Pastoral coaching/consulting has become a big thing.
Until a few years ago it was hard to find one. And it was even harder to convince pastors of the need for one. Not anymore.
Dan White Jr. wrote a Facebook post with five suggestions for those seeking to become a pastoral coach or consultant. As someone who has done a lot of consulting, I encourage you to take his advice seriously if you’re considering this ministry path. (You can see his original FB post at the end of this article.)
— Karl Vaters
I have a lot of former ministry friends who are seeking to venture out and become full time coaches and consultants.
Here are my top five (gentle) suggestions:
1. Write a Book
Attempting to establish yourself as an expert on something without a contribution of a substantial nature will make you appear illegitimate.
The podcast might be a distraction for now. Establish a concrete and quality resource.
2. Pick Your Lane
Trying to establish yourself as a coach on almost everything (preaching, church health, soul-care, deconstruction, business, leadership, discipleship, enneagram, diversity, etc) creates the appearance of desperation, not qualification.
3. Stop Featuring Your Face
You’re not a celebrity—it’s okay not to be.
Featuring your face in almost every piece of marketing, every video, every item of content, sitting in your car pontificating, communicates a desire for attention.
Most folks pick up on this subtlety. It doesn’t endear them. It places suspicion that you’re just another person who likes the camera.
Instead, feature the ideas, tools, and proof of concept.
4. Adjust Your Expectations
The market is flooded with coaches, consultants, and wanna-be experts.
Adjust your expectations about how much you should be able to make financially.
Unless you’ve had a New York Times bestseller or a history of major public success it will be a stretch for people to hand over their money in these cash-strapped times.
Most people I know who present themselves as full time coaches only have about 3-5 hours of actual paid work coming in.
5. Get Training
If you want to be a coach, get trained as a coach. If you want to be a consultant, get trained with a consulting group. If you want to weigh in on therapeutic concepts, get trained as a therapist.
Good ideas, communication skills, and a YouTube channel will only get you so far, and it won’t get you returning clients.
Extra: Don’t try so hard. Don’t measure yourself by clicks, likes, and subscribers.
(Photo by home thods | Flickr)
