Leadership Coaching for Pastors and Church Leaders
Does Any of This Sound Familiar?
You stepped into pastoral ministry from a sense of calling, but over time the weight has brought low-grade anxiety, hard decisions that won’t land, and a growing gap between the leader you hope to be and the one showing up each week. You need a thoughtful partner who will take your situation seriously and help you move forward with clarity.
That’s what coaching with me is for.
What Changes When You Work With a Coach
Most of the obstacles that hold leaders back aren’t external — they’re internal. The anxiety you manage around conflict. The stories you tell yourself about your limitations. The way your family of origin still shows up in your board meetings whether you invite it or not.
Leadership coaching creates a structured, confidential space to surface those patterns, examine them honestly, and build new ones. Not by telling you what to do — but by asking the right questions, reflecting back what you can’t always see from inside your own experience, and holding you accountable to the growth you’ve said you want.
Clients who work with me typically come away with:
- A clearer, more grounded sense of their calling and leadership identity
- Greater capacity to manage their own anxiety rather than passing it on to others
- Practical tools for navigating conflict, difficult conversations, and leadership transitions
- A more integrated relationship between their faith, their values, and how they actually lead
- Renewed energy and motivation for the work they were called to do
What Coaching With Me Looks Like
The first conversation
We start with a free 30-minute exploratory call — no agenda, no pitch. I want to hear where you are, what’s pulling at you, and what you’d most want to be different. You’ll get a feel for how I work, and we’ll both have a sense of whether there’s a good fit. If there is, we talk next steps. If not, I’ll do my best to point you toward someone who might serve you better.
The ongoing work
Coaching sessions are 60 minutes by video (Zoom) or phone. We meet on a consistent schedule — typically every two or three weeks — so there’s enough time between sessions for you to try things, reflect, and come back with real material.
Sessions aren’t scripted. You bring what’s alive for you. I bring deep listening, probing questions, and occasionally a framework or tool that helps make sense of what you’re navigating. We might work through a specific leadership challenge one week and explore a pattern from your family history the next. Both are legitimate. Both are connected.
Between sessions, I’m available for brief check-ins by email or text — especially during high-stakes moments.
The tools I draw on
My coaching approach is integrative. Depending on what’s most useful for you, I may draw on:
- Heartstyles — a scientifically validated behavioral assessment that helps you understand how your character shapes your leadership impact
- The Leadership Triangle — my own framework mapping Vision, Action, and People as the three essential domains every leader must tend
- Bowenian family systems theory — for understanding how your relational history shapes your leadership patterns
- Adaptive leadership principles — for navigating the complex, values-laden challenges that don’t have technical fixes
- Non-violent communication — for developing the emotional vocabulary and relational skills that make hard conversations productive
Coaching Packages
Foundations — Clarity & Direction
3 sessions over 6 weeks | $450
Ideal for leaders at a crossroads — facing a specific decision, transition, or challenge and needing focused support to move through it with clarity.
- Three 60-minute coaching sessions
- Pre-coaching reflection questionnaire
- Action steps after each meeting
- Email support between sessions
Best for: First-time coaching clients, leaders navigating a specific transition, or those who want to experience coaching before committing to a longer engagement.
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Growth — The Core Coaching Engagement
6 sessions over 3–4 months | $850
The most popular option. Enough depth to move through real patterns, not just surface symptoms. We’ll have time to build trust, go below the waterline, and work on what actually matters.
- Six 60-minute coaching sessions
- Heartstyles* individual behavioral assessment + debrief session (optional add-on, $150)
- Pre-coaching reflection questionnaire
- Action steps after each meeting
- Email/text support between sessions
Best for: Pastors and leaders who are serious about sustained growth and want more than a quick fix.
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Deep Roots — Extended Coaching Relationship
12 sessions over a year | $1,600
For leaders committed to meaningful, lasting transformation. Over a year, we have the time and space to work on identity, systems, patterns, and vision — and to actually see the fruit of that work.
- Twelve 60-minute coaching sessions
- Heartstyles* behavioral assessment (you, plus the input of three others of your choosing to provide a 360-degree perspective) + debrief included (a $250 value)
- Pre-coaching reflection questionnaire
- Use of frameworks to address specific challenges
- Action steps after each meeting
- Email/text support between sessions
- A closing synthesis conversation.
