📘 Real Life Journey – Coach Guide
Helping Disciples Become Faithful and Fruitful Followers of Christ
🎯 Purpose of the Coach
As a Coach (or Buddy Builder), your primary role is to walk alongside a member as they complete their projects in the Real Life Journey. Your goal is not to manage their progress, but to listen, encourage, pray, and reflect with them as God forms them into a faithful and fruitful disciple of Christ.
🧭 OVERVIEW OF THE REAL LIFE JOURNEY
- Audience: Baptized believers who joined a Life Group and are ready to grow and serve
- Estimated Duration: 6–8 months (flexible pace)
- Support Structure: Weekly or biweekly reflection + project check-in
- Your Role: One-on-one encouragement, reflection partner, and accountability guide
PHASE 1: GROW THROUGH FORMATION
Choose 8 out of 11 projects
🧩 Project 1: My Weekly Rhythm with God
Objective: Create a realistic schedule that honors God through prayer, Scripture, rest, and responsibilities
Coach’s Role: Help them review and refine their weekly plan in light of spiritual priorities
Questions:
Objective: Create a realistic schedule that honors God through prayer, Scripture, rest, and responsibilities
Coach’s Role: Help them review and refine their weekly plan in light of spiritual priorities
Questions:
- What new rhythms are you including for your spiritual health?
- What part of your schedule will be most challenging to protect?
- How do you plan to stay consistent in this rhythm?
Next Step: Encourage them to revisit and update their rhythm after 2–3 weeks
🧩 Project 2: Daily Communion Practice
Objective: Spend 10–15 minutes daily in silence or prayer for one week and reflect on God’s presence
Coach’s Role: Encourage consistency and reflection during the week
Questions:
Objective: Spend 10–15 minutes daily in silence or prayer for one week and reflect on God’s presence
Coach’s Role: Encourage consistency and reflection during the week
Questions:
- What helped you stay consistent in daily communion?
- When did you sense God’s nearness most clearly?
- What shifted in your inner world during this week?
Next Step: Encourage them to keep this practice beyond the project
🧩 Project 3: My H.A.B.I.T.S. Journal
Objective: Track spiritual habits weekly and reflect on how they impact their walk with God
Coach’s Role: Celebrate faithfulness and help identify patterns or obstacles
Questions:
Objective: Track spiritual habits weekly and reflect on how they impact their walk with God
Coach’s Role: Celebrate faithfulness and help identify patterns or obstacles
Questions:
- Which H.A.B.I.T.S. come naturally to you?
- Which habit is most challenging right now?
- How is one habit shaping your life currently?
Next Step: Invite them to focus on strengthening one specific habit this month
🧩 Project 4: Where Was God Today?
Objective: Reflect daily on where they noticed God throughout the day
Coach’s Role: Help them grow in awareness of God's presence in everyday life
Questions:
Objective: Reflect daily on where they noticed God throughout the day
Coach’s Role: Help them grow in awareness of God's presence in everyday life
Questions:
- Where did you notice God today?
- Were there moments you missed Him at first but saw Him later?
- How is this practice changing how you see your day?
Next Step: Encourage them to continue this reflection beyond the week
🧩 Project 5: Emotion Reflection Exercise
Objective: Track emotional highs and lows and listen for God's voice through those emotions
Coach’s Role: Affirm emotional honesty and help connect emotion to spiritual insight
Questions:
Objective: Track emotional highs and lows and listen for God's voice through those emotions
Coach’s Role: Affirm emotional honesty and help connect emotion to spiritual insight
Questions:
- What emotions came up repeatedly this week?
- How might God be using those emotions to guide or grow you?
- What truth did you need most during emotional highs or lows?
Next Step: Recommend incorporating emotion check-ins in their spiritual rhythm
🧩 Project 6: Fruit Check Reflection
Objective: Evaluate personal responses using the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22–23
Coach’s Role: Help them reflect on specific situations where fruit was or wasn’t evident
Questions:
Objective: Evaluate personal responses using the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22–23
Coach’s Role: Help them reflect on specific situations where fruit was or wasn’t evident
Questions:
- Which fruit of the Spirit was evident in your actions this week?
- Where did you struggle to display spiritual fruit?
- What is God teaching you through this?
Next Step: Ask them to focus on cultivating one specific fruit in the coming week
🧩 Project 7: Three Voices Journaling
Objective: Discern between the voice of God, self, and the enemy in a decision-making moment
Coach’s Role: Encourage spiritual discernment and biblical clarity
Questions:
Objective: Discern between the voice of God, self, and the enemy in a decision-making moment
Coach’s Role: Encourage spiritual discernment and biblical clarity
Questions:
- What situation or decision did you reflect on?
- How did you identify which voice was speaking?
- What helped you recognize God’s voice more clearly?
Next Step: Recommend this journaling method for future decisions
🧩 Project 8: My “Yes” Moment
Objective: Reflect on a time they said “yes” to God’s prompting and what followed
Coach’s Role: Affirm their obedience and help them reflect on the fruit of that moment
Questions:
Objective: Reflect on a time they said “yes” to God’s prompting and what followed
Coach’s Role: Affirm their obedience and help them reflect on the fruit of that moment
Questions:
- What made you say yes to God?
- What happened afterward?
- What did you learn about stepping out in faith?
Next Step: Encourage them to keep looking for their next “yes”
🧩 Project 9: My “No” Moment
Objective: Reflect on a time they resisted temptation or avoided a wrong path
Coach’s Role: Celebrate spiritual discernment and self-control
Questions:
Objective: Reflect on a time they resisted temptation or avoided a wrong path
Coach’s Role: Celebrate spiritual discernment and self-control
Questions:
- What helped you say no to that temptation?
