Through the grace of God and abundant support, Brethren in Christ church plants have a relatively high rate of survival, with 75% of all church plants lasting for five or more years. Church-planting pastors receive extensive training, and even have the opportunity to be guided by a professional church-planting coach.

But church planters aren’t the only ones who could use a little guidance now and then. That’s why the church health team of the Atlantic Conference started the Missional Church Initiative, a program to help church leaders gain a renewed sense of vision and purpose for their congregations.

Beginning in May 2005, this initiative, whose goal is to “help every church to reach its full redemptive potential,” has been providing a dozen Atlantic Conference pastors with the one-on-one accountability, support, and perspective of a ministry coach.

After nine months of receiving coaching on a regular basis, many of the pastors felt they had made significant progress in maintaining a proper focus and seeing their congregations from a more objective perspective.

Nate Yoder, pastor of the Palmyra (PA) congregation, and leader of the Atlantic Conference’s church health team explains that coaching is not just for novices: “Look at Lance Armstrong. He didn’t say, after he’d won the Tour de France three or four times, that he didn’t need a coach anymore. He still had a coach, and maybe he wouldn’t have won the sixth or seventh times without one.”

Yoder reports that, for one pastor, the coaching he received made the difference between retirement and renewing his contract for another five years.

And now, the Missional Church Initiative is also providing coaching for church boards, giving them the outside perspective and resources they need to grow and lead dynamic congregations. Because after all, no one’s meant to walk through ministry alone.

Missional Church Initiative goals

A renewed sense of vision and purpose
Church boards that provide courageous leadership
Volunteer time refocused on the community
Church budgets that reflect a community focus
Energized, vision-pursuing pastors who model a community focus
An increase in baptisms
An increase in spiritual passion and maturity

WELCOME