Spiritual Life and Leadership Coaching

299635_260623470637572_893725749_nIn spiritual life coaching, you learn how to listen better to the Holy Spirit and to experience genuine transformation in your personal life, work and service to others. Through an in-depth, multi-month relationship with your coach, you will learn sound principles and practices that truly “work” for making desired changes and pursuing treasured goals.

My unique coaching styles combines relevant biblical teaching, intelligent encouragement, spiritual counseling, and leadership consulting in one relationship. Clients can expect to grow deeper in their relationship with God and learn how to let God lead them more fully and fruitfully in every aspect of their lives. Ultimately, spiritual life coaching is designed to strengthen churches, ministries, and organizations, and to further the kingdom of God.

How Spiritual Life Coaching Works

In Spiritual Life Coaching, you, the client, set the agenda, identify the vision, and create the solutions. You will draw on your own creativity and resources, including your relationship with God. As coach, I help you to accomplish three major goals:

  1. Get clarity around your vision(s) and God’s calling on your life,314652_266077940092125_1738930705_n
  2. Identify strategies and actions steps to pursue your visions, and
  3. Clear away the obstacles and fears inhibiting your ability to keep on track with your visions.

More specifically, in the context of a trusted relationship with me, your coach, you will do the following:

  • clarify your own values and priorities
  • develop a highly motivating vision for key aspects of your life
  •  set attainable goals and action steps to pursue your vision
  • create strategies to deal with persistent obstacles that have been distracting or bogging you down
  • increase and focus your energy
  • find adequate support and accountability to persevere in pursuing your vision
  • develop greater skills and experience in Spirit-led living and leading

We begin with an extended Discovery and Design session to help you assess your level of satisfaction in ten major areas of your life, including your relationship with God, vocation, service, giving, church, spouse/significant other, family, friends, and relationship to self. From there, you will choose to focus on your highest priorities, and the work of pursuing your vision for your life and leadership continues in earnest.

Leadership Coaching

217Leadership Coaching complements Spiritual Life Coaching by focusing attention on specific challenges and issues that a leader is addressing. The ultimate goals of leadership coaching are to offer insightful, confidential, and intelligent encouragement to leaders in order to help them to flourish better as leaders, and to foster healthier and more fruitful ministries and organizations.

It’s lonely at the top. One of the hardest things for many leaders is feeling as if they have no one to talk to. Often there is no one with whom they share their deepest fears and concerns. There’s no one with whom they can dream and bounce off their radical ideas without causing a stir among staff, Board members, or other constituents.

It’s also hard to find others who truly understand the full range of feelings and the types of concerns that come from having the buck stop with you. Where do you go to find perspective? Where do you go for support? Where do you go for creative ideas, practical management decisions, wisdom for troubleshooting sticky personnel issues? Where do you go to talk about how you are changing, growing, and envisioning your own future, without risking your authority and ability to lead effectively?

After spending years on the staff of churches of various sizes, as senior pastor of a small church, and executive director of a multi-million dollar nonprofit ministry, I have learned a great deal about effective leadership—some from successes, some from learning from others, and a lot from missteps, failures, and wrong turns. I’ve also developed a great deal of empathy for fellow leaders, who are struggling to make the most of their leadership opportunity. Now that I have turned my attention to full time teaching and coaching, I’m in a unique position to walk with other leaders to help them to fulfill their purpose in life and leadership more effectively.

Testimonials

“Tim is incredibly insightful, encouraging, and non-judgmental. The coaching was custom tailored to my specific situation (processing a career change), and I left every session with very practical guidance and productive next steps. Tim helped me clarify my calling and identify the opportunities that were the best fit for me—I often felt like Tim knew me better than I knew myself. Thanks to Tim’s presence in my life during a pivotal season of change, God has me on a trajectory of purpose, fulfillment and success that’s most aligned with my unique calling.” —Collin Carroll, Marketing Director 

“Tim’s desire to understand how I was approaching the issues, challenges and relationships in my life was unique to any I have experienced working with other business coaches. His listening ability and non-judgmental approach allowed me to open up more and gain deeper insight into issues that I would have otherwise been reluctant to discuss. His past experience as a business leader in addition to being a pastor and missionary gives him a perspective to look at things from a wide range of points of view and articulate the ideas into clear concise points or action steps. Further, Tim has a very inviting style of prayer that has allowed me to get closer and to get clearer about what God is saying to me about my life.” —Peter Strommen, (former) CEO PD Instore

“Hiring Tim as my spiritual and life coach was one of the best things I ever did. Tim helped me break unproductive thought patterns and dream new dreams for my life.” —Barb Olson, VP, Customer Loyalty at Best Buy, Minneapolis, MN

