Stepping back to self-evaluate may not be a fun experience, and many people rarely, if ever, take the time to do it. Once-a-year evaluations in the workplace help with this process on the professional side, and sometimes contemplating New Year’s resolutions causes people to evaluate themselves personally.
But how many people truly practice routine self-evaluations and then act on the findings? What about in church life?
How can pastors and other church leaders make sure they are staying in tune with the health and effectiveness of the congregation they have been tasked to lead while also trying to keep up with all that ministry involves?
The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) has found a successful way to come alongside churches in this effort — church revitalization coaching.
Growing effort
The effort, launched a little more than a year ago, has already grown so much that more than 50 coaches have been trained, which means the SBOM can coach more than 100 churches at a time. By the end of September, 60 coaches will be credentialed for service allowing the SBOM to assist up to 120 churches at a time.
“The commitment on the part of the pastor and the church revitalization coach is one year,” said state missionary Dale Huff, who oversees the effort. “Over a five-year period of time we could conceivably work with more than 600 churches. That can make a difference in the lives of those churches.”
State missionary Sammy Gilbreath, who helped Huff develop the coaching strategy, agreed.
“It is working really well, and more and more churches are interested,” he said.
“We started out slow and methodical and built our system carefully so we could provide a quality product to our churches,” he added. “Now we have a good system in place and are excited about how we can help our churches.”
Huff said the process starts simply with a phone call or email.
“Call our office of LeaderCare and church administration and request a church revitalization coach,” he said. “A coach will be assigned to you and will guide you through the selection process of one of many identified strategies available to you.”
The coaching staff is made up of state missionaries, pastors, retired pastors, ministers of education and directors of missions.
“Every coach goes through a two-day training led by recognized experts in the field with an emphasis on coming alongside a pastor to provide encouragement,” Huff explained.
The first contact from the coach will take place within two weeks of the request being placed, and then an initial in-person visit will take place. After that, the coach will stay in touch for a year with monthly phone calls and quarterly visits.
“The coach will serve as a conduit for communication and encouragement,” Huff said.
And the effort is completely funded through the SBOM budget, he added.
“Because of Alabama Baptists’ gifts through the Cooperative Program, there is no cost to the pastor or church.”
So far, 48 Alabama Baptist churches have signed up for church revitalization coaching and two have completed the process.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Huff said.
For more information or to request a coach, call Dale Huff at 1-800-264-1225 ext. 263 or email him at dhuff@alsbom.org.
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