So I’m at Starbucks, mug in hand, sitting across the table from Judy Santos, founder and director of the Christian Coaches Network.  Wouldn’t that be fun?

Last time I was in Seattle-area, we did enjoy time together over coffee.  But today I’m in Minnesota and she is in Washington.  So here is a brief “interview” via email exchange.

Linda:  Judy, you’ve been the director of the Christian Coaches Network since you founded it in 1998.  How many prospective new coaches have contacted you for information since then?   

Judy:  Oh gosh – I have no idea!  Maybe 1,500?  It’s one of the most FAQs and of course the frequency increased when the word was out that coach training was available from a Christian perspective.

Linda:  How has your advice to prospective new coaches changed over the years? 

Judy:  It really has.  While the basics remain intact, there are a lot of people who want to become a coach but never get their business off the ground.  So I suggest it is helpful to have an entrepreneurial gene or two and a desire to run a small business.  People are drawn to coaching because the want to coach, but unless a person is working for somebody else who signs a pay check, you also have to look at it as a small business that includes organizing, policy setting, marketing, administration, bookkeeping, etc.

Linda:  What makes a Christian coach successful? 

Judy:  Excellent coaching skills, credibility that builds a good reputation, well defined branding and continuous marketing.  (see Judy’s article, Qualities of Successful Christian Coaches, at The Christian Coaching Center)

Linda:  I know you as someone who relies on God’s word for authority and direction.  What passage of scripture has God most recently drawn you to as it applies to Christian coaches and the field of Christian coaching? 

Judy:  “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doutbs is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”  James 1: 5-6

Judy:  This is a good reminder to ask and remain prayerful, knowing God will answer.

In addition to leading the Christian Coaches Network, Master Certified Coach Judy Santos is an instructor in the Professional Christian Coach Training Program with the Institute for Life Coach Training.