WAYNE & KATHY BENSON
Founders of Paraclete Ministries
Wayne and Kathy Benson are founders of Paraclete Ministries, and are considered spiritual “parents” to many in ministry, having launched over 300 into vocational ministry. They continue to provide strategic coaching to ministers in the U.S. and abroad. They are most noted for their “shepherd hearts” and continue to serve as pastors of leadership development training leaders in local churches.
Wayne has served as an internationally recognized pastor of a mega-church, a college president and the president and CEO of a Christian Mental Health clinic.
Wayne and Kathy have two children, Mark and Tammy, both serving in full-time ministry with their spouses. Mark and Michele pastor a church in Dothan, Alabama. Brooks and Tammy serve in a leadership role for the Michigan Assemblies of God Ministry Network. Wayne and Kathy are blessed to invest in their children’s growing ministries and in the lives of their ten wonderful grandchildren and all the great grandchildren that are being added to the family.
STRATEGIC COACHING
Paraclete Ministries has, for many years, provided monthly teleconference or videoconference meetings with Lead Pastors in the U.S. and abroad. This personalized relationship is recommended as a 12-month follow-up to an onsite visit in order to assist in advancement and in the implementation of the report and its recommendations. Monthly coaching meetings are also provided as a stand-alone option for those who do not use the services of an onsite visit.
ONSITE VISIT
Paraclete Coaching provides personalized, direct interaction between the Bensons and the local church Lead Pastor. The Bensons provide strategic meetings with the Lead Pastor, the pastoral team and selected members to discover areas of strength and unrealized potential as well as focusing on areas that need intentional development. Far from being a “one-size-fits-all” approach, the Bensons make a deliberate effort to relate specifically to the church, its culture, and the “DNA” of the Lead Pastor.
An onsite visit usually occurs over a period of five days, and the result is a comprehensive, confidential 40-50 page report submitted to the Lead Pastor based on data and information about the church, its staff, members, ministries and procedures. The report contains insights, recommendations and observations for the church and the Lead Pastor. Additional materials and other helps are also included.
During our consultation, we discovered we were uneasy about the future. In the pre-visit inventory, I’m sure my answers about vision for the future seems vague. Likewise during the interviews with members of the congregation, the people seemed uneasy or worried that we might leave. Thank you for helping us see that this was a church with a wonderful future. We were so battle weary from our first years of existence we had lost her vision. Paraclete helped us move forward with renewed confidence.
Definitely a reward time for me and my staff.
During our onsite visit, the Bensons helped me rediscover my first love for the church and sharpen my focus for the next five years. The results is a new energy and excitement about the future.
For the length of time you were with us, you picked up very quickly on where we were and what we needed to do.
We appreciate the great job you did. Keep up the great work!
As a part of our on-site visit, Pastor Benson provided a deacon retreat. During the tree he was able to encourage our deacons with ways that I can better demonstrate their commitment to their pastors. The church had allowed our entire pastoral staff to four will be home with the church could afford to pay them. My wife and I hadn’t been on a real vacation in over a decade. The pastoral staff was headed for serious burn out in a church that had ample history and resources to do better. The coaching week not only resulted in renewed vision and strategy for me, but also in pay raises and renewed commitment by the leader ship to care for the pastoral staff. As a bonus, my wife and I were provided some much-needed vacation time.