Things you may not know about PLI…
- We will add over 1,000 new leaders in our international training in 2022! That’s double from last year!
- Multipli accelerates individuals to become competent and confident mission-focused impact makers in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and wherever they go.
- Thanks to generous PLI donors (like you!) we gift a full year of coaching to new seminary graduates and their spouses as they make the jump from seminary to life in a congregation where nothing about the American culture is going to make it easy for them.
Actually, all 3 of these initiatives—that maybe you didn’t know—wouldn’t happen without generous donors like you! We thank you for your support!
Here’s what Scott Rische, PLI’s International Director has to say:
“Unless Covid-19 restrictions or in-country conflicts prevent it, we will be adding at least 1,000 new leaders to those we are training internationally in 2022. Most of those leaders will be from the continent of Africa and be trained by local indigenous trained trainers. But other new leaders will be added from Asia and Latin America as well. Please pray that all of the scheduled trainings will be able to take place in 2022. In order to allow for movement level growth and not hinder it by financial restraints, we have worked hard with our local partners to keep the in-country cost for each leader trained to $100 USD for each 3-4 day Immersion they attend.”
When it comes to coaching new pastors and their spouses, here’s what we know:
- There’s a whole bunch about leading and getting your life/marriage/family set right in the first year out of seminary. ….for husbands and for wives.
- Most of us have our share of … “I wish I would have gotten a few more things figured out before they became embedded” that we recognize at whatever stage we find ourselves.
- The PLI coach (the picture below shows a very wise Rev. Dr. Dave Bahn) is not a genius with all of the answers and does not have an agenda to drive… the PLI coach knows how to ask good questions. To listen well. To encourage. Challenge when appropriate. Create a safe place. Offer a covenant of confidentiality.
“My congregation was a mess when I came out of seminary. We were dying. Full of conflict. I almost quit. The coaching huddle for new pastors saved me, my marriage and my ministry.”
Life gets difficult. Leading in ministry gets difficult. You’re aware that some want to quit. It gets lonely. For women and for men.
It would be interesting to compare the dreams and aspirations you started with in your adult journey and how those compare with your leadership journey “today!”
- What dreams need to be dreamt again?
- What needs to be recalibrated?
- What needs to be fixed and actions taken?
You’re invited to join us on January 19, at 10 am CT, for a 30-minute webinar with Rev. Paul and Beth Schult. You’ll identify with the struggle they experienced and you’ll be blessed by the journey out of it. Sign up here for the webinar.
These partners might be valuable to you… They offer specialized help for sabbaticals, counseling, or specialized assistance (Grace Place or Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat).
From the early beginnings of PLI, we’ve taught that as leaders we lead out of “who we are” not just “what we do.” It’s not just “tips and tricks,” as one young spouse explained to a group of seminary graduates. It’s doing the important work:
Core: Getting clarity about who you are. Who’s shaped your life. What you’re passionate about.
Competency: What are you good at? What are your strengths? Most leaders find themselves spending too much time doing things they’re not good at doing and losing the respect of the people they lead.
Context: Different congregations… Different communities… Different people… all shape how you lead and what’s needed for you to lead.
It’s the basics of leadership. We regularly have women and men in Leadership Essentials that are putting down building blocks like these in their early years and folks that are circling back to lay some new building block insights to reset the next 10 or 20 years. “I think I missed some important stuff that I need to pick up now,” they say.
I’m realizing that what I’m doing as a senior pastor of a large congregation has me out of alignment with who I am and the strengths that I have. Being a pastor used to be fun for me. I missed something and need to get it right.”
So, a word of challenge: If you’re leading right now and it’s not working for you (or them), take an action step from above.
And, a word of invitation: PLI does what it does because of folks like you who make gifts to do things like maybe you didn’t know above. Would you consider a monthly recurring gift to PLI, that will be matched by a generous donor, to help us take on the challenge of training 1,000 more leaders around the globe or a coaching huddle of a half dozen pastors or spouses new out of seminary?
And a final thought: The people in your congregation are grieving what’s changed and everything that used to be but is no longer! Listen and love them! But, it’s time to help them take a proactive step toward slowly, steadily creating a hopeful, different future! Discipleship to Missional Community begins in Richmond next month.
Have questions about any of the above? Make a comment here or ask Raechel to answer your questions .
