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February 7, 2019LEADING-WELL, Free Online Mentoring Resource
Perhaps you are encountering a new need in your ministry but can’t find anyone else familiar with your specific situation. For instance, maybe you are being led to start a ministry to refugees and are asking the Lord to place someone in your path who can help guide you. With experts from a wide range of backgrounds, such as leadership development, pastoral training, church planting, Muslim-Christian relations, evangelism, etc., Leading-Well offers users a variety of experienced ministry leaders to connect with for free, one-on-one coaching.
Watch this short video interview with the visionary behind the Leading-Well platform, Brother C.J. Davison, and learn more.
What is Leading-Well?
Leading-Well is a resource platform designed to serve ministry leaders worldwide with free coaching and training resources. It is a collaborative project of Leadership International that directly corresponds with Leadership International’s purpose to train and equip Christ-like leaders for God’s mission. I serve in both ministries and am actually serving as the US Director of Leadership International while building Leading-Well.
The Lord gave me the vision for Leading-Well several years ago, through a few conversations and events, and slowly it has come to fruition through the partnership of Compassion International, a funding foundation, and other ministry partners. I have a teammate now helping me with launching and getting the word out.
Brother C.J. Davison teaching
What led you to work in Leading-Well?
We have a growing network of thousands of ministry leaders who have been through Leadership International theology and leadership training classes in the last ten years. At the same time, there is a large population of more seasoned and experienced leaders who are not meaningfully connected to Great Commission work abroad (not just in America, but worldwide). There are also incredible, smaller training ministries that have expertise and training resources which need to be shared more widely. We know we cannot serve everyone, but it became clear that technology could be a solution to serving a broader scope of needs.
Most great platforms link someone in need with a service. Uber connects drivers with someone who is searching for convenient transport, and online dating sites connect two interested people, etc. We at Leading-Well are connecting ministry leaders with the coach and training material most directly related to their respective needs. The internet allows us to do this like never before. In fact, a large research study shows that 90 percent of the world’s adult population will have smartphones by 2020 and will be able to access the internet.*
How can Leading-Well benefit the pastoral leaders and pastoral trainers in the GProCommission network?
Leading-Well is a simple solution to connecting ministry leaders who have questions with coaches who have expertise and experience. Every leader needs help in some area. We all have weaknesses and, from time to time, we each encounter unique ministry challenges. As ministers, we are not supposed to be experts in everything. There are others who can help us along the way. Leading-Well is a free service to leaders in the body of Christ. We want to see thousands of micro-coaching moments: short-term, strategic conversations about a specific topic to help people arrive at solutions to help them overcome the unique hurdles they find themselves facing.
How does someone get started?
The process is easy and starts with simply signing up online via our website. From there, pastoral leaders and pastoral trainers can access free coaching and training material. If one want to start a youth program at one’s church, it’s as easy as typing “youth program” into the Leading-Well search engine and connecting with a coach. As far as I am aware, there is nothing like it. This platform has the potential to change the way leaders around the world connect relationally to learn and grow, in both resources and relationships.
Tell us more about the coaches you currently have.
Sampling of coaches available on Leading-Well.com
We have about 55-60 coaches signed up now who are all incredible leaders in various ministry fields. We want more coaches who are willing to share their expertise for at least one hour per month. Our priority now is to get the word out so ministry leaders can connect with the coaches we have currently and begin learning and growing. We want African and Asian leaders coaching Americans and vice versa. The body of Christ needs each other, and it begins with leaders.
Which coaching topics available on the Leading-Well platform do you think pastoral trainers and leaders could benefit from?
We have coaches available in general subjects like teaching, fundraising and organizational growth, as well as in more concentrated topics like HIV/AIDS ministry, evangelism, media engagement and sports outreach.
What coaching needs do you currently face?
We need more women as coaches! We need coaches in every area. However, we specifically need coaches in our “Targeted Outreach” category–those who have lots of experience in unique ministries like mental health, specific church outreach programs and various kinds of chaplaincy. We also want coaches in topics that are becoming increasingly relevant for all leaders, like technology, media and fundraising.
We know coaching costs a lot! How much do you charge?
It is FREE! We want it to be free to anyone who can use it.
Tell us more about the app you want to develop? When can we expect to be able to use it? Next year we hope to raise funds to build the Leading-Well phone app. This will increase the reach and scope of those that can be served in places with limited internet service and Wi-Fi access. The Lord willing, we’d like the app to be fully functioning by 2020.
How did Leading-Well originate?
Before the platform was created, and part of the reason I wanted to start the platform, is that a few years ago when I connected a leader friend in Ghana with an American friend who does curriculum design, they worked together to create training on sharing the Gospel with non-Christians in Ghana. It sometimes just takes the right connections between an expert and someone in need of help. The impact can be enormous and life-changing.
How do you measure your growth?
We have been busy building this platform and getting coaches signed up. Now we face the real test of connecting people. We know when someone connects with a coach online, but we don’t track those conversations. They are private and that is beyond our reach. We can only broker the relationship and pray that God will use and bless the connection.
How can someone from the GProCommunity proceed to learn more about Leading-Well and the resources you offer? Whether you feel the Lord leading you to share your gifts and experience by offering your coaching services OR are perhaps in need of coaching in a specific area, please visit our website at leading-well.com. We invite you to take a moment and see what coaching services we have currently. We will be rolling out more functions in the coming years. As mentioned, we are hoping to raise funds for a Leading-Well app to make this resource platform even more accessible in places with low internet data coverage. You can also email us at , and please spread the news!
