Question: How quickly can the world around us change?
Answer: Faster than we knew was possible.
Given the seismic shifts in our world, perhaps it’s time to update our approaches to our primary mandate as the church – making disciples. Teaching ministries are vital to Christian Formation, yet many disciples need more in order to seize their callings and live out their faith in the real world. Disciple Development Coaching© is a tool designed for advancing the journey of Christian disciples.
Disciple = Christ Follower
Development = Growing, changing, transforming, moving toward goal(s)
Coaching = The art of facilitating growth in others through intentional conversations
Disciple Development Coaching is a focused collaborative relationship, resulting in the disciple living out his/her calling more fully. Mark Tidsworth & Ircel Harrison, DDC Developers
Disciple Development Coaching is Pinnacle’s unique approach to coaching specifically designed to equip clergy, church staff, and laity to coach individuals and teams within the congregation. Many of us in congregational life want to help one another identify our callings and live them out more fully. This is the focus of Disciple Development Coaching, equipping disciples to maximize their gifts and live out their faith fully and effectively.
The Coaching Profession and Movement have much to offer Christians who want to develop one another as disciples of Jesus Christ. Rather than simply take professional coach training and transfer it to the Christian church, Pinnacle has adapted coach training with clergy, church staff, and lay persons in mind. Disciple Development Coaching is a unique approach to training Christian disciples to coach each other toward living out our callings.
The coaching approach to discipleship taught by Pinnacle gave me a new set of tools to engage others in discovering their God-given callings and discerning God's voice. This is a welcome shift from viewing the pastor as the dispenser of wisdom, or a therapist, and it empowers Christians to take responsibility for their own growth in Christ. Scott Bowerman, Church Starter & Pastor
New Kirk Presbyterian Church
Certification in Disciple Development Coaching
Pinnacle Leadership Associates provides Disciple Development Coaching© Certification. The purpose of DDC Certification Process is to:
- Learn the DDC Model and become competent to coach disciples in one’s ministry setting
- Gain hands-on experience in Disciple Development Coaching in the safe learning laboratory of the DDC Course and Practicum
- To coach disciples in one’s ministry context with oversight from a DDC Trainer
- To learn how to train laity in one’s ministry setting to coach others in the ministry setting
- Gain access to training materials for training DDC Coaches in your ministry setting
The majority of clergy and church staff who want to coach disciples in their ministry settings are really looking for practical skills. They want to understand coaching, and discover a useful approach that facilitates disciple development. This is the need Disciple Development Coaching was created to address.
Step One – Disciple Development Coaching Foundational Course
Participants gather for a 3.5 day DDC Course. These are scheduled periodically by Pinnacle, denominations, seminaries, and others who want to train their clergy and church staff in DDC.
Step Two – Practicum
- Monthly teleconference for Six months
- Participants coach peers during the teleconference and between Practicum calls
- Participants are coached on how to begin coaching disciples in their ministry context
- Participants will demonstrate competency in the DDC Model
Step Three – Training
- Participants learn how to train disciples in their ministry settings to coach other disciples
- Participants can order training materials for training disciples in the DDC Model