Are you trying to decide how God wants you to use your compassionate heart for people? Perhaps you see the impact our world is having on those around you, and you ask the Lord, “How can I help?”
You may have heard about life coaching and mentoring and you’re curious about exploring them as career options but wondering what the difference is between them. Let’s look at the distinct differences between life coaching and mentoring.
Life Coaching
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
In other words, as a life coach, you partner with your clients so they can move from where they are to where they want to be. Christian Life Coaching is beautifully unique because it brings your clients from where they are to where God wants them to be.
You don’t judge your clients or give them advice believing you know what is best for them. Instead, your role as a life coach is to actively listen and ask thought-provoking questions, so your clients can make their own decisions about their future.
As a Christian Life Coach, you have the honor of helping your clients hear God’s voice for clarity about their decisions. With the Lord guiding you, your clients can discover how they perceive God and themselves, which can be the root of obstacles to their success. Their new awareness is the first vital step in allowing your clients to overcome their barriers.
The exciting aspect of Christian Life Coaching is that you invite the Holy Spirit into your coaching sessions. Through His guidance, you can help your clients identify their values, motivations, goals, action steps, barriers, and more.
How Is Mentoring Different From Life Coaching?
Mentoring is often defined as “someone with more knowledge and experience passing along what they know to a client.” In mentoring, the mentor is the expert, whereas, in life coaching, the client is the expert.
“A coach draws out the abilities God has put in someone else . . . When I’m mentoring, I’m teaching a person, letting him draw from me or learn from my experience,” says author Tony Stoltzfus.
In coaching, the coach listens to the client about 85% of the time. In a mentoring relationship, the mentor talks about 85% of the time. It’s all about what the mentor advises, teaches and provides for the client.
Mentoring is a valuable tool to help others, but it is very different from being a Christian Life Coach.
Is Christian Life Coaching Right For You?
Christian Life Coaching empowers your clients to move from where they are to where they sense God is calling them.
As a Christian Life Coach, you have so much more than all the effective life coaching tools to offer your clients – you have also have the firm foundation of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit guiding you with each client. What a combination!
If you sense the Lord calling you into Christian Life Coaching, you can learn more by contacting us at the Center for Christian Coaching today. We are happy to answer your questions and look forward to hearing from you!
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