Christian Life Coaching - Legit or Not?

[JardinPrayer]

I'd like to start this post by making it clear that this thread is intended to stand as an permanent resource (sticky) in the Perissos Resources forum, which is in the Intra-Varsity Relations department. That means I'm a guest ministry and not engaging in heated debate as such. So, behave yourselves! I'm going to be referring my clients and friends to this forum and would like them to feel encouraged to stick around and get to know TWeb.

I'm in the process of building up my ministry's website over the next couple of months. So, it's not living up to its full potential at the moment, but it will flourish before the eyes of any who care to watch in the coming weeks. There's a link in my sig. As I'm nearly finished with my certification in Christian Life Coaching, and this is about to become a major part of what I'm doing in ministry, it seemed appropriate to begin the conversation in this forum with a clear explanation of what Life Coaching is -- and is not. Though some of the text below is clearly marketing in nature, it's not intended to recruit clients here, rather to help give a clear explanation of what I'm doing with this practice. Here's what I posted on the site today (from this page):

What is Life Coaching?

Life coaching is a collaborative, one-to-one, confidential, and deliberately-formed relationship in which the client is guided by the coach to set and then achieve goals. Christian life coaching uses the Holy Bible as its primary and ultimate authority and relies on the Holy Spirit to guide and lead the coaching process to insure that goals set in this context are in complete agreement with the client’s God-given purpose. In every session, we agree to seek the Lord’s will in the client’s life and come into agreement with that first and foremost.
Life Coaching is not therapy, counseling, mental health care, or treatment for substance abuse. Life Coaches do not function as a licensed mental health professionals and coaching is not intended as a replacement for counseling, psychiatric intervention, treatment for mental illness, recovery from past abuse, professional medical advice, financial assistance, legal counsel or other professional services. Life Coaching is intended for well-adjusted, emotionally healthy, effectively-functioning people who want to make changes in their lives and are prepared to participate in a cooperative process of agreement and accountability.

What To Expect From Life Coaching

Our Life Coaching process is client-driven, coach-supported, and Holy Spirit-led. Perissos Resources uses a number of assessment tools and exercises to help clients identify the values, passions, and gifts given to them by God to equip them for His purpose for their lives. Through prayer, discussion, agreement and accountability, the client may seek to accomplish better decision making practices, identify alternatives to current choices, identify barriers and challenges to successful goal achievement, and reach beyond feelings of limitation to stretch the client toward new levels of excellence, just to name a few of the many benefits.


As a client, you only need to meet three requirements to be assured of success with Life Coaching!

1. There must be something in your life you wish to change to make it better.
2. You must be willing to allow someone else into the process (your coach).
3. You must be agreeable to changing some aspects of either your thinking or your behavior (or both) in order to accomplish the goals you set with your coach.

It’s that easy! Of course, that third requirement is the tricky one! But, with a Life Coach, you can come to the game ready to win and get to your goals faster and more effectively than you would on your own. The process is designed to produce success in an expedient manner. Your agreement to participate in the process is the key.

Is Life Coaching Right for Me?

Coaching is designed to be client-driven and coach-supported. As a client, you will be encouraged to identify an area or areas in which you would like to work which could include (but are not limited to):

• Spiritual growth
• Decision-making and prioritization skills
• Short-term or long-term goal strategic planning
• Lifestyle management
• Life balance
• Relationship enhancement
• Career development

Your coach will review your application and conduct an initial evaluation after which a recommendation will be made for a duration for your course of coaching based on the goals identified. A course may take several weeks or months with the ongoing accountability serving as a powerful motivator to accomplish your goals and stretch yourself. Once the course is complete, you’re free to begin a new one at any time!


Your Life Coach may use some or all of these tools: brainstorming, values clarification, reading and/or written assignments, plans of action, accountability, agreements to change behavior, examining lifestyles, and questioning for deeper exploration and understanding. While it seems obvious, it is always necessary to make a point of saying that coaching works best when both parties are honest and straightforward with one another, as well as courteous and respectful.


If your evaluation reveals obstacles to your success that fall outside the competencies of the coach to assist with, you will be referred to an appropriate resource to address that issue and encouraged to request a re-evaluation in 30 days.

Since there is no regulatory agency over Life Coaching (Christian or otherwise) at the moment, anyone can legally hang out that shingle. In fact, I had listed it as one of the services my ministry offered for the last 2 years myself, though it was on the back burner. Then, around the beginning of 2010, I was surprised to find myself presented with several people who were either coming to me on their own or being referred to me by people who know me requesting coaching. To meet the sudden flurry of need, I felt I could only honor God and these clients if I received appropriate training and credentialing in this area. So, I started researching the options.


