Coaching 101, basic coach training for ministry leaders, will be presented at St. Stephen’s Church, Sewickley, Thursday evening and all day Friday, September 11-12, 2008. The third annual training is part of a cooperative effort between the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and the coach certification arm of the Titus Institute for Church Planting (TICP).

"Ministry coaching has recently found its way into the life of many denominations, although it is a popular leadership tool which had been used by executives in the secular world for many years," noted Jenni Bartling, trainer and diocesan congregational developer for new churches.

Canon Missioner Mary Maggard Hays added, "Coaching helps leaders to be more intentional and effective in their development of other Christian leaders. I’d love to see representatives from all our parishes take advantage of this training. As a coach and one who has received coaching, I am amazed at how coaching skills can impact all our relationships, not just those in ministry."

The cost of the course is $45 for clergy, church staff, lay leaders and seminarians; a discounted $30-per-person rate is available for groups of three or more. The registration fee covers materials and snacks; a variety of eating establishments are within walking distance of St. Stephen’s. You can download a registration form in pdf format here, or email bartling@pitanglican.org for more information.

Bartling hopes parishes will take advantage of the group rate and send several staff members and leaders to the training. "The principles of coaching allow people to think outside the box and ponder solutions they’d never considered before. With the help of the Holy Spirit, coaching can help us to discover what God wants us to do, and then do it!"

Participation in Coaching 101 is not limited to those pursuing Coach Certification, although a maximum of 15 applicants will be accepted into the TICP’s Coach Certification program for an added cost, which encompasses additional study, field-work, assessment and engagement in a coach-mentor relationship. Coaching 101 is a pre-requisite for the certification process.

Bartling directs the Coach Certification Process for the Titus Institute for Church Planting, a resource for the Common Cause Partners. She is a certified ministry coach who has trained nearly 300 others to empower their ministry leaders, and provides coaching to a number of priests and church planters in and outside the Pittsburgh diocese. In 2005, she left the staff of CoachNet International Ministries to focus more of her energies on her diocesan and national roles, having worked with Dr. Bob Logan for the last several years. She and her husband Stephan attend St. Stephen’s Church, Sewickley, with their son Benjamin.

-posted July 7, 2008-