A Coach Approach to Supervision: A Special Offering from Summit Coach Training

by Laura Stephens-Reed, PCC

A couple of years ago I developed a course for pastors on the basics of coaching skills. I did so because most ministry leaders enter church work expecting to do the frontline work of preaching, teaching, directing programs, and providing pastoral care, with a side of meetings, but once they are in their contexts, they realize that they have significant responsibilities for other full-time or part-time staff. Not all seminaries prepare ministers-in-training to perform those crucial responsibilities well, and there are few supervisory resources available to pastors who want to build a collaborative staff culture.

A coach approach can offer pastors many of the tools they seek for showing up the way they want as supervisors. It can help pastors supervise in ways that align with a theology of power with others and the power to work together toward the church’s vision, promote increased understanding of self and others, create a shared mission in which staff members claim their unique roles, help every staff member feel supported and resourced, and give staff ownership of and confidence in their work.

Option One: SCT 111 Class with Summit Coach Training.

In the class I present coaching tools geared toward these ends while also acknowledging the limits of a coach approach to supervision, since pastors must work within a power dynamic and tend to the bigger picture of a congregation in ways that coaches do not. We apply the class material to case studies brought from the participants' contexts and take time to sketch out the approach to supervision into which each pastor wants to live.

If you are a pastor interested in this course, I am offering it again on Tuesdays in August from 1-3 pm eastern via Zoom. You can find more information and the registration form HERE.

Option Two: Customized Training for a Church Staff

After a couple of rounds of teaching this class with pastors who all came from different contexts, a senior pastor approached me about leading it with just his church staff. I was curious how this would work, especially when it came to discussing application of the material to specific scenarios. It turned out that it worked well with a staff of people who trust one another and are eager to serve their supervisees well. The bonus was that I had the opportunity to help the participants think through how to create a culture of supervision rooted in coaching that benefits not just the staff but the congregation as a whole.

After that experience, I am eager to open this training up to more church staffs:

Coach approach to supervision training for church staffs—an 8-hour training, offered in segments of 2, 4, or 8 hours via Zoom.

This training can equip ministry leaders for the hard, holy work of supervising staff. Through interactive presentations, assessments, and discussion of common supervision scenarios, participants will:

Learn the basics of coaching and their usefulness in supervision as well as the limits of coaching in supervision.

Discover their supervision style and construct their own coach approach to supervision.

Consider how to shape a culture of supervision that is rooted in coaching skills.

This training is geared toward church staffs that have multiple people in supervisory roles.

If you are interested in exploring whether this training might be a good fit for your church staff, I welcome you to email me or schedule a conversation.

Note that the class/training is open to those seeking ICF credit toward a credential or credential renewal and for ministry leaders who are not and do not plan to become credentialed coaches.

Laura Stephens-Reed believes in the power of the local congregation to change individuals and communities in the name of Christ. An ordained minister since 2002, she has been credentialed as a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation and as a Certified Mentor Coach. She has also been trained as a Congregational Consultant and an Intentional Interim Minister by the Center for Congregational Health.