Training in coaching – by coaching others
In our mission organization, we provide a coach for all of our new missionaries at the mid-point of their first term. This coach meets with the new missionary for a total of 6 times over a 3-month period to help them walk through the process of doing a self-assessment of their spiritual, physical, emotional and relational health. This 3-month coaching period is called MOP-up (Member Orientation Program under pressure). SEND’s pre-field training is called MOP or Member Orientation Program, and MOP-up is a follow-up event a few years later. The whole program seeks to 1) reinforce the pre-field learning, 2) identify what has been learned experientially since arriving on the field, and 3) plan future learning goals for the rest of the first term. You can read more about this training for first-term missionaries at this link.
At the end of the MOP-up experience, we ask the coachees to give us an evaluation of the experience. Thus far with almost 30 responses tabulated, 64% have indicated that the coaching was very valuable and that they definitely want to be coached in the future. This greatly encourages me, for one of my hopes was that in exposing first-term missionaries to coaching, they would see its value throughout their missionary career.
