Course Overview

Experience coach training where evidence meets faith and transformational leadership.

This course equips you to partner with leaders in creating meaningful, sustainable change – whether they serve in corporate, nonprofit, ministry, or educational settings. You’ll integrate evidence-based leadership frameworks informed by neuroscience and organizational behavior with globally recognized ICF Core Competencies and timeless Biblical wisdom.

Through experiential learning, live coaching practice, and leadership-focused reflection, you’ll strengthen your understanding of how ICF competencies apply within leadership and organizational contexts. You’ll cultivate a coaching presence marked by courage, humility, and clarity – empowering leaders to think deeply, act wisely, and lead well.

What makes this different? This isn’t passive learning – it’s a dynamic blend of real-time coaching demonstrations, peer practice, and systematic skill development grounded in Christian principles of stewardship, character, and service. You’ll leave equipped with professional excellence and spiritual depth.

Essentials of Leadership Coaching course title with Christian coach training description and textbook

  • Course Length: 15 weeks

  • ICF CCE Hours: 43 Hours

  • Weekly Commitment: 2 hour live class + 4-5 hours reading, audio instruction, peer coaching, and assignments

  • Format: Live via Zoom

  • Prerequisites: None – open to anyone called to the coaching profession

  • Price: Starting at $265/month
  • Course Length: 15 weeks

  • ICF CCE Hours: 43 Hours

  • Weekly Commitment: 2 hour live class + 4-5 hours reading, audio instruction, peer coaching, and assignments

  • Format: Live via Zoom

  • Prerequisites: None – open to anyone called to the coaching profession

  • Price: Starting at $265/month

Is This Course Right for You?

Whether your goal is to coach leaders professionally or lead more effectively yourself, this course provides the foundation to do both – integrating mind, spirit, and practice.

Aspiring Professional Coaches

You want to specialize in leadership or organizational coaching within an ICF-accredited framework. This course gives you the evidence-based models and practical skills to support leaders navigating complexity, transition, and organizational challenges with both professional credibility and faith integration.

Executives, Managers & Team Leaders

You want to bring a coaching mindset to your leadership practice. Learn to develop others through empowerment rather than direction, facilitating breakthrough thinking in your team while aligning leadership influence with Christian values and evidence-based effectiveness.

Faith-Based & Ministry Leaders

You’re an HR professional, consultant, trainer, or nonprofit/ministry leader who wants to integrate coaching into leadership development and organizational culture. Gain the structure, practice, and discernment needed to coach leaders with depth and skill in your unique context.

Your Certification & Credentialing Journey

Whether you’re pursuing CPLC certification or ICF credentialing, understanding where this course fits ensures you’re building your training path strategically and efficiently.

CPLC

CPLC Certification

REQUIRED

ICF Level 1

Level 1 Certificate

REQUIRED

ICF Level 2

Level 2 Certificate

REQUIRED

Visit our Coaching Certification page for detailed requirements and steps for both PCCI’s CPLC certification and ICF Level 1/Level 2 certificates.

What You’ll Accomplish in This Course

This is active, hands-on training. You’ll practice coaching, receive feedback, and build real skills that transform how you develop leaders.

  • Master ICF Core Competencies as they apply within leadership and organizational contexts, understanding how coaching differs from mentoring, consulting, and advising.

  • Integrate evidence-based leadership models informed by neuroscience, emotional intelligence, systems thinking, and adult development theory.

  • Navigate multi-stakeholder dynamics including confidentiality boundaries, sponsor relationships, and organizational politics while maintaining coaching integrity.

  • Coach both the leader’s inner world (values, beliefs, identity, resilience) and outer world (roles, relationships, organizational culture, results).

  • Develop powerful questioning skills that challenge entrenched leadership styles, unexamined assumptions, and blind spots while evoking sustainable awareness.

  • Create psychological safety where leaders accustomed to control and authority can explore vulnerability, admit uncertainty, and test new perspectives.

  • Anchor your coaching in Christian principles of stewardship, character, and service – guiding leaders toward growth that honors both people and purpose.

  • Build a leadership coaching presence marked by courage, humility, and clarity through live demonstrations and structured peer coaching practice.

Course Breakdown

The first 10 weeks build your foundation in core coaching principles and ICF competencies. The final 5 weeks emphasize ontological and leadership-focused practices – helping you engage leaders at the level of mindset, values, and being.

Weeks 1-3: Foundation, Identity & Coaching Mindset

Discover what professional coaching is and how it differs from other helping professions. Understand ICF Core Competencies, explore the neuroscience of coaching, and clarify what it means to be a Christian coach. Embody a coaching mindset that stays curious rather than directive, and begin structured peer coaching practice.

Weeks 4-5: Agreements, Coachability & Starting Well

Learn to establish and maintain effective coaching agreements – especially in triangular relationships with sponsors. Understand client readiness for coaching, assess coach-client compatibility, and navigate “Big A, Little A” agendas in leadership contexts. Master the inquiry and exploration process.

Weeks 6-7: Presence, Trust & Deep Listening

Cultivate trust and safety where leaders can be unguarded. Develop the coaching presence that holds silence and slows the pace against leadership urgency. Master active listening that extends beyond the individual to systemic context – discerning organizational ripple effects and power dynamics.

