Michigan Conference-trained coaches are helping leaders experiencing transition. These one-hour coaching sessions last for 12-14 months. Want a coach? Fill out the Coaching Request Form.

NAOMI GARCIA
Office of Congregational Vibrancy

The Michigan Conference field staff offers the gift of coaching to pastors and laity experiencing or anticipating a ministry transition in the Michigan United Methodist connection. 

Coaching is one of the field staff’s strategies for supporting and participating in the vision, mission, values, and priorities of The Michigan Conference. This cost-free gift officially begins after a free coaching session for the one-requesting-a-coach and the coach, to experience their coaching relationship.

Ideally, the coaching experience includes the equivalent of 12 one-hour coaching sessions over 12-14 months, with two or three sessions occurring before the ministry transition begins. The balance of the 12 coaching sessions may work around a couple of months’ break for re-location.

Click MiC coaching for more information. Fill out the ‘Coaching Request’ form. Completing an online coaching request is the first step to assigning coaches. I encourage you to pass along this link to anyone you believe may benefit from the transition coaching gift.

So far, the number of requests for coaching has not exceeded the available number of trained coaches. Our estimated coaching capacity for the 2021-22 ministry year totals 1,836 hours from 32 active coaches.

• First-time pastoral assignments/appointments and MiC staff hirers are the Michigan Conference’s first priority for matching coaching requesters with coaches.
• The second priority is given to those experiencing a significant change in the ministry setting or a new ministry setting. Changes include those related to realized congregational and/or community demographics such as ethnicity, race, age, socio-economic base, and other population shifts to and from rural, urban, suburban, and rururban [former rural area surrounded by a nearby city).
• The third priority of assigning MiC coaches includes pastors and staff who are moving away from a ministry setting mismatch. The intent is to provide coaching to support a kind of starting-over boost for the pastor and staff. 
• All other re-appointments and hirers are the next priority. Retired pastors and staff strategically assigned as intentional interims are included. Intentional interims are short-term assignments of less than two years for the primary purpose of leading the people of a ministry setting through healing ministries after a trauma or discontinue.

The coaching culture of the Michigan Conference is integral in several ministry venues beyond the original notion of transition coaching.  Some include 1-on-1 coaching. Some include team or group coaching. Others focus on 1-on-1, and team or group coaching. Some are underwritten by a sponsoring ministry. Others are not.  Each of these coaching matches makes use of the same online ‘Coaching Request’ form.

Who benefits from coaching? Many do! Michigan Conference ministries incorporating coaching include:

• Seed to Harvest imagineers. Young adults initiating a risk-taking ministry. Contact Lisa Batten, [email protected], for more information.
• Intercultural Development. Individuals and groups intentionally raising their intercultural competence. Brittney Stephan, [email protected], is the one to contact for more information.
• Healthy Congregations and Systems Thinking. Support for individuals and ministry settings leading the way to counter unhealthy and hurtful relationship patterns. Check out MiC web content on addressing conflict.  Complete the online ‘Addressing Conflict Intake’ form to request assistance.
• Those leading ministry setting strategic planning. Vision Framing, a Church Unique strategic planning process. For more information contact Gary Step [email protected].
• Self-starters. Persons seeking coaching for their own reasons at their own expense.
• Supervisory or disciplinary issues. Typically initiated by supervisors.

Michigan Conference coaches are well on our way to coaching everyone in connectional ministries across the Michigan Conference: every pastor, every layperson, and every congregational leader.  Any individuals and groups may request coaching.  Some will meet the criteria for MiC funding.  Others will pay their coach directly. 

The goal of the Michigan Conference is to create a sustainable coaching culture.

Last Updated on November 9, 2023