If you are a coach, you may well have asked that question. If you have been coached, you may have been asked that. A coach is someone who asks a lot of questions while you do 80% of the talking. Coaches can assist you in addressing areas of personal growth, professional options, strategic planning and more.
You do not need to be a rostered leader to be a coach!
Here’s a quick video to help learn more about coaching:
The ELCA offers training for coaches not only for general coaching opportunities, but also for topics specific to our ministries. Stewardship, creation, hunger, and grief coaching are all possibilities. If you would like to explore what an ELCA coach can offer, find a coach, or apply to become an ELCA coach, check out www.elcacoaching.org. Please note that ELCA coach applicants need their bishop to sign off on an application. Applicants do not need to be rostered ministers. Here in the Northeastern Ohio Synod our coaching coordinator is Pastor Leonard Killings. He can help you locate an ELCA coach and apply for training to become an ELCA coach. You can contact him at [email protected] for more information.
Spiritual Direction/Coaching Report & Request for Payment
Because emotionally and grounded leaders are good for the health of the Church, the Northeastern Ohio Synod Council has authorized subsidies for our rostered ministers to engage the services of a spiritual director and/or a coach. The NEO Synod will subsidize each rostered minister up to $30 per month for a spiritual director and up to $30 per month for a coach (yes, that means up to $60/month total).
To access these funds, both the provider AND you – the rostered minister – must submit requests via Google Forms. The funds will be paid directly to the provider, and you will be responsible for the difference between the fee and the subsidy. It is your responsibility to negotiate this payment process with your provider.