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I had finished my first talk at a men’s retreat for a church in Virginia and was standing at the evening’s campfire talking with one of the young men. After the regular kind of introductions and greetings, getting a little background information to know how to connect, I asked Mike how he came to be a part of this dynamic church.

He said, “I have only been a Christian for a few years. I was single, living in a city a few hours from here. One day, while sitting in a coffee shop, a guy that had been there awhile struck up a conversation with me. Then, out of the clear blue he asked, ‘Are you a Christian?’  I said, ‘no’. He responded, ‘Well, why not?’” 

Mike looked straight at me and said, “No one had ever asked me that question before. I was dumbfounded. So, I gave him a snarky answer that might shake him off and said, ‘Because I haven’t stopped sinning yet.’”  

The man asking the bold questions was a new Church Planter in that city and was intentionally out meeting people, and evidently working his plan to be a witness to the power of the Good News of Jesus Christ to his city. I asked Mike for the name of the Church Planter and he told me about. I had heard that name before and texted Jim Moon, he oversees our Gospel Coaching. Sure enough, that Church Planter was being coached by one of our CMM Gospel Coaches.

In a previous post, I explained our secret of zero. Our team of Gospel Coaches are saturated with grace renewing dynamics and bring every coaching conversation back to the power of the gospel of Christ. Why? Because I believe every issue (whether the subject is related to a relational, personal, missional, or spiritual event) has a heart component related to it. 

“A Gospel Coach brings all the issues, questions, needs, problems, or solutions to orbit around the sense of a Gospel dynamic, which he applies to each situation, because the Gospel is the ultimate solution for every problem” (Thomas & Wood, Gospel Coach, Zondervan 2012). 

If you have engaged with CMM as a coachee, a church, a partner, or a supporter you are involved in the spreading of the gospel all over the world. Like Mike’s story above, the Church Planter shared the gospel with a lost man sitting in a coffee shop.

Let’s be clear: you shared in that conversion because of your shared relationship with CMM. You also share in the lives of the other planters, pastors, leaders, networks, denominations both in the USA and in other countries.   

At CMM, we believe every pastor, church planter, ministry leader, and missionary is created to thrive in ministry. We suggest getting a Gospel Coach to help walk with you through the challenges you’ve never faced before. You don’t have to lead alone. A Gospel Coach will help encourage and equip you every step along the way.

CMM's C.R.O.S.S. Coaching is an intentional Gospel conversation with focused discussions on one's relational, personal, missional, and spiritual life. Our coaches are experienced and certified to equip leaders for sustainable gospel ministry.

Click here to learn more about Gospel Coaching today! Or choose to support CMM’s mission so that the gospel continues to bear fruit and grow by empowering leaders to multiply the gospel in their spheres of influence.