Boy, are there options! Lots and lots of them! I found I could spend anywhere from $300 to $10,000 and take anywhere from an afternoon to a couple of years to become "certified." I didn't want to simply get my ticket punched and have a pretty certificate to hang on my wall. So, after a bunch of research, I ultimately selected the Professional Christian Coaching and Counseling Academy (PCCCA) as my certifying entity. While I have not agreed 100% with every method or statement or process I have been taught by this organization, I have to admire their uncompromising devotion to the Word of God as the absolute and final authority and foundation for Christian Life Coaching. They are committed to keeping their coaches unsullied by secular, mystical, or new age philosophies and practices and will revoke certification if such activity is discovered. The PCCCA certification programs are accredited, which can be said of several others. The difference here is that this organization actually rejected several accrediting agencies on the basis that they were willing to accredit secular coaching schools. I was impressed with the steadfastness of the PCCCA's devotion to Christian integrity. In fact, Dr. Leelo-Dianne Bush, founder of the PCCCA currently sits on a board formed to put criteria and competencies in place and create some regulatory control for the Life Coaching profession. So, where we have our differences, I'm cool! We certainly agree where it counts!


As part of my training, I had to set a number of goals in several areas of my life and have been accountable to my instructor on a weekly basis. So, I've got a personal testimony of success. Plus, I've had to complete a practicum where I'm coaching real people with real goals, all of whom can now offer their own testimonies. It has already been a very rewarding and satisfying ministry experience and I'm very much looking forward to what God has for me in His service here.


So, I welcome your comments and questions on this subject and I'm thrilled to be back among you!

[Kelp]

Impressive! I hope this becomes very fruitful !

[Sparko]

sounds interesting Jardin. Congrats on the area and God Bless with the ministry.

[One Bad Pig]

This is your area, Lynn. I'll give you power in here.

[JardinPrayer]

Power! Ah, the sweet scent! Thanks, piggy!

[Sparko]

so do you charge fees to be someone's life coach, or is it free and paid for by external donations?

[JardinPrayer]

Actually, both, Sparko. We do accept donations and donors can specify they'd like their funds to be used to cover someone's Life Coaching who otherwise couldn't afford it. And, I have a few discount packages and gift certificates. But, most importantly, part of my training included the need to place a value on the coaching experience as integral to it's success. When people receive something for free, they have a tendency not to attach value to it and that can sometimes translate to not taking it seriously enough. So, how I have set my fees is directly related to the demographic I'm mostly ministering to and how important I believe they need to view the process to achieve success.

[Sparko]

Actually, both, Sparko. We do accept donations and donors can specify they'd like their funds to be used to cover someone's Life Coaching who otherwise couldn't afford it. And, I have a few discount packages and gift certificates. But, most importantly, part of my training included the need to place a value on the coaching experience as integral to it's success. When people receive something for free, they have a tendency not to attach value to it and that can sometimes translate to not taking it seriously enough. So, how I have set my fees is directly related to the demographic I'm mostly ministering to and how important I believe they need to view the process to achieve success.

I think that is a good idea. It also serves to keep the relationship professional. Otherwise you would just become the shoulder they cried on whenever they had a slight problem.

[JardinPrayer]

Well, that part is my job to manage! There's no crying in baseball, as someone very wise once said! More seriously, the coaching relationship is intended to set and achieve goals. So, it's dissimilar to our traditional view of counseling or therapy in that way. You can think of it much like you think of a coach in a sports environment. The injured aren't the ones seeking a coach. It's the ones ready to be on the team to win and interested in partnering with an expert who will stretch them to their highest potential and it's very much a cooperative relationship. If ya just wanna cry, I'll likely refer you to a counselor.

[Sparko]

so do you have life cheerleaders too? Rah Rah Rah!

[JardinPrayer]

Settle down and show some respect.

[Sparko]

Settle down and show some respect.

are you coaching me? if so, send the bill to ApologiaPhoenix.

[JardinPrayer]

One thing I'm learning in my certification training, Sparko, is that some people are considered "uncoachable." I'll just leave it at that.

[Sparko]

One thing I'm learning in my certification training, Sparko, is that some people are considered "uncoachable." I'll just leave it at that.

I is independent!