We are pleased to announce the coaching team for the Thriving Congregations Initiative.
Those who participate in the Thriving Congregations Initiative commit significant time and energy to the program over three years. “As we developed this program,” says Jennifer Lancaster, program director for Thriving Congregations, “it became clear that we needed a team of coaches who can journey with congregations and support them along the way.”
Thirteen coaches were selected from across the denomination, each with a unique skillset that qualifies them to serve in this way. “I’m looking forward to how God will use these coaches to strengthen our congregations,” says Jennifer.
Rebekah Basinger
Rebekah Basinger
For Rebekah, serving as a congregational coach with the Thriving Congregations Initiative brings back warm memories of her role in the mid-2000s as Director of Congregational Relations for the Brethren in Christ Church, a position that brought her into contact with BIC pastors and congregational leaders from across the U.S. and Canada. She credits that experience with deepening her affection for the mission, ministries, and core values of the BIC. Rebekah also speaks with enthusiasm about the joy she finds in helping congregations and their leaders flourish.
A long-time consultant to faith-based nonprofits, theological schools, and churches on the topics of fundraising and board development, Rebekah is particularly passionate about seeing Christ-followers grow in generosity toward God.
Jane Beachy
Jane Beachy
Jane currently serves as an associate pastor at Lancaster BIC and has been in church ministry in both larger and smaller congregations for almost 30 years. She is trained as a spiritual director which has equipped her to ask questions that will help lead people to their own discernment.
She loves that Thriving Congregations allows congregations the opportunity to examine who they are, where they are, and where God calls them to be. She especially loves how the program connects congregations with people who can offer perspectives that help them see God’s truth and guidance more clearly.
Bob Beaty
Bob Beaty
Bob is the lead pastor of The Meeting House in Carlisle, Pa. Over the past 12 years, he has been the beneficiary of a ministry coach who helps him think creatively about ministry and leadership, identify places he’s stuck, and creatively explore new ways forward. Through this, he discovered that he enjoys coaching other pastors and was trained in the International Coaching Federation model.
He hopes Thriving Congregations participants will take a step back from the urgent demands of ministry to be reminded of our primary ministry calling: to recall the hope of Jesus in our world and to hear the voice of the Spirit to follow into a hope-filled adventure.
“The fruit of walking this journey with other churches and leaders is that we are reminded that we’re not alone,” Bob says. “I am thankful to be a part of a community committed to staying the course and finding ourselves at the feet of the cross together.”
Jon Grimshaw
Jon Grimshaw
Jon has served in pastoral ministry for over twenty years with the last 13 as the senior pastor of Lakeview Community BIC in Goodrich, Mich. Throughout his journey, he’s been blessed to work alongside some very capable and faith-filled people, whom God has used to encourage, inspire, challenge, and shape his ministry and personal faith. He is frequently reminded of God’s faithfulness and goodness as he serves others in the name of Jesus. “I have witnessed his incredible power to transform imperfect people, to provide for the needs of his Church, and to work through us to bring his Kingdom into this world each and every day.”
Jon considers it a privilege and honor to be part of the Thriving Congregations Initiative with the Great Lakes Conference of the BIC. He believes there is much to learn from other congregations, leadership teams, and the people in other communities about effectively developing church ministries in the current culture. He is excited to see growth in the capacity, competency, and connectedness of BIC congregations.
Nicholas “Nick” Hankins
Nick holds undergraduate and Master’s degrees from the University of California Riverside, where he focused on church history and leadership. His work focuses on helping nonprofits and churches become healthy organizations through leadership and staff development. Serving as a pastor, CEO, and consultant during that time has provided a unique opportunity to shape leaders on all levels. Currently, he serves as the CEO of Connect Senior Services, a multi-site senior living housing provider.
Nick believes the Thriving Congregations initiative is an important tool that allows an organization to self-evaluate and get a clear picture of who and where they are. That, coupled with the local data, allows churches to see the intersections between their congregation and local ministry and mold ministry that helps draw people to the life changing message of Jesus.
Carol Hoffman
Carol Hoffman
Carol’s ministry career has spanned multiple denominations (the last 16 years with the BIC) through worship, music, Christian education, and coaching. She most recently served with Solid Ground BIC in Alta Loma, Calif., and as a ministry team leader with the Pacific Regional Conference. She loves encouraging leaders and churches to lean into their gifting and intentionally partner with God’s work.
Today, she operates Hoffman Clarity Coaching as a personal and professional leadership development coach, helping ministry professionals and lay leaders serve thoughtfully and intentionally in how God has gifted them. Carol is trained in the International Coaching Federation model.
“I am so excited about how the Thriving Congregations Initiative will provide each local church with a framework for intentionally and honestly examining how God has gifted them and where He is calling them to be most effective in advancing the Kingdom of God,” Carol says.
Kerry Hoke
Kerry Hoke
Kerry has served in unique ministry settings for 13+ years, including with the BIC denomination, on a college campus, and in a senior living facility. Today, she owns and operates Integritas Development, an organization focused on developing non-profit and church leaders. With training in spiritual formation and direction, she knows how to ask curious questions and listen to what’s being said under the surface of words so she can guide others to their own discoveries. She believes that a good coach is not a “sage on stage,” but rather a “guide on the side.”
