Welcome

Welcome to The Center for Healthy Churches. Birthed out of the rich tradition of pastoral care, and informed by years of experience and success in local churches, CHC makes available to churches and clergy a wide array of ministries and services. Our team believes that local churches can and should be sources of life and light to their communities. The mission of building up the church of Christ motivates us to bring hope, help and healing to churches and clergy. Please explore our site and contact us if we can be of service to you.
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Regional Access

While CHC has a national footprint, we are also able to work regionally and locally through our consultants and coaches who live across the United States. This helps keep costs down and enables many more churches and clergy to access our services. Our consultants and coaches, however, are always available to travel to any locations as needed.
Regions

Growth

All gardeners know that growth is the natural result of a healthy garden or plant. All plants and all gardens have a growth agenda that permeates all they do. Some growth is “up and out”, some is “down and in”. Growth permeates every aspect of a healthy church. Bearing fruit is in the DNA of any plant. The fruit is the proof of the plant’s health, as propagation is at the heart of God’s design for all living things.
Guiding Metaphor

Seasons

The power of the seasons is never far from the mind of the gardener. At the heart of any issue or project in the garden lies a central question: what season is it? In churches, our lack of understanding of life cycle seasons may blind us to deeper causes than what the prevailing symptoms may suggest.
Guiding Metaphor

Good Soil

Healthy soil is a prerequisite to healthy plants. Gardeners spend much energy and expense to amend and improve the soil of their gardens. Doing so creates an environment conducive to vibrant growth.
Guiding Metaphor

Settings

Context matters. Plants that may thrive in a rain forest die quickly in the desert, and vice versa. Each plant adapts to its environment and either finds a way to survive and thrive, or it must be moved to a setting more congruent with its DNA. Healthy churches are students of their setting and context.
Guiding Metaphor

Patience

Gardens require patience, and gardeners eventually learn to trust the plants and environment to produce the growth, fruit and beauty they so desire. Some things in a garden cannot be rushed, and to attempt to do so ensures failure. Mature discipleship and effective ministry is a time-consuming, long-lasting process. There are no shortcuts.
Guiding Metaphor

Care

Vibrant and productive gardens emerge when well-cared for. The gardener knows that their role is that of caretaker, and that role is pivotal for the long-term health of the garden.
Guiding Metaphor

Interdependence

Plants do not live in a vacuum. The mixed ecology of plant life means that the health of a garden or plant is interdependent in relationship to other plants, insects, context, weather, and a host of other factors. Churches and clergy live out their calling in the context of a specific time and place. They partner and collaborate with a multitude of others in order to accomplish their unique Kingdom agenda.
Guiding Metaphor

Design/Vision

A beautiful garden emerges from someone’s dream translated into a plan, followed by an implementation process. So too with churches. Clarity about the founding dream and design of a church is essential if a church is to be healthy.
Guiding Metaphor

Rooted

Roots matter to a plant. Roots matter to a church. Roots matter to a Christian. Gardeners know that the root health is paramount. What is hidden from view often determines whether a plant will flourish. Gardeners feed the roots of plants, taking great care to protect those roots. Healthy churches pay attention to the part of their life that is hidden from view. What happens in the hidden hearts of their leaders and their participants often determines what is seen in public.
Guiding Metaphor

Webinar: Being the Church in the Midst of Crisis

In response to the growing challenges facing Christians and Churches due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Center for Healthy Churches, The Church Network, The Presbyterian Foundation, Baptist News Global, Truett Seminary, The Church Network, Pneumatrix, Uptick, Ministering to Ministers and the Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership will offer a twice weekly webinar to help equip ministers and congregations respond to this crisis.

Content will be focused on meeting the practical needs of congregations. You can find information about our upcoming webinars on our website. Registration is required.

Our Consultants

What Is a consultant?

A CHC Consultant is someone who comes alongside you to enable greater learning, insights and planning for the future.

Dedicated professionals

Each has completed extensive training and is ICF (International Coach Federation) certified. While diverse, we are united around a shared love for churches and clergy that permeates all we do. To engage the services of a consultant, contact CHC.

