Ascending Leaders recently hosted a training for our adjunct coaches. These are the experienced men and women who partner with church leaders to help them grow their congregations into fruit-bearing discipleship. Together they represent:
200 years of ministry experience
6 theological schools
4 denominations
These coaches came from across the country to share their insights and to get oriented with Ascending Leaders. Among the group, three new coaches were present. Meet our latest additions and hear what makes them passionate about discipleship!
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My passion for clear, transformational discipleship was birthed out of my own frustrating experience with discipleship that led me to nearly walk away from vocational ministry. However, God used various seminary courses to ignite a fire in me as a disciple and as a pastor. I have returned to seminary to research effective learning approaches that may (with prayer and discernment) be appropriated for use in the church.
I was introduced to Mike and AL through one of my seminary courses. In September 2017, I accepted the Discipleship Pastor position at a multisite church in Indiana and am working with our church leaders to define discipleship, develop a clear pathway for discipleship, create a personal development plan for the church, design a one-year new disciple small group experience, and write curriculum.
I look forward to continuing my learning from Mike and the other adjuncts about effective ways to walk alongside church leaders as they cultivate healthy disciple-making processes and cultures in their churches.”
Matt McClure
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I love Jesus, and I believe God is leading me to train as an Ascending Leaders coach. God has ignited a zeal for discipleship in his church and for his people in me. My interactions with Ascending Leaders over the last five years has been God-honoring and inspiring, and I am excited to be apart of this ministry. I’m loving the opportunity to collaborate on discipleship with like-minded leaders.”
Marilyn Wadkins
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I have been passionate about discipleship for many years. My passion for leadership growth lead me to annually bring teams from the church I was serving to the Willowcreek Leadership Summit. There was a great deal of frustration on our leadership team around translating what we learned from the Summits to our congregation. When Reveal first came out, I encouraged our church to participate. Like some other churches, we were surprised by the results.
I am extremely passionate about the value of coaching in any situation. I became certified in Executive and Life coaching in 2013, took Vibrant Church Initiative’s training, and began coaching churches in 2014. After visiting the Ascending Leaders website, I took a couple of their courses and participated in a session of DiscipleOn. It was fascinating to work with a variety of denominations from all over the country struggling with the same challenges.
When people grow in their faith, there is hope. When their relationship with God is strong, the world is a better place.”
We at Ascending Leaders are thrilled to have these three coaches join our team. Mike Johnson said after the training, “The adjuncts present are terrific disciples—patient, passionate, gracious, hospitable spirits, bright, deeply and widely experienced, jovial. I couldn’t have asked for any better, and I look forward to serving with them further.”
