Prepare prayerfully
Become familiar with the prepared teaching, the Coach’s Manual and the Personal Discovery material before each gathering.
Coach Formation
Turn Your Desire to Help New Christians into a Clear, Supported Role
The Certified Coach Formation Pathway prepares mature Christians and Growing Deep and Strong® graduates to guide small groups through an established Christian growth journey.
You do not need to invent lessons or have every answer. You are formed to listen well, guide honest discussion, help participants understand the Bible and connect truth with everyday life.
The curriculum, Coach’s Manual, participant resources, formation pathway and launch guidance are prepared for you. Your application begins a conversation about fit and readiness; it does not confirm commercial terms or commit you to enrol.
Is this you?
Is Something Stirring in You?
Perhaps you know you were created for more than simply attending church week after week.
You may not yet have the words for it, but something is stirring within you. You want your Christian life to become active, fruitful and able to help others grow.
- Do you have a growing desire to help new Christians become established in their faith?
- Are you concerned when people come to Christ but are left without someone to walk beside them?
- Do you sense that a great harvest is coming—and want to be prepared to care for those new Christians?
- Do you want to teach, encourage or coach others, but do not know where to begin?
- Are you ready to move beyond simply attending church and begin actively discipling others?
- Do you want to discover your God-given gifts, purpose and sphere of influence?
- Are you willing to be formed, equipped and assessed so you can serve others faithfully?
- Do you want your life to produce something that continues into future generations?
If these questions describe what is already happening inside you, Coach Formation may be the next step in your journey.
Personal formation
This Journey Will Form You Too
Coach Formation is not only about learning how to guide somebody else. You will personally walk the journey before you lead it.
- Discover your God-given gifts.
- Gain greater clarity about your purpose and assignment.
- Understand how you relate to and communicate with others.
- Grow in recognising how God reveals Himself and speaks to you.
- Identify the people and sphere of influence you are called to serve.
- Learn how to turn what God has placed within you into intentional discipleship.
The Bible speaks about a book written in heaven—a God-given purpose prepared for your life. Coach Formation helps you prayerfully discover what has been placed within you and how that assignment can be used to help others grow.
You are not simply being trained to present a curriculum. You are being prepared to become a spiritual parent who helps new Christians discover truth, experience transformation and eventually disciple others.
Why Coaches Matter
New Christians Need Someone to Walk with Them
A person may come to faith with sincere questions and little Bible knowledge. Clear teaching matters, but so do patient conversation, encouragement and a trustworthy relationship.
A certified coach helps a small group use the prepared resources, discover truth in Scripture and practise Christian faith in real life. The coach does not replace a pastor, counsellor or medical professional, and does not promise a particular personal outcome.
Who You Are Being Prepared to Serve
Welcome New Christians at Their Starting Point
Participants may be new to church, unfamiliar with the Bible or carrying sincere questions about faith and everyday life.
You are prepared to listen without judgement, remain faithful to biblical truth, make room for honest questions and guide the established weekly process. Where someone needs specialist pastoral, safeguarding, counselling or medical care, you follow the programme boundaries and help them seek appropriate support.
The Outcome You Are Being Trained to Produce
From an Unchurched Background to a Societal Reformer
The goal is heart transformation, a biblical worldview and multiplying discipleship within a structured pathway of 12 months or less.
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From spiritual confusion to biblical clarity
Truth replaces a pagan or secular worldview.
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From past wounds to healing and freedom
The past no longer controls the future.
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From uncertain identity to security in Christ
Identity becomes rooted in sonship rather than approval.
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From cultural pressure to biblical conviction
Scripture becomes the measure for beliefs, decisions and actions.
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From destructive patterns to Christlike character
Truth is practised until it becomes a new way of living.
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From passive attendance to active discipleship
Each person learns to participate, serve and grow.
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From searching for meaning to understanding purpose
Gifts, assignment and sphere of influence become clear.
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From receiving discipleship to discipling others
Transformation becomes reproducible and multigenerational.
What Is a Biblical Worldview?
It is learning to see and interpret every area of life through God’s Word. A disciple increasingly measures decisions about identity, family, relationships, money, work, leadership, education, government, justice, culture and influence against what Scripture says.
What Is a Societal Reformer?
A societal reformer is a mature follower of Christ who carries a biblical worldview into a God-given sphere of influence: family, business, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, or the Christian community.
You are not simply teaching a course. You are helping form people who may shape the next generation.
