Press Release Announcing the Formation of Coach Approach Ministries

For immediate release:

Coach Approach Ministries Announces Launch

HICKORY, NC – July 1, 2008 – Four seasoned coaching professionals have launched a not-for-profit organization aimed at expanding the impact of coaching in the church.  Coach Approach Ministries (CAM) will provide coaching, coach training, and coach-related services to churches, individuals, and ministry-related organizations.

Guiding the new organization are Bill Copper, Jane Creswell, Chad Hall and Linda Miller, certified and experienced coaches with a combined thirty years of providing coach-based solutions.  The four will partner with other coaching and ministry professionals to create a network of coaches, trainers, and ministry professionals worldwide who provide the right solutions for each client. With a specialty in coaching and coach training, all four have all been adjunct faculty at Western Seminary in Portland, OR and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in CA.  They also provided the leadership and training for Fast Track Coaching classes at the Hollifield Leadership Center, and have provided coaching for organizations as well as individuals.    

Bill Copper, ACC, is director of the Hollifield Leadership Center, a ministry of the Baptist State Convention of NC, where he also directs the Valwood Christian Leadership Coaching program. Bill has received certification from the  National Association of Church Business Administration and frequently writes, speaks, and coaches around areas of business management for non-profits. He also provides coach training for churches, judicatories and various organizations. Along with Chad Hall, he is the co-author of a forthcoming book Faith Coaching. Bill lives in Lenoir, NC with his wife and three sons.

Jane Creswell, MCC, has felt called as a missionary to the business world since college. She became the founder of IBM Coaches’ Network and started Internal Impact to extend internal coaching to organizations globally. She is author of Christ-Centered Coaching: 7 Benefits for Ministry Leaders (2006, Chalice Press) and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Coaching for Excellence (Oct 2008, Alpha Books/Penguin). Jane is on the editorial board for the Journal of Christian Coaching.  She and her husband call West Lafayette, IN home; they have 2 adult sons.

Chad Hall, PCC, has served as a church planter, pastor, denominational consultant, as well as coach to over fifty ministry professionals throughout North America. Along with Linda Miller, Chad co-authored Coaching for Christian Leaders: A Practical Guide (2007, Chalice Press).  He’s also a frequent contributor to Leadership Journal and serves SAS Institute, Inc. as a global consultant in learning and development.  He lives in Cary, NC, with his wife and three children. 

Linda Miller, MCC, is a pioneer in the coaching profession, both in the Christian and business communities.  Serving The Ken Blanchard Companies as global liaison for coaching, Linda is known for her work in coach training, executive coaching and as an international speaker.  In addition to her book with Hall, she also recently co-authored Coaching in Organizations: Best Practices from The Ken Blanchard Companies (2008, Wiley and Sons).  She and her husband live in Phoenix, AZ and have two adult daughters. 

Coach Approach Ministries carries forward coach-related initiatives and clients from The Columbia Partnership (TCP), whose leadership decided to help launch the new organization in an effort to create strategically distinctive focus between consultative and coaching approaches.  Copper, Creswell, Hall and Miller were founding partners of TCP, which will continue to offer non-coaching related services and solutions to the North American church.  Coach Approach Ministries is headquartered in Hickory, NC and can be found online at www.CA-Ministries.com. 

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