The Key is the Coach

by Jeff Tunnell

This week I would like to share with you some beneficial information by Touch Ministries (presenter: Jay Firebaugh) from the cell coaching seminar entitled “The Key is the Coach”.  Jay shared this with us some time ago, and I enjoy re-visiting these insightful differentiations in coaching:

Nurturing is the act of speaking confidence and vision into people.  Equipping is the act of helping them do their ministry better.  Developing is the act of helping them become all they can be for God and His kingdom by committing yourself to pour into them personally.

Nurturing                       Equipping                     Developing
All                                       Many                                 Few
Care                              Training for work            Training for personal growth
Focus is on Need              Focus is on Task              Focus is on Person
Relational                          Transactional                   Transformational
Service                                Management                    Leadership
Maintains Leadership      Adds Leadership              Multiplies Leadership
Establishing                       Releasing                          Empowering
Helping                               Teaching                           Mentoring
Need Oriented                   Skill Oriented                   Character Oriented
What they want                 What the                           What they need
                                               organization needs
A Desire                              A Science                           An Art
Little or No Growth          Short-term Growth          Long-term Growth

These lists are a bit incomplete without the entire presentation.  Touch Ministries has provided the audio files for free at their website. Just scroll down the page a little and you can hear Jay present all 5 sessions.

I think seeing the differences in these aspects of coaching provide us with some stimulating insight for staying on task as we develop leaders. The final comment from me is that caring for others is tantamount to successful coaching; I may fail to coach well, but I will always care about and for those God entrusts to me.

4 thoughts on “The Key is the Coach

  • i enjoyed your thoughts, however I think you have made a distinction between equipping and developing that I don’t see anywhere in the NT. I think those distinction are man made. Where do you find that in the Bible. I can’t see Paul saying ok I’m going from equipping to developing now. Despite all that your thoughts were thought provoking

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