What is Christian Life Coaching?

Over the past twenty-five years, life coaching has become increasingly popular. People seek the help of coaches who guide them through various aspects of their lives for which they feel stuck or want to move forward. This is different from a Christian counselor, in that counseling normally seeks to solve problems, where a coach walks alongside the client and helps them arrive at their own solutions to their problems.

In the game of football, a coach crafts plays that will increase the likelihood the team will win the game. The coach’s goal is to create plays so that the other team won’t know where the ball will be and the offense can carry the ball into the end zone, scoring a touchdown.

Like a football coach, a Christian life coach may dispense advice for areas of a person’s life but will not solve the problem for them. A coach may analyze pieces of their client’s story and connect the dots so they can get to the root of the problem and provide real solutions to reach the end goal of freedom and productivity.

The coach asks probing questions as a part of this process. For example, a coach may ask, “What do you think you can do to change this situation right now?” or “What one step can you take to reach your goal?”

Benefits of Christian life coaching

Here are some areas in which a Christian life coach might be of help to their clients:

Mental

A Christian life coach will help a person’s mental health separate from any serious mental illness. A coach will not diagnose an issue, nor will they prescribe medication. Rather, a coach may help a person override racing thoughts and help them stop overthinking things. In a sense, a Christian life coach will help someone renew his or her mind so they can replace negative or debasing thoughts with positive, affirming thoughts that align with the Word of God.

A Christian coach may ask them to write down every negative thought. In alignment with Scripture that says to “take every thought captive,” a coach may ask them to replace that thought with a Scripture that directly contradicts it.

A person struggling with their worth and value would be asked to replace negative thoughts with the verse 1 John 3:1 which says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” A coach will make sure a person’s mind is filled with positive thoughts that will help them move forward in their lives, rather than negative ones that will keep them stuck.

Physical

The coach will help a client’s physical health by guiding them to discover why they are ill or not in good health. Then they might analyze the person’s diet, exercise routine, ability to get rest, amount of water they drink, etc. A coach will dissect each aspect of the client’s physical health to better understand the root of the problem.

Because physical health is important to a person’s productivity and moving forward in life, a coach may want to address physical health issues that may be holding them back from moving forward in life.

Emotional

While a counselor may address emotional issues, a coach may also address these issues, but in a different way. For example, a Christian counselor may help a person forgive someone who has hurt them. However, a coach may not dwell on that but rather give them exercises to behave in a way where they can have healthy relationships with that person.

He or she may give them exercises that help the client set healthy boundaries or avoid toxic situations. In some cases, a coach may instruct the client to terminate a relationship. Since physical, emotional, and mental health are all connected, a life coach may want to address these issues by renewing the mind, keeping the body in optimal health, and moving forward emotionally, so as not to get stuck in old patterns of believing or thinking.

Spiritual

A person’s spiritual health is an area a Christian life coach would work on specifically. It is more than a person’s merely reading the Word and praying to check off their daily to-do list, but rather kneeling before the Lord in submission to seek the potential He has for them.

They may work on exercises that help them become in tune with the Holy Spirit and sharpen and develop their spiritual gifts. The coach may help a person discover God’s will and purpose for them, which is missing for many Christians. Christians who go through the motions of the faith are missing out on all the abundant life Christ promises.

A Christian life coach will help them tap into that abundant life. Abundance does not necessarily mean financial prosperity, but instead, it refers to an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit, improving reactions to difficult circumstances, and persevering through trials, to name a few.

While a counselor may focus on problems of faith and use Scripture, a Christian life coach will help walk in tune with the Spirit to discover and develop God’s calling for their lives.

Financial

Once a person’s physical, spiritual, and emotional health is in alignment, a person can then focus on aspects of life that God may also bless. For example, a spiritual life coach may help them see money differently. Instead of seeing money as something to be gained or hoarded, a life coach may help a person live out their life purpose by giving generously to different organizations that align with their passions.

A coach may help a client use extra funds in their savings account to help sex trafficking, the homeless in their community, or to feed hungry children in third world countries. A Christian life coach will help them understand that God has a bigger purpose outside of merely being rich.

To truly live an abundant life, a person must give generously as Jesus gave generously. A client who gives generously to other organizations and people in need may find God blesses them financially in return.

Relationships

Not only will a Christian counselor help them individually, but they may also work on broken or difficult relationships they have. A person’s ability to relate to people plays a big role in their overall health.

While a counselor might help a person forgive and move on from a broken relationship, a Christian life coach may give exercises to help people deal with difficult people in their lives in the future.

This will help them to have healthy, enriching relationships rather than ones that are broken or cause a strain on them mentally, physically, or emotionally. While a coach may or may not instruct the client to reach out to mend a broken relationship, they will help a client move forward from one.

Learning from their mistakes and understanding the responsibility for their part in the problem, a coach will help them mature so that toxic people don’t put a strain on them. A life coach will help them live the abundant life Christ promised through examining and moving forward from pain, fear, and anger. A person who hires a spiritual life coach will move forward in their lives in ways they never dreamed possible.

To begin meeting with a Christian life coach, contact our offices today. Your first appointment is risk-free.