What does it take to be a missional coach? What sets missional coaches apart from any other kind of coach? This week I’m doing a series on the five missional coach competencies—one per day. These represent the areas that a good missional coach must be competent in, over and above the competencies all quality coaches must possess.
Al has a lot of natural charisma. He seems to have started quite a few discipling relationships, but kind of unintentionally. They just happened. People just seem to look to him for guidance and find him easy to talk to. He also has a group meeting in his home. It’s mostly a supper club, but the conversations have turned spiritual lately. Al has approached you about coaching because it seems to him that God is up to something and he’s not sure what he should do about it. His missional ministry is bearing fruit… what now? He’s running low on time lately, seeing as he has a full-time job. Maybe he should quit and be a pastor? But he’s never quite seen himself as a pastor and that would remove him from all the great people he knows at work. But he certainly can’t keep going the way he has been… it’s just too much time.
Al needs a coach with a multiplication outlook—someone who can help him focus on the reproducible nature of missional living. Missional living is inherently reproducible—think of the mustard seed, of the yeast working through the whole batch of dough. The gospel lived out catches, influencing people as it moves. A coach with a missional outlook can help Al look beyond his own ministry into the empowerment of others for ministry. That’s a kingdom perspective rather than just one of an individual person or ministry. How many more people could be reached if Al could equip others to do what he does? If he could start multiplying not just disciples, but communities? A coach with a multiplication outlook can facilitate reflection on how to contribute to a larger kingdom movement.