Weeks 8-10: Evoking Awareness & Facilitating Growth

Ask powerful questions that evoke awareness and challenge blind spots. Help leaders gain insights about values, change readiness, and resistance patterns. Facilitate client growth by partnering with leaders to translate awareness into action and design support structures that build accountability.

Weeks 11-13: Leadership Coaching Specialization

Dive deep into leadership coaching contexts: Who comes for leadership coaching and why? How do ICF competencies show up differently in organizational settings? Explore ontological coaching (being vs. doing), the leader’s inner and outer world, and how to navigate multi-stakeholder dynamics. Begin identifying your coaching niche.

Weeks 14-15: Integration, Ethics & Your Path Forward

Understand ethical practice and confidentiality in complex environments. Integrate Christian distinctives authentically into your leadership coaching. Review your development, celebrate progress, and identify next steps – whether toward ICF credentialing, specialized training, or enhanced leadership practice.

Required Course Materials

These carefully selected texts provide the neuroscience, professional frameworks, and faith integration that form the foundation of world-class leadership coaching.

Christian Coaching 2nd Edition by Dr. Gary Collins book cover for life coach training
The Powerhouse Guide to ACC, PCC, and MCC Coaching: Master the subtle nuances of ICF coaching and become one of the best coaches in the world
Breakthrough Coaching: Creating Lightbulb Moments in Your Coaching Conversations by Marcia Reynolds, MCC
Coaching for Performance, 6th edition: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership: Fully Revised Edition for 2024

Upcoming Courses

All classes meet live via Zoom for 2 hours weekly, creating an interactive learning environment where you’ll experience lecture, Q&A, and real-time coaching demonstrations from expert instructors.

February 2026

DAY: Wednesdays
TIME: 4:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
DATES: February 18 – May 27, 2026
INSTRUCTORS: Cindy Schmelzenbach, MCC & Andrew Gorter, MCC

April 2026

DAY: Mondays
TIME: 7:00 – 9:00 PM Eastern
DATES: April 13 – July 27, 2026*
INSTRUCTORS: Pam Mertz, PCC & Sean McKelvey, PCC

*NOTE: Class will NOT meet on 5/25.

September 2026

DAY: Tuesdays
TIME: 6:00 – 8:00 PM Eastern
DATES: September 8 – December 15, 2026
INSTRUCTORS: Dale Wilsher, PCC & Todd Kemp, MCC

October 2026

DAY: Thursdays
TIME: 6:00 – 8:00 PM Eastern
DATES: October 29, 2026 – February 25, 2027*
INSTRUCTORS: Nancy Lopez, PCC & Steve Cromer, PCC

*NOTE: Class will NOT meet on 11/26, 12/24, and 12/31.

Tuition & Payment Plans

Full Payment

$2,250

$1,900

NO monthly payments

3 Payments

$765 / monthly

$646 / monthly

$1,938 total investment

6 Payments

$390 / monthly

$330 / monthly

$1,976 total investment

9 Payments

$265 / monthly

$224 / monthly

$2,014 total investment

All payment plans include a monthly service charge.

Real Results from Real Students

Essentials graduates are coaching with confidence, earning ICF credentials, and leading with greater clarity and Kingdom impact.

“PCCI is the best coach training available with Christian values, commitment to excellence, a supportive and prayerful community, and unparalleled training. I highly recommend it!”

Lauren Rush, Lauren Rush Life Coach

“I have taken 149 hours of training from PCCI and I have nothing but gratitude. Lots of money and time invested, and it was well worth it!”

Brian Bennett, Kingdom Capital Leadership Institute

“Every instructor I had was very professional; no lightweights. Christianity is a constant thread. Their goal is solidly equipping coaches to coach to the highest industry standards. And it’s not just a school; you will belong to the fellowship of PCCI for your entire career.”

Thomas Kenyon, Real-Life Coaching

“PCCI coach training is life changing and one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. The hand-on training is priceless.”

Mary Lou Caskey, Life Coach

“The training I received at PCCI has been both very professional and invaluable for this season of my career.”

Jenn Nickel, MBA, JLN Consultants

“I made the decision to train at PCCI after researching every Christian coaching school I could locate. Their high-quality training in alignment with ICF competencies impressed me immediately, and the personal attention of their faculty and staff is tremendously supportive!”

Stacy Toney

“I just completed The Essentials of Coaching course and already have my first official client – at $500/month! PCCI has provided me with a powerful launch.”

Kimberly Moore

“The Essentials class has exceeded my expectations! I’m so impressed with the quality of instruction and with our instructor’s openness in sharing their hearts…”

Teri Bailey, Life Well Coach

“I spent $2,100 for a popular DVD training program and left with no paying clients. In just a few weeks of PCCI classes, I gained the practical knowledge I needed to land my first paying client! Hearing live demonstrations and being able to ask questions helped me to clarify coaching concepts, and our live peer groups have provided hands-on practice in a safe learning environment.”

Victoria Barber-Emery, Inspire Life Coaching

“This course has been transformational for me!”

Steve Greer, Genesis Counseling Centers

“I am LOVING this class. It has truly already been a transformational experience for me.”

Dr. Saudra Wall Williams, T.E.A.C.H Ministries