Helping Others Find Their Focus
A mission coach helps people answer three questions:
- Where am I?
- Where does God want me to go?
- How will I get there?
A mentor is sometimes defined as someone who has gone before and pours into an empty vessel that which is missing or absent. A coach, however, is one who comes alongside and draws out what God has already given.
The 2:47 Network supports coaching through:
- Training Coaches — Mission Coach Training for those who wish to become a coach
- Providing Coaches — The 2:47 Network is building a network of trained coaches who will be available to contract with those who wish to receive the benefits of a coaching relationship.
Creating a Network of Coaches
We are dedicated to the call of God in making it possible for every Christian church planter, missional pastor and missional leader to have a competent and committed mission coach available to come alongside them. These mission coaches will become competent through a rigorous coach training process administered by The 2:47 Network, and they will become committed to helping these planters and U.S. missionaries remain focused and results-oriented in their respective ministries.
Coaches will be made available to missionary-type planters, churches planting new churches, revitalization churches and evangelistic leaders through a network of Coaches at The 2:47 Network.
Value of Mission Coaching
Church Planters, Field Missionaries, Missional Pastors and Leaders of Mission Movements are greatly empowered and encouraged through the gift of a coach, and particularly a mission coach.
Mission Coaching is Biblical
Ephesians 4 explains that the role of church leaders is to … prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ can grow and build itself up in love as each part does its work. Hebrews 10:24-25 urges believers to … consider how we may ‘spur’ one another on to love and good deeds.
Barnabas was one of Paul’s closest companions and traveled with him on missionary journeys. Originally named Joseph, his new name Barnabas, translated literally, means “son of encouragement.”
Acts 11:23-24 says of this Barnabas, “When Barnabas arrived in Antioch and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.”
What an exciting definition of a mission coach! Barnabas was called alongside a missional leader; he encouraged, equipped, prepared and helped the leader find focus; in sum, he helped others to be ‘successful’ in their kingdom work.
Mission Coaching is Practical
Planting a new church and/or reaching a cultural group with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is neither easy nor automatic. When sending missionary workers into the early New Testament mission field, Jesus told them that they were being sent out “as lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3) and advised them to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Someone said: The ante always goes up on the mission field! It is not the same as ministering to believers in a gathered congregation.
Seminaries tend to train church workers to bring quality care to existing believers in a Christian congregation. Less emphasis is dedicated to train missional leaders to enter a new mission field, make new disciples and plant a new congregation or ministry.
While nurturing the saints is certainly an important aspect of ministry, many missionary-type church workers enter their mission fields with a deficiency in responding to the call of God to be apostolic entrepreneurs; that is, to start something from nothing, to first gather a flock before that flock can be nurtured through ministries of the Word.
A mission coach is someone who comes alongside to help others find their focus, ‘connect the dots’ of God’s vision and convert dreams into reality. In other words, a mission coach is all about kingdom impact.
Find Out More About Our Mission Coaches