“The coaching experience was extremely effective in penetrating and exposing blocks and resistance. By moving through them, I was able to see choices and freedoms that were otherwise unavailable to me…. Tim was exceptionally patient and focused with me. He helped me probe deeper into things without offering advice or answers. He was always respectful and followed my lead.” —Vera Snow, Artist, Minneapolis, MN

“I liked Tim’s style…very free flowing, and yet always pushing to stay on task, on target. Encouraging, empowering. The questioning that helped bring clarity. The ‘give myself assignments’ approach. The freedom to dream without constraints. The deathblow to dreaming only what is feasible and ‘realistic.’” —Terry Esau, Founder of Nudge the World/Surprise Me, Long Lake, MN

“Insightful, knowledgeable, affirming, challenging…guides but does not lead. Tim was always punctual and picked up exactly where we left off…no down time. Tim was always well prepared and helpful.” —Gregg Steinhafel, Orono, MN

“My experience of coaching with Tim was remarkable. [In just one session,] Tim asked insightful questions, listened intently, took notes which he gave to me after the session, talked with me, but did not steer me in any direction. In the process I was somehow able to strongly clarify what I wanted from an upcoming opportunity, and get through and beyond some concerns about it. I went into the opportunity clear minded, hopeful, excited, grounded. The coaching session with Tim was just what I needed.” —Rev. Valerie Strand Patterson, Associate Pastor, St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church, Plymouth, MN

“I don’t even know where to start except for a huge thanks. Thanks for journeying with me these past six months. It’s been challenging, growing, life-giving, and joyful. I’m overwhelmed at the growth and opportunities God gave me to learn more about Him and ground myself [in myself]. I couldn’t have gone through this process without you—encouraging me, speaking truth, providing insight, and creating space for me to get in touch with our God. Thanks for providing a safe place for me to process, ask questions, and seek wisdom… This relationship has been one of my greatest blessings–thanks for being a part and playing such a huge role in my development.”  —KS, Minneapolis, MN

“My time working with Tim and a spiritual life coach has been an enriching and eye-opening experience.   I have been a Christian for many years, but while working with Tim came to realize that I have not been accessing the full power that comes from living in close communion with the Holy Spirit.  Tim has helped me gain new insight into what it means to walk with the helper that Christ left for us.  Thanks to Tim and his patient, thoughtful approach, I have grown more deeply in my faith, have gained deeper insight into my spiritual life, have grown in my quiet time and have an improved perspective on life. I highly recommend spiritual life coaching with Tim Geoffrion to anyone seeking a deeper faith and a deeper humanity.” Eric Strobel, Attorney and Writer

“What I most appreciate about Tim Geoffrion as a spiritual life coach and how he has most helped me:

  • Confidence in calling and life vision
  • Thinking through difficult situation
  • Gives courage to have those challenging conversations
  • Tim asks great questions to peel back the layers to see what is really going on
  • Leads prayer time in such a way that one is directed into the presence of God
  • Always gives hope, truth, and grace”

James Madsen, Pastor of Adult Ministries

“Tim is a great listener and wise in his suggestions. I felt like Tim clearly understood what I was trying to accomplish through this coaching. He helped me to understand the key items that would help me reach my own conclusions. He also suggested many tools to help me create habits.” Juan Ortiz, Executive Leader in Sales

Perhaps what I most appreciate about Tim as a coach was his pedagogical style. He wasn’t a life expert who simply solved my problems; he was a coach who instructively walked me through each situation with the expertise of a sage guide. He helped me to see things more clearly so that I could make the right decisions for myself. Tim equipped me with skills that I can continue to use even after our coaching session came to a conclusion. I highly recommend Tim’s coaching services to anyone in the midst of difficult decisions or turbulent transitions.” John, Pastor

“I began meeting with Tim at the end of a long and difficult season of ministry; I was exhausted, listless, and my spiritual life was withering. Very gently and yet very intentionally, Tim walked with me as I reawakened my prayer life and experienced the redemption of the Living God in real time. Tim has this amazing and rare gift of teaching people how to create space for the Spirit to speak in their lives. My time with Tim Geoffrion has been a crucial ingredient in my development as a more complete and fully integrated person.” David Steward, Post-Graduate Student

Commitment and Fees

Coaching can be done over an extended period of time (typically 3-6 months), or separately on a session by session basis, depending on your needs and priorities. I work on a sliding scale, allowing for discounts for those in full time Christian service. Fees vary depending on the extent of the working relationship and the time involved. Please contact me directly to discuss your particular needs and situation.

Sessions are conducted in person, by phone or Skype.