Equipping Societal Reformers
Help Them Find Their Sphere of Influence
Help each disciple discover who they are and carry a biblical worldview into family, business, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, or the Christian community.
Why This Multiplies
Raising disciples who raise disciples.
From spectators to legislators. Servant leadership ensures that revival becomes reformation, and reformation becomes legacy.
Your Role as a Coach
What You Will Do for New Christians
The resources provide structure and biblical guardrails. You provide a trustworthy relationship and guide the established process faithfully.
- Create a safe place for honest questions.
- Guide the weekly small-group conversation online or in person.
- Help participants understand unfamiliar Bible passages and programme topics.
- Listen to personal discoveries and connect them with everyday life.
- Encourage participants and prepare them for scheduled Freedom Events.
- Follow safeguarding, confidentiality and programme boundaries.
Your practical role
What Will Be Expected of You as a Coach?
You will not be expected to invent the teaching or have every answer. You will be expected to prepare faithfully, follow the established process and create a safe, relational environment in which new Christians can grow.
Guide a small group
Begin with a small group of up to five disciples so every person can be known, heard and supported.
Create safety and trust
Maintain confidentiality, listen without judgement and make room for honest questions while remaining faithful to biblical truth.
Follow the established pathway
Use the prepared curriculum, weekly rhythm, programme boundaries and safeguarding requirements consistently.
Support Freedom Events
Prepare disciples for the scheduled Freedom Events and work with the Growing Deep and Strong® team in their delivery.
Remain teachable and accountable
Participate in required coach development and remain aligned with Growing Deep and Strong® standards and ethos.
Encourage practical application
Help disciples connect biblical truth with their beliefs, relationships, decisions and everyday lives.
Raise people who disciple others
Help each disciple grow towards maturity, purpose, servant leadership and eventually discipling others.
The weekly rhythm
A Normal Week as a Coach
The pathway gives you a clear rhythm for preparing, guiding the gathering and helping every disciple know what comes next.
Before the group
Pray, read and prepare with the Coach’s Manual. Become familiar with the prepared teaching, Bible references, completed answers and discussion guidance for that week.
During the group
Create a safe and confidential environment. Listen well, guide the discussion, answer from the prepared material and help each disciple connect biblical truth with everyday life.
After the group
Send the disciple-facing Vision and Session Intent through WhatsApp or another agreed format so the disciple understands the purpose of the next session and what to expect. Where that pathway is used, provide the link to the next video verbal presentation, guide them into the next Personal Discovery and follow up with encouragement.
The certification standard
The Pathway Is Clear—but the Calling Is Serious
Becoming a certified coach is not an automatic process or a quick certificate. It requires personal transformation, biblical alignment, teachability, practical formation and a willingness to faithfully carry the Growing Deep and Strong® ethos.
We have made the pathway clear and supported. We have not lowered the standard.
For someone with a genuine burning desire to disciple others, the process will be demanding—but deeply worthwhile. You will not be left to work it out alone. We will walk with you through each stage.
Accessible, but not casual.
Which Pathway Is Right for You?
Two Starting Points. One Certification Standard.
Your application and initial conversation will identify the route that fits your experience.
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I Have Completed the Full GDAS Journey
Graduate Certification BridgeYou have completed the full 40-week pathway and recognised a calling to coach and disciple others. You do not repeat the entire formation journey.
- Calling and readiness confirmed
- Coach’s Manual orientation
- Safeguarding, confidentiality and Freedom Event preparation
- Practicum, teach-back, certification and commissioning
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I Am a Mature Christian but New to GDAS
Complete Formation Fast TrackYou may be a former pastor, ministry leader, missionary, mentor or mature Christian. Your experience matters, but every coach personally walks and understands the pathway before leading it.
- All four modules and all 33 discipleship topics
- Both Freedom Events and both Find Your Destiny experiences
- Personal Discovery, servant leadership and spiritual parenting
- Centre preparation, practicum, assessment and commissioning
Three Ways to Become a Coach
Choose the Formation
Pace That Fits Your Life
All three pathways lead to the same complete certification destination. The difference is where you begin, the pace you follow and how much of the journey you have already completed.
Immersive
The 40-Day Formation Track
For mature Christians who are new to Growing Deep and Strong® and can step away for an intensive formation season.
Scope: Full coach formation from the ground up. You personally walk through the complete pathway before leading others. Includes all four modules, the complete curriculum, Personal Discovery, Freedom Events, Find Your Destiny experiences, coach preparation, practicum, assessment, certification and commissioning.
