Feature 12 and

‘My coach listened to me on issues regarding my life and ministry, challenged me to make me think about what I had said, supported me, walked with me and understood my role and my ministry. I am very thankful.’

‘The sessions have encouraged me to be braver and more proactive rather than held back by expectations, overflowing admin lists or the demands of others.’ ‘In Christian leadership I know it is really important to reflect on where you are and who you are and how you are doing – but as a verbal processor I find that really difficult to do in isolation. I need that to be in conversation with someone. To sit down for an hour each month and create a space where I can stop and examine my walk with God has been transformative.’

grounded in the values of faith. It adheres to appropriate professional standards and best practice and highlights mutual respect and accountability.

If you would like to explore a coaching relationship to support you in your growth and development, go to salvationarmy.onpld.com and create a profile, or send an email to coaching@salvationarmy.org.uk

MAJOR TRACEY DAVIES

Learning and Development Officer (Officer Programmes) William Booth College

QUICK Q+A

CAPTAIN DEBBIE PEARSON (ASSOCIATE OFFICER, NORWICH CITADEL)

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN COACHING?

Just over five years. While I’m not a people person – because I don’t like big crowds or enjoy small talk – I really like one-to-ones with people, journeying with them and helping them reach their potential. And I really love seeing the relief or joy when they realise what the deep issue is and find a way forward.

HOW HAS SISTAD’S COACHING AND MENTORING COURSE IMPACTED YOUR COACHING?

It boosted my confidence. I’m a lot freer now. I don’t feel the need to stick to a script or have the perfect question ready. Instead, I simply listen to what the person’s saying, I pick up on the words they use or the feelings they mention, or even their body language, and just help them go a bit deeper to get to the issue and make the changes they need. The other thing is the confidence that I can do this with. I might not have the same number of years’ experience as the person I am coaching; I might not know anything about their situation; I won’t have all the answers, but I don’t need that to be a great coach. It’s more about creating a safe space where people can be real and honest and have time to think about what’s going on and what they want to do next.

HOW DOES SUPERVISION WORK AS A COACH?

I meet with my supervisor a few times a year for teaching, encouragement and prayer. It’s also a time to gain insight from other coaches on how to deal with tricky conversations or situations. But the biggest thing is an opportunity for me to reflect on what I’m doing as a coach and the tools I’m using or the questions that I’m asking and to think how I could do things differently. So it’s a way of learning and growing.

WHY IS SUPERVISION IMPORTANT?

It keeps me on track and keeps me growing and accountable. Without it I would probably just go ahead thinking ‘I’ve got this’, but the supervision is a reminder that I need to keep learning more. It’s also important that I know I’ve got a safe space to go myself, so if I come across anything tricky or want a bit of advice, I’ve got support. Although we meet regularly, I know I could call them up at any time.

WHAT IS COACHING?

‘The unlocking of a person’s potential to maximise their performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. The coach is not the problem solver.’ (Sir John Whitmore) ‘The goal of coaching is to establish a firmer connection with an inner authority that can guide vision and urge excellence.’

(Myles Downey) ‘Coaching is focusing on empowering people to find their own answers, encouraging and supporting them on the path.’

Prayer is mission

Ahead of the Encounter Prayer Gathering, Captain Gary Lacey explains why we should change the way we think about prayer

THE room was dimly lit, darkened by the oak panels covering the walls, except the one to the right which was floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined with academic tomes, both historic and recent. It was a classic university lecturer’s office – calm, chilled and with an unmistakable atmosphere created by years of critical thinking and the toil of study.

I sat in an old, severely scuffed leather chair. Opposite me in a similar armchair sat my professor. I was called to see him to discuss an assignment I had written towards my master’s degree in mission. I had written an in-depth account of why I believed that prayer fuels mission. I was feeling pretty pleased with it.

My professor was a deeply Christian man and a fantastic scholar with some extraordinary gifts in teaching and writing. He was also a wise man, and you could see it in his eyes – slate grey, bright and clear, despite his advancing years.

He looked me in the eye and, with passion and respect, told me that he didn’t entirely agree with my essay. He then said something that changed me as a person and changed my prayer life and my ministry for ever: ‘Prayer doesn’t fuel mission. Prayer is mission.’

I had always understood prayer as an essential element of mission, sitting alongside other elements, for example worship, preaching, outreach and others – that to produce quality missional practice, we need to pray first.

Yet, here was my wise old tutor challenging me on that thinking. As he lavished his deep wisdom on me, shaped by years of walking with Jesus and facing immense spiritual battles, the scales fell from my eyes.

It makes sense to see prayer as mission. It changes everything.

Matthew 28:19 and 20 help this thinking massively: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

The commission is followed by the reassurance that Jesus is already with us in everything we undertake in his name. He is already there, in the brokenness of this world, in the hurting lives of people who are far from a relationship with him, in every tragedy and in every joy.

He is already there.