- What truth anchored you in that moment?
- How did that experience impact your walk with God?
Next Step: Help them identify future triggers and prepare to say “no” again
🧩 Project 10: Faithful Obedience Action Step
Objective: Take one small step of obedience to God
Coach’s Role: Help clarify and support their chosen step
Questions:
Objective: Take one small step of obedience to God
Coach’s Role: Help clarify and support their chosen step
Questions:
- What was the step of obedience you took?
- What fears or doubts did you face beforehand?
- What did God reveal to you through that experience?
Next Step: Invite them to develop a habit of acting on God’s promptings
🧩 Project 11: Holy Spirit Story
Objective: Share a story of following the Spirit even when uncertain
Coach’s Role: Affirm courage and discernment in faith-based risks
Questions:
Objective: Share a story of following the Spirit even when uncertain
Coach’s Role: Affirm courage and discernment in faith-based risks
Questions:
- How did you know it was the Spirit leading?
- What happened when you obeyed?
- What did you learn about trusting the Holy Spirit?
Next Step: Challenge them to be more sensitive to promptings moving forward
PHASE 2: DISCOVER YOUR CALLING
Complete 3 reflection projects and 1 Life Group activity
🧩 Project 1: Spiritual Gifts Discovery
Objective: Take a spiritual gifts test and reflect on possible ministry applications
Coach’s Role: Help them process the test results and identify their top gifts
Questions:
Objective: Take a spiritual gifts test and reflect on possible ministry applications
Coach’s Role: Help them process the test results and identify their top gifts
Questions:
- Which gifts stood out most to you?
- How do you see these gifts operating in your life already?
- Where might God want you to develop and use these gifts?
Next Step: Encourage them to explore roles that match their gifts
🧩 Project 2: Kingdom Burden Reflection
Objective: Identify what area of need burdens them deeply and may reveal calling
Coach’s Role: Affirm their compassion and spiritual insight
Questions:
Objective: Identify what area of need burdens them deeply and may reveal calling
Coach’s Role: Affirm their compassion and spiritual insight
Questions:
- What breaks your heart when you see it in the world or church?
- Why do you think this burden affects you so strongly?
- How might God be calling you to respond to this need?
Next Step: Invite them to pray about how to act on that burden
🧩 Project 3: Serving Story Review
Objective: Reflect on past experiences of serving
Coach’s Role: Help them discover what energizes or drains them
Questions:
Objective: Reflect on past experiences of serving
Coach’s Role: Help them discover what energizes or drains them
Questions:
- What type of serving brought you joy and meaning?
- What kind of ministry left you feeling empty or unfulfilled?
- What does this say about how God shaped you to serve?
Next Step: Recommend seeking opportunities aligned with their energizing experiences
🧩 Project 4: Serving Together Life Group Conversation
Objective: Have a Life Group discussion about shared service
Coach’s Role: Help guide the conversation or support the Life Group leader
Questions:
Objective: Have a Life Group discussion about shared service
Coach’s Role: Help guide the conversation or support the Life Group leader
Questions:
- Where do you believe God is calling us to serve as a group?
- Who can we bless together?
- What small step can we take this month to serve in unity?
Next Step: Encourage trying a group service activity together
PHASE 3: SERVE IN MINISTRY WITH OTHERS
Complete 3 action-oriented projects
🧩 Project 1: Ministry Shadowing
Objective: Observe someone in a ministry you're curious about
Coach’s Role: Help them set up and reflect on the shadowing experience
Questions:
Objective: Observe someone in a ministry you're curious about
Coach’s Role: Help them set up and reflect on the shadowing experience
Questions:
- What ministry did you observe, and what stood out to you?
- What would you want to try or do differently?
- What did you learn about how ministry works behind the scenes?
Next Step: Encourage trying the same or a different ministry for a short period
🧩 Project 2: Team Test Drive
Objective: Join a ministry team for a short-term experience
Coach’s Role: Support their entry, then debrief after their experience
Questions:
Objective: Join a ministry team for a short-term experience
Coach’s Role: Support their entry, then debrief after their experience
Questions:
- What did you enjoy or struggle with during the test drive?
- How did God use this experience to teach or grow you?
- Could you see yourself continuing in this ministry long-term?
Next Step: Recommend evaluating next steps with that ministry team or another
🧩 Project 3: Discernment and Commitment Prayer
Objective: Pray intentionally about their place in ministry and make a decision
Coach’s Role: Guide them in prayerful listening and confirm readiness
Questions:
Objective: Pray intentionally about their place in ministry and make a decision
Coach’s Role: Guide them in prayerful listening and confirm readiness
Questions:
- Where do you sense God inviting you to serve now?
- What excites or scares you about this commitment?
- What is your next act of faithfulness in response to God’s call?
Next Step: Support them in writing and sharing their commitment
🧩 Project 4: Join a Ministry Team
Objective: Officially commit to a REACH, CORE, or LEAD team
Coach’s Role: Help onboard them into the team and stay connected
Questions:
Objective: Officially commit to a REACH, CORE, or LEAD team
Coach’s Role: Help onboard them into the team and stay connected
Questions:
- How are you experiencing God in this new ministry?
- What support or training do you need right now?
- How is this step shaping your identity as a servant-leader?
Next Step: Encourage ongoing service, growth, and reflection
Remember: You are not just coaching a project—you are nurturing a disciple of Jesus.
“Until Christ is formed in you.” – Galatians 4:19