Coaching opportunities for BRN pastors through Converge Coaching

David Ludwig: Hello, BRN Pastors. I just wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine today, John Opalewski. He’s the founder of Converge Coaching. And as part of our efforts to try to help you in your wellness, we’ve partnered with John, and we just really
appreciate what he’s doing. I wanted to get a chance to introduce you to him and let him share what he is doing so that you’d have a better understanding of what coaching could be for you. Thanks, John.

John Opalewski: Yeah, hey David, thanks for having me and to all the BRN pastors, welcome. I wanted to take a minute today just to explain to you what a “coach” coaches because, David, I think sometimes there is a little bit of confusion around what coaching is versus what counseling is and all of that. So a coach, in its essence, a coach is a gap filler. It’s someone who walks alongside a leader who is here and that leader wants to get there. And a coach helps bridge that gap by creating a safe space, a confidential space, where leaders can speak freely, process openly, and fully be themselves without fear of judgment.

Great coaching cultivates self -awareness and helps leaders to lead themselves well, to get and stay healthy, to experience greater longevity, enjoying their work. David, I’ve come to this conclusion that prevention is a lot easier than recovery, and coaching is a lot on the preventive side.

Now, we’ve worked with thousands of pastors and a couple of my favorite testimonials from pastors, real brief, I want to give them to you. One of our clients said this. He said, “John, I shared things with you today I’ve never told another human being, and I didn’t feel judged or like I shouldn’t be a pastor because of them. I hope you realize the impact you’re having on my life.”

Another one of our clients shared this: “I’ve been coaching with Converge Coaching for several years now, and it helped me get ahead of problems, care for my soul, and stay proactive about my personal health.” And then he finished that off with saying this, “I’ve grown so much healthier because of the relationship with my coach.”

And so coaching … what would cause somebody to say, “I think I need a coach”?

Well, if you’re struggling with burnout, coaching is indicated for stress (and by the way, we all know pastoring is incredibly stressful), but stress management, proactive care for your soul, personal growth, sabbatical prep, those are just a few of the areas where a coach would really be helpful to you. And because of the vision, David, of the BRN and the generosity of the BRN, every pastor up to a certain number, I guess, has access to six sessions with a professionally trained ministry-minded certified coach.

The BRN is covering 80% of the total costs, making this powerful resource highly available and accessible. So as a pastor, your portion is just $28 a session, which comes out to $168 for six sessions. It’s an incredible value. It’s a great opportunity for you to invest in your own growth, your soul health, and your leadership effectiveness, because the healthier you are, you won’t be able to stop that from bleeding over onto the people you lead. And so at the end of this video, we’ll provide a link to register for coaching along with a QR code. So David, thanks for letting me have a few moments to share.

David Ludwig: Yeah, that’s great. Thank you, John. I really appreciate you sharing that and your heart is my heart. We believe that you need to be a healthy pastor to lead a healthy church and we just want our pastors to be able to be healthy for the congregation in a place where they serve. So thanks again.

John Opalewski: Yeah, thanks for having me, David.