Coaching again

Karen and I have taken almost a year off from coaching World Race squads. It can be an exhausting job. And with everything else that we've got going on, we were in no hurry to take on a new squad.

But the WR is growing at such a clip that we felt led to coach another squad. There are about 60 racers on it, all of whom at this point are strangers to us.

So we spent the evening going through their blogs and getting to know about them. Training camp starts in two days and we'll meet them in person there.

When you coach a squad, you get to take a deep dive into a bunch of lives. You go from a standing start to conversations about deep wounding or great aspirations in just a few days. Over the course of a year, as your racers go through the pressures of travel, community, and discomfort, we coaches help them grow. All we ask them at the outset is to commit to the growth process.

What a thrill it is to help them work through the stuff that has been holding them back or to encourage them as they press into their identity in Christ. Since we started the WR in 2006, we've gotten to see hundreds of racers take huge leaps forward in their spiritual lives. And some of the racers have continued on in relationship with us; many feel like sons and daughters.

Our new squad starts out in Central America in September – the part of the world where Karen and I first got our love for missions years ago. We are looking forward to debriefing them and getting to know them better there.

We've learned so much about coaching in the six years that we've been doing this. We're eager to partner with Noe, KK, and Carly to help our racers have an incredible year as they travel together around the world and minister the gospel.

Coaching is a fantastic ministry. In many respects, as parents you're just starting to get the hang of it and then – bam! your kids go off to college. Coaching is kind of a do-over, only this time "your kids" really want to get everything they can out of you. It's an accelerated discipleship experience, cramming ten years of spiritual formation into one intense year.

If you know a couple who were great parents and as empty nesters, could be even better coaches, please let them know about this opportunity. I'd be happy to talk to them. We'll be launching four new squads in January!