like for my personal and family life.”
- “I feel like my church has a lot more potential, but I’m not sure how to take it to the next level.”
80% of pastors indicated they have little to no training in the area of management skills and the development of systems for helping the church operate more effectively as well as efficiently. Many pastors will openly admit they don’t know how to lead and how to help their church grow.
If you are a pastor and the above reflects your feelings, or if you are a lay leader and know that your pastor struggles with the same, do we have some good news for you. Beginning in September Ohio Ministries will introduce an intensive coaching process in pastoral leadership skills. This coaching utilizes an online curriculum designed to help pastors develop a skill set that, for the most part, we never received in seminary or in Bible College. We call it Pastoral Leadership Skills Coaching and it is designed to help pastors move to the next level in their leadership skill set utilizing a practical, hands-on methodology with a seasoned pastor who has been coached through the same. There is nothing theoretical here but practical, applicable tools to help the pastor move to that next level in his/her leadership skill set.
The plan consists of three basic components:
1. Personal weekly coaching
with a certified coach. This
consists of a one-hour phone session throughout the coaching period (a minimum
of six months and a maximum of two years).
2. Practical resources in the
form of an online curriculum. The
curriculum consists of seven instructional units accessible via the Internet
that can be reproduced and used with your congregation. Some of the module titles are,
Strategic Planning & Implementation, Leading Change, Outreach &
Assimilation, and Maturing Your Church Financially.
3. Peer workshops. These consist of bi-annual workshops that offer interactive learning on the seven modules.
We have ten pastoral coaches, all of whom have been coached and who will now provide coaching. These include Pastor Roger Hamilton of Huber Heights, Pastor Terry Rolen of Breiel Boulevard in Middletown, Pastor Mark Martin of Maiden Lane in Springfield, and Pastor Bob Moss of Salem Church in Clayton, just to name four. They and the others are ready and eager to serve the pastors of Ohio.
We begin our first cohort with a peer workshop on October 4-5 on strategic planning and implementation (module 1). Coaching begins in September and we have room for about a dozen more pastoral participants. If interested in more information, go to our website at www.ohchog.org or call us at 740-747-2916. On the website you will find the Pastoral Leadership Skills Coaching Enrollment Form (PLSC Enrollment Form) which also shares the cost involved which is about 10% of the cost if done with Ministry Advantage, the organization that trained our ten pastor coaches and with whom we hold a license for coaching and training.
As John Maxwell tells us, the church rises and falls on leadership. So if we are going to accomplish God’s purposes for His church, and if we are going to turn around our declining and plateaued churches (over 80%), it is imperative that we help our pastors lead at a higher level. With a prayer to that end, we do what we do in an effort to help pastors and congregations lead with maximum effectiveness to the hopeful end of seeing men and women, boys and girls come to know the salvation found in Christ and Christ alone.
Randall
Spence
Director of Ministries
It sounds like wonderful program to support and to equip pastors who have been struggling to make their church to grow. I pray that the Lord surely bless this program and all the people getting involved as coaches and trainee.
Posted by: Yoshiki Hosoda | July 13, 2010 at 10:42 PM