Pace: 40 intentional residential days in an immersive environment.
Outcome: Complete certification with a concentrated, hands-on pace.
Flexible
The At-Home Weekday Fast Track
For mature Christians who are new to Growing Deep and Strong® but need to remain connected to work, family or ministry responsibilities.
Scope: The same complete coach formation and certification content as the immersive track. Includes the full curriculum, Personal Discovery, Freedom Events, Find Your Destiny experiences, coach preparation, practicum, assessment, certification and commissioning.
Pace: Completed from home, typically one topic each weekday across approximately 8 calendar weeks, with scheduled training touchpoints and required events.
Outcome: The same certification standard in a format that fits everyday life.
Graduate Bridge
You’ve Completed the Journey. Now You Sense the Call to Coach Others.
For graduates who have already completed Growing Deep and Strong® and now recognise a calling to disciple others.
Scope: A shorter coach-specific bridge rather than repeating the entire course. Learn the strategic blueprint of each session, the Session Intent, the coach manual, the weekly rhythm, Personal Discovery review flow, confidentiality and boundaries, Freedom Event responsibilities, participant care, and the established protocols and process. Includes a short supervised practical assessment and application for certification.
Pace: A short, competency-based mini upgrade completed over a brief guided process, with timing based on demonstrated readiness rather than repeating the full formation pathway.
Outcome: You have already experienced the transformation. This bridge prepares you to faithfully guide others through it.
The System You Will Lead
A Complete Pathway, Already Built
The pathway moves from prayer and outreach into foundations, freedom, identity, destiny and multiplication.
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Prayer Strategy
Prepare the areaPrayerfully identify and prepare the city, region or sphere where the Training Centre will serve.
- Prayer framework established
- Area and team aligned
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Find Your Destiny
Create an outreach bridgeEvangelism with Purpose connects spiritually hungry people with hope, meaning, identity and a clear next step.
- Welcoming point of connection
- Prospective disciples identified
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Foundations, Freedom and Identity
Establish the discipleSystematic biblical teaching, Personal Discovery, coaching and Freedom Events move truth from the page into the heart.
- Biblical worldview formed
- Healing, character and identity strengthened
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Servant Leadership and Commissioning
Multiply the transformationDisciples discover their assignment, carry Kingdom influence into society and learn to disciple others.
- Purpose and sphere clarified
- Disciple-makers and new centres raised
From Application to Launch
Four Distinct Stages, In Order
Applying is not the same as being certified, and being certified is not the same as opening a Training Centre. Each stage is deliberate so coaches are prepared, disciples are protected and new centres launch with clarity.
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Stage One
Apply for Coach Formation
Focus: Establishing alignment, calling and readiness.
Applying costs nothing and commits you to nothing. It opens a conversation in both directions, at the end of which you and Growing Deep and Strong will both know whether this is your pathway and where you would start.
- Submit the coach application, telling us about your experience, calling and desire to disciple others.
- Complete a preliminary conversation and assessment — questions in both directions.
- Confirm your entry pathway: the Graduate Certification Bridge, or the complete Fast Track.
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Stage Two
Complete the Formation Pathway
Focus: Experiencing the content and the transformation before leading either.
Nobody leads material they have not walked. Depending on the entry pathway confirmed in Stage One, this is where you complete the formation still required — at the pace that fits your life.
- Walk any required formation pathway, at either of the two available paces.
- Work through the Disciple manuals and Personal Discovery as a disciple yourself.
- Experience both Freedom Events, and Find Your Destiny, from the inside.
- Complete the servant-leadership and spiritual-parenting training.
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Stage Three
Become Certified and Commissioned
Focus: Demonstrating faithful, relational and confident facilitation.
Certification is not a formality and not a theology exam. It confirms that you can facilitate the established pathway faithfully — which is what protects the disciple, the curriculum, the Freedom Events and the wider movement.
- Complete Coach’s Manual orientation, the practicum and a teach-back.
- Receive certification and commissioning as a coach within the GDAS pathway.
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Stage Four
Establish Your New Christian Training Centre
Focus: Beginning small, in the place and sphere you are called to.
A Training Centre is not a building project. It begins with up to five disciples, wherever you already gather, and grows from there. This stage is where certification becomes a centre — and it is the stage you reach with support, not alone.
- Identify the area or sphere for your centre, and whom you are called to serve.
- Implement the prayer strategy with the appropriate team.
- Coordinate approved marketing and Find Your Destiny outreach.
- Connect with prospective disciples through applications, referrals and introductions.