Best for: Senior pastors, executive directors, and leaders in significant transition who want a committed thinking partner for the long haul.
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One-Time Session — When You Just Need to Think It Through
Single session | $175
Sometimes you don’t need an ongoing coaching relationship. You just need 60 minutes with someone who will listen well, ask the right questions, and help you get unstuck on a specific issue.
- One 60-minute coaching session
- Action steps
- No long-term commitment
Testimonials
“Michael asks probing questions and encourages deep reflection, helping his clients chart manageable steps toward clarity and direction. His clients walk away empowered with confidence, self-assurance, and purpose in their personal and professional relationships. His empathetic and deeply contextual approach to each conversation puts him at the top of my list anytime I need a creative, insightful, and adaptive coach.”
— Rev. Dr. Victoria White, Managing Director of Grants and Leadership Education, Duke Divinity School
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“Michael’s innate coaching skills are manifest through his capacity to listen deeply, craft powerful questions that prompt self-discovery, and gently inspire action toward self-directed goals. I highly commend Michael to any individual, team, or group seeking a transformative coaching relationship.”
— Rev. Terry Maples, Life & Clergy Coach, Shepherd’s Staff Ministry
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“Michael helped me to find my voice and take initiative when I was stuck catastrophizing or avoiding conflict. He keeps his clients’ individuality at the forefront of his techniques, and coached me to get out of my own way.”
— Courtney Stamey, Senior Pastor, Northside Baptist Church, Clinton, MS
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Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between coaching and other modalities like counseling, mentoring, or spiritual direction? Coaching is client-driven, forward-focused, and action-oriented toward a goal. I’m not mentoring, which is mentor-driven and advice-focused. We’re not doing counseling which focuses on past wounds and voids. While your faith and spiritual life will come up, those areas are not the focus. In coaching, we’re working on your leadership, your goals, and your growth, with me assuming that you have what you need to achieve your desired outcome. That said, I bring a whole-person perspective to the work, and we won’t pretend that your history doesn’t show up in your leadership. If something arises that’s better suited for a therapist, a mentor, or a spiritual director, I’ll say so directly and help you find the right support.
Do you only work with pastors? Mostly, yes. My primary focus is pastors, ministry leaders, and leaders within faith-based organizations. That’s where my experience and my frameworks are most useful. If you’re a leader in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization and you think our work could translate — reach out and we’ll talk.
Do sessions have to be in person? Rarely. Almost all of my coaching happens via Zoom or phone. I work with clients across the country. If you’re in the Richmond, VA area and prefer in-person, we can arrange that.
What if I’m not sure I’m ready? That’s actually a great place to start a coaching relationship. The free exploratory conversation is low-stakes — it’s just a conversation. Many of my clients came to that first call unsure and left knowing exactly what they wanted to do next.
How do I know if coaching is working? I build reflection checkpoints into every engagement. We’ll articulate what you’re working toward at the start, and we’ll assess together along the way. Growth in coaching is often non-linear — but you’ll know it when you feel less reactive, more grounded, and more capable of leading through what used to feel impossible.
Do you offer reduced rates? I’m committed to making coaching accessible to pastors, particularly those serving smaller or under-resourced congregations. If cost is a genuine barrier, reach out and let’s have an honest conversation. I hold a small number of reduced-rate spots and I’m not going to leave the right person without support because of finances.
* What is Heartstyles? Heartstyles is a character development framework that raises awareness of effective and less effective behaviors in how you relate and lead in work and in life. It uses a 15-minute scientifically validated online survey to generate a Personal Development Guide based on how you and – if you choose – others perceive sixteen different behaviors that show up in your leadership. As a trained and certified Heartstyles associate, I am certified to administer the survey, interpret your Personal Development Guide, and debrief it with you to co-create a bespoke coaching program.
Click here to learn more about Heartstyles.
Click here to view my presentation of Heartstyles.
Find Out If This Is Right For You
The first step is simple — and it costs nothing. Let’s have a 30-minute conversation.
You bring wherever you are. I’ll bring my full attention.