What can my church expect?

Our focus is upon process consulting. By that we mean that our role is to help you design a path forward that maximizes local wisdom and expertise under the leadership of God’s Spirit. Our consultants do not offer ready-made or easy answers, but guide you to explore possibilities that are sustainable.

Key Distinctives

CHC is known for:

 

  • A Pastoral Care DNA that emphasizes diagnosis before prescription
  • A commitment to process consulting that emphasizes thoughtful diagnosis over expert consulting and prescriptive solutions.
  • A non-naïve knowledge of congregations, characterized by a deep love for, success with, and actual involvement in ministry in local churches
  • A financial model that makes these services affordable and available to all congregations and clergy
  • An ecumenical, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit with a focus upon establishing an appropriate balance between the five dimensions of health in churches: Spiritual, Mental/Emotional, Physical, Financial, Structural
What is CHC's approach to cultivating a healthy church?
Congregations face intense pressure as they embrace life in the 21st century. When trying to determine best overall courses of action, or how to respond effectively to change, congregations find that our impartial but interested perspective can provide important direction and encouragement.

Through consultation, we help churches face a variety of challenges from both inside and outside the congregation. Consultants are trained in helping staffs, deacons, boards, elders, councils, or other leadership groups during these challenges.

What benefits would CHC Coaching provide?
Whether a minister is hoping to increase effectiveness inside the church or enhance quality of life beyond congregational duties, coaching is a remarkable tool for helping bridge the gap between aspiration and reality. By cultivating and boosting a minister’s existing skills, resources, and creativity in a safe and challenging environment, coaching is the perfect way to explore a variety of professional and personal possibilities as well as articulate new goals.
How would CHC help our congregation or our ministry?
We provide the following services: Congregational Planning and Visioning, Consulting, Search Committee Coaching, General Teaching and Coaching, Transitions

What We Offer to Churches

  • Congregational Coaching/Consulting
  • Individual Coaching
  • Denominational/Judicatory Consulting
  • Speaking, Preaching, Workshops, Educational Events
CHC is devoted to improving the spiritual, emotional and organizational health of churches and ministers.

We bring hope, help and healing in the spirit of Christ.

Through congregational coaching and consulting, CHC helps churches and clergy experience spiritual discernment and guidance as they seek to be faithful to their call.
Decisions for a church

Belmont University

The national center for The Center for Healthy Churches is located at Belmont University in Nashville TN.

This unique collaborative partnership enables CHC to have access to excellent resources and facilities, and establishes Belmont as an interested and engaged partner in the health of congregations and clergy across America. In partnership with Belmont’s College of Theology and Christian Ministry, the Moench Center for Church Leadership, and H. Franklin Paschal Chair of Biblical Studies and Preaching, and in collaboration with the Center for Executive Education, CHC seeks to cultivate health and hope for congregations and clergy.

As our relationship takes root and grows, we anticipate a wide array of services and events to emerge.

 

” ‘The more things change, the more they remain the same.’ What in other contexts might be a cynical statement is, in this case, a truism that gives confidence. Bill Wilson who heads CHC, newly named but same as always, focuses on helping congregations become all they can be. This is good news for anyone who knows CHC, because they know church.” Rev. Dr. George A. Mason

Senior Pastor, Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas, TX

“Most helpful, of course, was having a trained person from outside listen to and raise question for members in the listening sessions. Our consultant, Travis Collins, then was able to assemble and present in a well-organized way his findings of matters that must be addressed by the church. Everyone seemed to appreciate his personality and manner of carrying out this process.” Ms. Leland Webb

Layperson

“What impresses me most about The Center for Healthy Churches is the way Bill Wilson and his team use their understanding of pastors and churches to help congregations see better, bigger, more Christlike possibilities than they saw before. When church leaders are looking for advice, recommending they talk with someone at CHC is the best guidance I give.” Dr. Brett Younger

Senior Minister, Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, NY

Contact Us Today

Whether your needs are congregational counseling, individual counseling, ministerial coaching, or event related, we can help.

Reach out to us today and we’ll be in touch shortly.

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