Coaches aren’t just for athletes anymore. There seems to be a proliferation of coaches popping up for a variety of general or more niche fields. This is a good thing! Even the best athletes have coaches and trainers. The need is just as present in kids’ ministry and now a few people are stepping up to fill that need.
While there are certainly other organizations that offer kidmin coaching (Kidology comes to mind), I have personally benefitted from the expertise of Henry Zonio of Elemental CM. I recently completed six sessions of coaching with him and I highly recommend this process for anyone interested in being coached.
Henry brings a number of years of children’s ministry experience and combines that with being trained as a coach. He uses those two things to guide the coachee through the process. What I loved about coaching was Henry did not just counsel me or just give me ideas to help solve my problems. He helped me look into my current situation and prompted me to find solutions within myself. It was amazing how the coaching process jump started the creative process inside of me.
The other thing I enjoyed about having a children’s ministry coach was the followup. Each time we finished a call we set some practical goals to be reached by the next call. I knew I was going to be asked about those goals, so it motivated me to at least begin the process on them.
If the idea of being coached even sounds remotely like something you could benefit from (and I guarantee you with a good coach you will benefit) you should get in touch with Henry. You can get all the information you need on his coaching page. The first session is free and will help you and him decide if you are a good fit for the program. There is a cost for the rest of the sessions, but it is a worthwhile investment. Use some of that money you got for Christmas instead of buying that new Verizon iPhone. They’re going to release a new one in July anyway. UPDATE: I may have been wrong about the iPhone. Regardless, getting a coach is still a great investment.
And even if you aren’t in need of a children’s ministry coach, Henry is a certified coach and can be of assistance in any field.
Thanks, Jared for those kind words. It was a privilege to walk through the coaching process with you.
I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true. I still think back constantly to our discussions and I’m still seeing the benefits months later.
I’ve also gotten great benefit from coaching in the kidmin domain. If you are feeling in a rut, want to change directions, etc, I think a fresh perspective is extremely valuable.
I’ve also gotten a lot of benefit from “KidMin Think Tank” meetings. I regularly meet for coffee with a small group of Sunday School Directors from neighboring churches to discuss new ideas, successus, lessons learned, etc. I see the meetings as informal coaching, and have gotten a great deal of benefit from them. Just wanted to pass along the idea 🙂
I think it is so great that there is a group of like minded individuals you can connect with regularly. It seems the more rural your community gets, the less likely those options become available, which is my case, but I strongly encourage anybody to meet with others in kids’ ministry as often as possible.
I think both formal coaching and informal coaching are important.