This Thriving Practices cohort experience is a grant supported project with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. This organization has been supporting similar projects for many years and they have observed that congregations who view themselves as learning communities and who take advantage of coaching opportunities are most likely to make positive changes in their growth as a community. Because of this, we feel grant recipients must provide coaching to congregations within the cohort.

The job of a cohort coach is to listen with a curious posture and ask clarifying questions in order to draw out the learning that is taking place in each cohort team. These sessions are meant to help the team set and roll out an action plan in order to keep their learning and experimentation momentum.

The whole church team can meet the coach together, or the coach can meet with one or two team leaders. In addition to cohort time with other churches and meeting with a coach, churches should meet together on their own time to move their projects and priorities forward.