The Essentials of Leadership Coaching

Our curriculum is designed around Dr. Gary Collins’ foundational book, Christian Coaching, and two other outstanding texts. The course is aligned with the standards of both the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Christian Coaches Network International (CCNI).

All classes are taught live, via high-definition Zoom videoconference, and supplemented with home study as well as interactive peer coaching groups meeting by Telebridge/Zoom each week. In this class you will:

Master critical distinctions between coaching, counseling, consulting, mentoring, & discipling.
Learn the Core Competencies of Coaching as established by the International Coach Federation (ICF).
Integrate your Christian faith & worldview into your work with both Christian & non-Christian clients.
Develop the skills, tools & techniques necessary for effective coaching practice.
Explore Christian coaching principles in Scripture, using these as your basis & mandate for practice.
Learn the keys to forming a strong coaching alliance with your clients.
Study the latest research behind remarkable personal growth and lasting change.
Hear live role play demonstrations & case examples by your instructors – two ICF-certified coaches.
Process readings from 3 exceptional texts and get direct answers to your questions.
Practice coaching skills live in telephone lab sessions and in class, receiving real-time feedback from instructors.
Learn to structure questions in a genuinely exploratory manner to avoid ‘leading’ your clients.
Develop the ability to hear beyond your clients’ words through their inflections, pace, energy, & even silence.
Develop the ability to hear beyond your clients’ words through their inflections, pace, energy, & even silence.

Become comfortable in confusion, embracing questions in a true spirit of curiosity and discovery.
Practice the skill of becoming ‘invisible’ as your clients listen to the Holy Spirit & their God-given desires.
Help clients operationalize their visions, setting measurable goals & timelines.
Learn empowerment skills to place clients more in-touch with their abilities & resources for dramatic life change.
Foster accountability that really works – through you, not to you.
Marshal pain & passion – the two great human motivators for change.
Understand the stages of personal & spiritual growth, and meet your clients in their own unique stages.
Learn what to do with resistance to change, and how to help a client get ‘unstuck.’
Identify and work with core values, vision, purpose, & mission.
Develop self-monitoring skills in your ‘use of self’ in this contractual, designed relationship.
Explore several major niches in Christian coaching to begin specializing in your areas of greatest passion.
Experience dramatic personal growth as you work through the very exercises you will use with clients.
Catch vision for the future of Christian coaching and how to position yourself in this explosive new field.

Required Texts:

Christian Coaching (2nd Edition) by Dr. Gary Collins
Co-Active Coaching (4th Edition) by Laura Whitworth et al
Coaching for Breakthrough Success by Jack Canfield and Peter Chee

“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 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

How This Course Relates to Certification & Credentialing

The Essentials of Leadership Coaching is the FIRST STEP toward CPLC Certification and earning the ICF Level 1 and ICF Level 2 certificates. See the image below for the full path for each, and where this course is on that path. Click here for more information about certification and credentialing.

Upcoming Courses

Indicate your desired course date during registration and checkout.

October 2025

DAY: Tuesdays
TIME: 6:00 – 8:00 PM Eastern
DATES: October 21, 2025 – February 10, 2026*
INSTRUCTORS: Todd Kemp, MCC & Pamela Mertz, PCC

*NOTE: Class will NOT meet on 12/23 and 12/30.

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 & Fees

Full Payment

$2,250

NO monthly payments

3 Payments

$765monthly

$2,295 total investment

6 Payments

$390monthly

$2,340 total investment

9 Payments

$265monthly

$2,385 total investment

All payment plans include a $15 monthly service charge.

Ready to Register or Have Questions?

Speak with an Academic Advisor to begin your registration or to answer any questions you may have!

CONNECT WITH AN ACADEMIC ADVISOR

Based on over 20 years of training more than 4,000 Christians throughout the world, the majority of our students consistently secure paying clients on their caseloads before this introductory course is finished.