5 reasons everyone in Church work could use a mentor or coach…

I was about to start my first full-time job working for the Church (at the campus ministry at Texas Tech) and I realized I didn’t know a thing about what I was supposed to do. I needed help and I needed it more than I knew. So, before I started, I was blessed to go to a conference where I met my first mentor / coach. It changed the trajectory of my professional life.

I was the least experienced person in the room and I was matched with my new mentor / coach – Msgr Vince Krische – who was the most veteran person in the room. Msgr Vince was the Godfather of modern campus ministry. He learned the hard way, by being a trailblazer who had fewer examples than I did.

After being assigned by his Archbishop to the University of Kansas, he learned they had a small house and a budget of $32,000, all given by the diocese. So, he asked for more financial assistance from the diocese. His bishop said something that struck Fr. Vince deeply. Paraphrasing from my memory, he said, “Vince, I can either give you more money OR you can go get it yourself and secure a future too.” Msgr. Vince decided to take the hard road (the future and no diocesan money) and changed campus ministry because of it.

St Lawrence at KU became one of the top campus ministries over the next few decades because of Msgr. Vince’s hard work, willingness to experiment, and his own continued growth. He raised money. He formed a solid staff. He built facilities. He failed, was humbled, and grew. Plus, he helped others in campus ministry learn to do the same thing.

Little known fact – Msgr Vince helped Fr Mike Sis (now Bishop Mike Sis) catch the vision for modern fundraising. Bishop Mike took St. Mary’s at Texas A&M to the next level, thus establishing a foundation for the campus ministry to grow into the largest in the world. In many ways, Msgr. Vince Krische is the little known hero of campus ministry in this country who helped many campus ministers learn what it takes to be successful. He was one man who helped coach and mentor many others, thus allowing them to grow and establish dynamic centers around the country (and world).

I was blessed to have Msgr. Vince as my first mentor and coach. Whenever I would need advice or help, he was willing to take the time to help a novice like myself. I also had the benefit of being able to learn from others who helped me through the years. Due to their guidance, patience, vision, and wisdom they provided, my work started to get better and I grew as a disciple.

I still need help. We all do. When we don’t have mentors / coaches, we will stop growing professionally in some way. I still sit at the feet of several people who help guide me. One who helps me with my spiritual life and prayer. One who helps me with fundraising. Several who help me lead Catholic Missionary Disciples. I don’t have all the answers, because none of us have all the answers. But together, our knowledge grows faster. But, there are even more reasons every person in ministry needs a mentor / coach.

5 Reasons Everyone In Ministry Needs a Mentor or Coach

1. New Perspectives – A very important aspect of any mentor / coach is to help you see what you may not be seeing. I know that for me, I had no idea how important fundraising was until Msgr Vince showed me. I was limited in understanding how to implement my mission and vision due to ignorance. He helped me see a broader view, based on my mission and thus transformed my vision. Thus, a good mentor / coach will help you understand your mission deeply and then grow your vision. Once this is done you need to keep focused on your vision and achieve your vision. For those of us in Catholic ministry, the mission and vision we have is given by Jesus that we then must learn to apply in our particular context. Having someone who can help us stay focused on such this is vital. WHY is preeminent. Without a WHY, the WHAT, WHO, HOW, etc can’t get properly implemented.
2. Accountability and Motivation – A good mentor will challenge you to do more than you can on your own, whether as an individual or a team. Every Catholic staff at every Catholic institution has issues, politics, personality conflicts, and more. These things hold them back. Then throw in money squabbles, staff compartmentalization, lack of good internal communication, and more – and we have limited how we work together. If there is one thing every church worker learns, it is that church politics can be ugly. Despite a shared sense that something needs to change internally, they don’t have the teamwork, communication, or leadership to work on things together…so they struggle and stay compartmentalized. Thus, they never actually have systematic change. We need accountability and motivation to change and address such issues. A mentor / coach can help with these things (though we should also acknowledge having a mentor / coach isn’t a “fix” for all issues).
3. Objectivity – What is holding us back from growing and what can we do about it? Sometimes we don’t even see our group or individual flaws. A good mentor / coach will be more objective when looking at you, your team, your culture, and your work. Thus, they can provide a more objective insight than you can internally. What are your issues? Is it Church politics? Then deal with those with honest conversations. Is it past failures or hurt relationships? Then seek new beginnings and forgiveness. Is it entrenched “we have always done it this way” mentality? Then challenge it boldly. We need to work on moving the barriers to success and growth and this is the role of a mentor / coach. They also provide a sounding board that someone can trust will give honest feedback. 
4. Knowledge – This is one of the more obvious benefits of having someone mentor or coach you. When we stop learning we stop growing intellectually. We can all become stagnant and lazy. A good coach or mentor can help shake us up so that we continue to be challenged to grow more. Growth generally starts with knowing something (or being reminded of it). Nobody outgrows the powerful truth about how much God loves you. In fact we all need to be reminded of it frequently. Having been taught or reminded of a simple truth can be life-changing. The same goes for our work. Simple truths can transform us and our teams.
5. Help Create Healthy Boundaries – A mentor / coach that gets to know what you are doing can help you avoid doing things you shouldn’t do. Inevitably, we get stuck on being “busy” with things that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. A pastor who spends too much time on a building project and is neglecting the immediate pastoral care of his flock. The DRE who gets bogged down in lesson plans and stops reaching out to parishioners. Etc. Boundary issues regarding time, effort, responsibilities, and more can lead to us not doing our jobs well. As a mentor / coach who doesn’t work internally with those I coach, I can say things others can’t, without the same consequences.

Many don’t know where to start and that is ok. Many need help, that is also ok. In fact, it may be easier for someone from outside your diocese, parish, or ministry to help, because they don’t have to deal with all of the internal issues, church politics, and history. We at Catholic Missionary Disciples, would love to assist you, if you feel called to reach out to us , please do so.

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