M3: Mentoring In Ministry & Marriage

We are passionate about Jesus and His Church - and church leaders!

We believe Jesus is still the answer for the world today! We believe His Church - around the world - is the hope of the world and the primary organization on earth through which He is reaching people. For a church to be strong - its leadership must be strong and healthy. 

In this second-half season of our lives and ministries, through M3: Mentoring in Ministry & Marriage, we have a passion to help church leaders who are already in full-time pastoral ministry "get it" - that is: get whatever they need - encouragement, hope, wisdom, new perspective, laughter, strength, strategies and insights. Whatever they need to help them and their ministries make a big dent on eternity! The demands of ministry can take a toll on any person, couple or family; that's why we want to help mentor church leaders to fulfill God's call on their lives in a healthy way - while at the same time enjoying the fruit of a fun, balanced marriage and family.

In addition to our continued role in leading and pastoring the wonderful group of people at Valley Family Church; we want to take the things we have learned and pour them into hand-selected groups of church leaders throughout the year; those who are eager to learn, grow and implement.

We Learned The Hard Way - You Don't Have To!

As "first generation" Christians in our own families - and "first generation" in terms of those being called to ministry within our respective families - we have learned many things along the way through the school of hard knocks. In some ways, it's been a great way to learn, grow and watch the Lord do a mighty work - in spite of us! (Feel free to read The Valley Family Church Story.)

There have been many times over the years where we have longed to have a mentor or coach who could help us learn and grow as leaders and ministers. While we have benefited from the books, tapes, CDs and DVDs of many great men and women of God, there is just "something" about the personal side of coaching and mentoring that can only come through a personal relationship.

We want to provide for others, the very thing that we longed for over the years. It's our heartfelt desire to help husbands and wives in pastoral ministry take their God-given vision, passion and calling to a new level of multiplication and influence! 

M3 Venues

We are in the process of developing the best ways to provide mentoring and coaching to those who desire it. We will be using a combination of venues to develop relationships and provide the mentoring and coaching - including: group destination getaways, group skype, personal phone conferences, facetime, etc. (Program details, dates and costs to come!)

M3 Topics

Listed below are the areas of life and ministry where we have the most experience and success - and it is our hope that through M3, we can empower, influence and impact others to do greater things in their God-given sphere of influence.

Marriage, Family and Ministry:

How do you balance your life to enjoy a happy marriage, raise kids that love Jesus - while growing a successful church? We think we can help you! By God's grace, we've learned how to navigate the dynamics of working together as a husband/wife team. We've been intentional on making sure our kids love God and church and we have been purposeful in building a home where laughter abounds. (Our greatest reward in ministry is seeing God at work in our family and kids. Raising four kids that love God and His House - this is our true ministry success!)

Church Growth:

Jesus is in the business of building His Church! So, how do you cooperate with Him and grow a mega-church in a mid-sized community? We know something about that. We've seen God raise up a church of 4000 people in a county where the entire population is about 225,000 people; we believe that by God's grace, we can help any pastor with a calling and the gifts of leadeship grow a church to 1000 in their area. Every church faces growth barriers and there are several strategic decisions you must make to help your church break through a growth barrier. (Church growth is one of our passions!)

Church Infrastructure and Spiritual Growth Systems:

Can a church grow without the hard work of developing a strong foundation? Most churches can grow to at least 100 people with very little infrastructure or any systematic discipleship training processes. However if you want to see your ministry multiply - you will have to develop a strong, simple and successful structure. Whether it's learning the basics of Flow Chart 101, how to develop a discipleship and growth flywheel or redesigning internal infrastructure and systems - every growing church knows the importance of Spirit-designed structure and systems. (We love helping pastors think in categorical and systematic ways!)

The Basics:

We love, eat, sleep and breathe the basics! Teaching and training believers in the basics and teaching leaders to teach the basics is something that brings us great joy.

A person, not to mention a church, will only be as strong as the spiritual foundation upon which they are built. We believe that establishing new, young and mature believers in the basics of their faith on a regular basis is a vital key to growing healthy Christians and healthy churches. We live in an era of biblical illiteracy and we believe it's imperative that believers and churches recapture the joy of learning the basics of God's Word. As Jeremiah said, "Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart..." (Jermeiah 15:16) We've seen the power of getting people into the Word through the use of Beth's books: Getting a Grip on the Basics, Getting a Grip on the Basics of Serving God, Getting a Grip on the Basics of Health and Healing and Getting a Grip on the Basics of Prosperous Living. When believers and church leaders study and are grounded in these basic redemptive truths - they are positioned for greater fruitfulness. We love spending a few days with believers and churches to teach any and all of the "Getting a Grip on the Basics" books to hungry people. We love coaching people in how to teach the basics to others. (Every athlete and coach knows the importance of going over the fundamentals!)

Church Culture, Branding and Marketing:

It might not sound very spiritual - but does culture, branding and marketing really matter? When it comes to reaching the lost - yes! You may have the most anointed church in town, but if no one knows you exist or if your culture is stuck in the 80's, the masses won't be flocking to your doors. Christians are forgiving and we will put up with just about any type of church as long as they exalt Jesus and teach from the Bible - however the lost people we are called to reach are not as spiritually discerning! While people can lean on the arm of the flesh and human design to "market" the gospel, the Holy Spirit is the Master of creativity and He knows how to help every church define its culture, refine its "brand" and get the word out to everyone in your town. Over the years - while we have never compromised the message of the gospel and Word of God - we've had to seek the Holy Spirit's help to "rebrand" our church - including our logo, colors, decor, methods, media, music and vision statement to keep up with the culture and be relevant to those we called to reach. The result has been great, eternal fruit! (We love helping church leaders think outside and inside the box!)

Publishing, Blogging, Vlogging - Printed and Digital:

How do you write a Christian book and get it published? What are the benefits of self-publishing? How do you create a blog? A video blog - vlog? How do you incorporate the use of the internet, ebooks and downloadables to the publishing mix? If you have a God-breathed message burning in your heart and you just know you need to write a book, produce simple videos and get it into the hearts of more people - publishing in printed and digital formats is the way to go. We've seen God multiply our messages around the world through the use of strategic publishing tools that help the Body and cause of Christ. (Those who publish the gospel have beautiful feet! Romans 10:15)

Who Can Participate?

You!

If you and your spouse are in full-time ministry - pioneering a church, pastoring a church or reinventing a church - this is for you!

We'd love to know who is interested - so please feel free to send us a note through our Contact Us page to let us know of your interest. Once we have finalized the details for Mentoring and Coaching, we will provide an application and more information to those who are interested.