The Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study dates back to 1892 and has the longest history of any denominational mission and prayer book in the United States.

Today’s PC(USA) Minute for Mission from the Mission Yearbook…

If you ask pastors about how coaching influenced their ministry, each one will tell a different story, yet one with a common theme: hope. One describes how coaching helped her work with her congregation to discern and embrace a whole new direction of ministry when she had been doubtful that such a transformation was possible. Another tells how coaching helped her to keep from being consumed by a significant conflict in her church and to discover a sense of new direction to move beyond it. A third describes a basic shift in his whole approach to pastoral leadership: “Before coaching, my basic strategy was like a ‘whack-a-mole’ game at a carnival: I felt like I was always just reacting to the last thing that had popped up. Coaching helped me figure out what the church needed me to focus on and how to stay focused to do what I was called to do. The difference is amazing; this is what I’d always hoped ministry would be like.”

Paul tells the Romans that it is through steadfastness and encouragement that we have hope, and at Auburn Seminary we see its truth embodied in our pastoral-coaching program. Auburn’s mission is to “equip bold and resilient leaders,” and our coaches work one-on-one with pastors to build the resilience and encourage the boldness they need to lead their congregations into new vitality and opportunity. Together, they discover anew that the God of steadfastness and encouragement is at work in their midst, giving hope for a vibrant future of ministry and mission.

—Rev. Katharine Henderson, president, Auburn Seminary, and Rev. J. C. Austin, director, Center for Christian Leadership, Auburn Seminary