She loves that the Thriving Congregations Initiative places emphasis on “advancing.” It’s not about growing bigger or following some new model or program; rather, it creates space for all different expressions and sizes of congregations to discern how God has uniquely positioned them to advance the Kingdom of God and how the Spirit is inviting them to use what has been placed in their hands in fresh and more focused ways.
Mike Holland
Mike Holland
Mike serves as the Hispanic ministries facilitator for the Susquehanna Conference and has over 30 years’ experience in church planting and pastoring in the U.S. and Venezuela. This combined with his giftings in evangelism, faith, and encouragement uniquely positions him to serve as a Thriving Congregations coach. He loves much about the BIC, but particularly appreciates our passion for Jesus, concern for lost people, and our culture of genuineness, relationships, and humility.
Mike truly believes that applying Thriving Congregations coaching well in our congregations will bring a new revival to the BIC. With the foundational faith that every church can expand the kingdom of God, he loves how the program asks “what the Spirit is saying” to each congregation so they thrive instead of stagnate amid the challenges of our current ministry context.
Joshua Nolt
Joshua Nolt
Joshua has spent much of his life, personally and ministerially, within the Brethren in Christ Church. He has a deep love for the local church and has found a generous theological space within the denomination. Over 20+ years of ministry he has served in a breadth of church settings, from small church plants to large multi-site congregations. He has spent the past 13 years serving the Lancaster BIC congregation. Joshua earned his Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation from Portland Seminary. He is also a trained spiritual director through Eastern Mennonite Seminary. These areas of study and practice have shaped his pastoral approach, as well as his participation as a Thriving Congregation Coach. Joshua is participating in Thriving Congregations after experiencing the impact of this kind of work within his own congregation and is eager for other churches to experience the same.
Naomi Smith
Naomi Smith
Naomi serves as an associate pastor at Dillsburg BIC Church where she oversees discipleship for children and adults. She loves the clarity of the BIC’s convictions and steadfast commitment to following Jesus in the company of others. She is grateful for the way church leadership holds fast to shared values while also being open to fresh perspectives and the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Naomi views the Thriving Congregations Initiative as a marvelous opportunity for churches to pause and orient themselves – both in their own story and in their particular context – and then to move forward with renewed hope and purpose. She is deeply honored to walk with her brothers and sisters as they cultivate connection and health in the body of Christ.
Jen Souter
Jen Souter
Jen has spent the last fifteen years in ministry to children, youth, and young adults and currently serves as the kids’ pastor at Mechanicsburg BIC. She holds a bachelor’s in Christian ministries with a concentration in youth ministry from Messiah University. She additionally volunteers at a local elementary school, mentors students at Messiah, and advocates for foster and adoptive children in Cumberland County.
Jen is new to the BIC but has found a place of belonging, a home. She believes that the core values of the BIC – especially living simply, relying on God, and serving compassionately – are exactly what our world needs. She is excited to help churches advance through the Thriving Congregation initiative. “God is writing a unique story in every church,” Jen says. “Through this program, we get to discern together what that story is and, in the process, bring hope to their surrounding community.”
Curt Stutzman
Curt Stutzman
Curt has over 30 years’ executive leadership experience as an administrative pastor in Virginia and as a CFO and CEO in faith-based not-for-profit senior living organizations. He serves as a private consultant and executive coach for leaders in church environments and in senior living facilities. He is also a mentor for young Christian professionals and has certification as a Missional Formation coach. Curt is excited about the Thriving Congregations initiative because of its potential to strengthen the local church, transform its impact on the communities it serves, and fulfill its God-given purpose in these important times.
Curt was raised in the BIC church and appreciates the way its core values respond to the call of Christ to be “not conformed to the world but transformed by the renewing of your mind…” He looks forward to building relationships with the BIC church community as a coach in the Thriving Congregations Initiative.
Gary Warden
Gary Warden
Gary has served in ministry in the Great Lakes Conference for 40+ years as a youth director, pastor, and church planter. He has seen many church growth fads come and go but sees the Thriving Congregations Initiative as something unique. While many other church-growth programs set their sights on becoming megachurches, this initiative gives credit to the enormous impact small church can have in reaching their community with the witness of a God who so loved us that he became one of us.
He admires that Thriving Congregations is flexible, allowing each congregation space to minister out of their unique situations and abilities. “It is the first one that has impressed me with its heart for the will of God the Father,” says Gary. “It assumes a foundation built on faith in Jesus as Lord of the Church and acknowledges its reliance on the presence of the Holy Spirit to lead and direct us into the unique will of God for reaching our communities.”
Jennifer Lancaster, Thriving Congregations Program Director & Project 250 Coordinator
The Thriving Congregations Initiative enables congregations to strengthen their identity and invest in their community. By focusing on identity, church health, and community connection, congregations will explore their place and mission amid rapid social and cultural changes. Contact Jennifer to learn more.
