As an athlete for most of my life, I’ve had several men in my life that I’ve grown to love. These men brought out the best in me. They said hard things to me. Many even yelled at me. Yet, I always came back to them. As a Christian, one of the first people to disciple me was a football coach. These men looked at me and saw something in me that I couldn’t see myself. They gave me a plan, they helped me practice, they gave me tools, and they showed me how. I still stay in contact with most of these coaches today. 

When I stopped playing football and didn’t have a coach, I honestly felt lonely. I didn’t have someone helping me see myself or helping me get better at what I was wanting to do. As I entered the ministry world, I started looking toward men that would be that for me. Whether it was a Joseph Brasher who gave me preaching opportunities, or Chad Davis who brought me into a church plant, or Lisle Drury who gave me leadership responsibilities, or Jim Cofield who helped me see God’s goodness in me. I needed and continue to need coaching because I haven’t arrived. 

Why coaching? Because I have a burden to help men and women the way people have helped me. I want to help people see what they can’t see in themselves. I want to give them tools and help them practice. I want to see ministry leaders flourish in all areas of life. Ministry is hard. Life is hard. My hope is to help people get to where they want to go without losing what they love to do. That’s why I want to offer to coach to any student ministry leader that is in need of it. 

With a decade of student ministry experience, Zach Cochran of Struggle Forward has a passion to help student ministers flourish. Student ministry is harder than ever before and having someone walk with you as you do ministry is vital to your ministry health. The goal of coaching would be to walk away with a clear ministry strategy that helps the students in your ministry follow Jesus for years. One-on-one coaching with Zach is just one of several coaching options available through Gospel-Centered Family. Find them all on our coaching page.