The Harvest is Plentiful but the Hours are Few
Why coaching tools can help you lead with clarity, purpose, and peace
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”
These words from Jesus in Luke 10 are all too familiar to anyone involved in student ministry today, whether you’re a full-time student worker, a church leader juggling many hats, or a volunteer simply trying to make space in your week to love students well.
You know the field is ripe, and it’s an exciting time in the student mission scene! The opportunities to disciple, encourage, and reach students are coming at us left, right and centre. But the hours? They’re few. And the workers? Sometimes it’s just you, a prayer list, and a WhatsApp group that only half your students read.
Coaching and Jesus
A few years ago, I took a sabbatical from ministry and worked as a Student Success Coach at a university in London. My role involved running one-to-one and group coaching sessions, helping students reflect on their goals, build confidence, and work through the barriers in front of them. I wasn’t there to hand out solutions, I was there to create space for them to think clearly and take ownership of their next step.
It struck me how powerful that space was. Coaching helped students grow, not because someone told them what to do, but because they were given the chance to listen to themselves, notice what mattered, and respond with purpose.
As I kept coaching, a quiet question kept coming to mind: Why don’t we offer more of this kind of space in church?
Not just to students, but to those leading them.
I began to reflect on how often, in ministry, we rely on giving answers, offering advice, or running the next thing. And yet, Jesus often led people with questions.
“Who do you say I am?”
“Do you want to be well?”
“Why are you so afraid?”
Jesus asked questions not to quiz people, but to draw them deeper. To help them see what was true, to spark transformation from the inside out.
Coaching is simply a tool that creates that kind of space, a space where people can listen, process, and respond to what God might already be stirring. It’s not a fix-all. But in a busy, burdened ministry world, it might just be a way to slow down long enough to notice what God is doing, and join in with it.
Coaching tools don’t add to your to-do list, they focus it.
Whether you’re a seasoned student worker or just someone with a heart for students and no official job title, coaching tools can help you lead more intentionally. They create space. In other words, coaching doesn’t give you more to do, it helps you discern what to do next.
This series is for you if:
- You’re overwhelmed by all the needs and ideas in front of you
- You’re working with students in any capacity and need focus
- You’re a church leader dreaming of starting student ministry but don’t know how
- You’re passionate about students but feel stretched thin
- You want to build something lasting, but you don’t want to burn out doing it
What’s coming
Over the next few blogs, I’ll share tools and reflections that can help unlock clarity and courage, whether you're discerning what's next, figuring out what to let go of, or dreaming of having a bigger team to do more with.
We’ll explore:
- How to navigate decision paralysis when everything feels urgent
- How to delegate or let go in a healthy, Kingdom-minded way
- How to reflect on what’s in your hands, and who it’s for
- And how to raise and release others, just as Jesus did with the 72
- And hopefully more… if you have something you’d like the coaching team to share on, get in touch.
