For thirty years, Gwendolyn Price lived a double life – not the scandalous kind, but the kind so many of us know too well.

By day, she was climbing the corporate ladder in information technology, managing projects and programs. By evening and weekend, she was the person friends called when life fell apart. She’d been a certified life coach since 2010, offering her time and talent mostly pro bono, quietly helping people find clarity in the chaos of unexpected transitions.

She loved that work – the part where she got to watch someone’s face light up with sudden understanding, where confidence replaced confusion. If I could have done it all day, every day, I would have, she thought. But coaching wasn’t “real ministry.” At least, that’s what she assumed God meant when she kept feeling that persistent nudge about serving Him more fully.

March 2025 brought news no one wants to hear: her position was eliminated.

She could have accepted another role within the company – the safe choice, the expected path. But here’s what surprised her: the timing felt almost divine. For months, the Holy Spirit had been dealing with her about growing her coaching practice. She’d been asking God to reveal her purpose, pleading for direction, never realizing she was already walking in it.

Instead of playing it safe, she chose to step out in faith. She accepted the severance package.

“I assumed He meant preaching or pastoring – things I honestly didn’t feel drawn to,” Gwendolyn admits. “But as I sought His guidance and surrendered my plans, He began to show me all the lives I had touched through coaching. That’s when I realized: this is the ministry He was calling me to.”

That same month, she enrolled in PCCI’s Essentials of Coaching program. The gap between who she was and who God was calling her to be? It was surrender.

Gwendolyn had already completed secular coaching training. She knew the frameworks, the techniques, the questions. What she didn’t expect was how liberating it would feel to bring her whole self – faith and all – into the coaching space.

“For years, I had to be careful about introducing faith-based concepts in the workplace,” she shares. “I often translated Biblical principles into secular language – hoping that seeds of truth were being planted that might one day lead people to Him.”

The freedom to openly express Biblical truth during the training was truly liberating.

But the training gave her more than permission to integrate faith. It gave her a breakthrough she didn’t see coming: “I learned that I was impatient! I had inadvertently been context-switching too much” – bouncing between consultant, mentor, and coach in single sessions because that’s what corporate work demanded.

The most valuable concept she discovered? That the answers are already within us. “I used to think my role was to help people find solutions. But I realized that God has already placed the answers inside their hearts. My job is to create the space, ask the right questions, and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.”

Today, Gwendolyn Price is an ordained minister and full-time Life and Discipleship Coach – two titles she never imagined for herself.

She’s launched Better Than Yesterday Life Coaching and Consulting, her for-profit practice, and Any Excuse for a Dinner Club, the ministry arm that provides free coaching for those who can’t afford it. Through her Soul Center series – free virtual sessions she calls “sermonettes” – she helps people discover God’s will for their lives and walk in it for His glory.

The feedback has been incredible. People tell her they feel inspired, empowered, more confident in pursuing their calling. She’s seen clarity spark and courage ignite in real-time.

But perhaps the most unexpected transformation? “I’m now a social butterfly,” she laughs, “a huge change for someone who is by nature an introvert!” She practices more active listening and intentionally looks for opportunities to serve – whether through coaching, ministry, or simple daily interactions.

Greater peace, joy, focus, and clarity. A deeper, more satisfying relationship with God. That’s what coaching as ministry has given her.

Gwendolyn has a message for anyone feeling that gentle, persistent nudge:

“If you’re feeling a nudge toward coach training and it aligns with Scripture, I encourage you to surrender to the Holy Spirit. God will never disappoint. When fear or anxiety arises, don’t dismiss it as impossible – say instead, ‘Lord, I trust You.‘”

She wants you to know something else: Don’t see setbacks – like a job loss, a divorce, or the death of a loved one – as negatives. God can work them for your good if you surrender. View them as a “set-up” for the next glorious chapter of your journey.

“You don’t have to be qualified,” she reminds us. “Remember Moses – he gave all kinds of excuses. You don’t have to be qualified because God is more than able.”

If you’re sensing God might be calling you to coaching, Gwendolyn would tell you this:

Choose faith over fear.

What if the ministry you’ve been asking God about is already happening in the conversations you’re having, the people who keep coming to you for guidance, the way you naturally create space for others to grow?

What if you just need to say yes?