- Begin with up to five disciples — small enough for honest conversation and personal care.
- Follow the manuals and the weekly rhythm, preparing prayerfully each week.
- Raise disciples who disciple others.
- Multiply coaches and Training Centres into new communities and spheres.
Prepared support
You Are Prepared to Coach—Not Asked to Invent a Programme
The depth of the material matters. Every session, discussion, Freedom Event and next step is supported by detailed resources developed through years of practical experience—so you can concentrate on people, prayer and faithful facilitation.
Structured Coach’s Manual
The Verbal Presentation Is Already Written for You
You are not handed a topic and expected to create a lesson from scratch. The Coach’s Manual provides a complete, carefully ordered verbal presentation for every session.
Pages 113 and 114 show how one session is laid out: the purpose of the session, estimated presentation time, biblical foundation, teaching sequence and the words that carry the subject forward clearly.
- Complete prepared presentations
- Session intention and learning direction
- Estimated presentation timing
- Bible references and background explanation
- A clear progression from one truth to the next
One message. Two flexible ways to deliver it—without losing the structure or intention of the session.
Answers and facilitation guidance
The Details Are There When You Need Them
Pages 126 and 127 show the coach’s side of Personal Discovery. The disciple works through the questions; the coach receives the completed fill-ins, answers, Bible references and the guidance needed to review the topic confidently.
The manual also provides session timing, review questions, discussion prompts and notes that help the coach encourage participation without turning the gathering into a formal classroom.
- Every fill-in completed
- Questions answered from the prepared material
- Personal Discovery review and sign-off guidance
- Suggested discussion questions
- Timing and session-flow guidance
- Clear boundaries for faithful facilitation
The disciple receives room to discover. The coach receives the answers and guardrails needed to guide that discovery well.
Freedom Events · Encounter Weekends
You Will Be Trained to Lead What Matters Most
Freedom Events are not an optional extra. They are a vital part of helping truth move from the page into the heart. Coaches are taught the purpose, preparation and delivery of each weekend in depth.
The presenter’s manuals contain the complete instructions: weekend schedules, run sheets, teaching notes, estimated presentation times, ministry-team roles, prayer-team preparation and participant response material. Years of experience have refined the flow so the weekend can be prepared almost to the minute while remaining prayerfully led.
Before the weekend
Learn the ethos, prayer preparation, roles, schedule and practical requirements through the complete manual and training.
During your first weekend
Experienced facilitators work beside you, hold your hand through the process and help you see how every part fits together.
As you become established
Use the detailed presenter’s manuals, run sheets and timing to deliver each Freedom Event faithfully and consistently.
Disciple resources
See Exactly What Your Disciples Receive
A coach needs to understand the disciple’s experience as clearly as the coach’s own role. This section repeats selected images from the New Christian Journey page so prospective coaches can see the teaching, Personal Discovery and Bible resources placed in each disciple’s hands.
Weekly Teaching
Clear verbal teaching introduces each truth before the disciple begins Personal Discovery.
Personal Discovery
The disciple opens the Bible, completes the fill-ins and discovers the truth personally.
Bible and Manual Together
The coach and disciple work from a shared biblical pathway while using resources prepared for their different roles.
Formation and practice
Walk It. Practise It. Then Lead It.
Certification is more than reading a manual. Every coach walks the required formation, understands the intention behind each topic and learns the Growing Deep and Strong® ethos before leading others.
The New Christian Training Centres Strategic Blueprint shows how the teaching, prayer strategy, outreach, coach formation, disciple pathway, Freedom Events and centre multiplication work together as one complete system.
- Personally experience the pathway before leading it
- Understand the reason and intention behind each topic
- Complete supervised practice, teach-backs and assessment
- Learn how a New Christian Training Centre opens and operates
- Launch with practical guidance and ongoing Operations Team support
You are not simply learning a curriculum. You are being formed to carry a proven discipleship pathway into the lives of others.
More Than Another Curriculum
The Curriculum Is the Tool. Christian Growth Is the Purpose.
Growing Deep and Strong® combines structured Bible teaching with Personal Discovery, honest discussion, practical application, prayer and relational support.
- The truth is presented.The participant receives approximately 30 minutes of clear pre-recorded teaching.
- The truth is personally discovered.The participant opens the Bible and completes Personal Discovery for 10 to 15 minutes most days.
- The truth is honestly discussed.The coach and small group create a safe place for questions and practical application.
- The truth is applied.The participant considers how Scripture connects with beliefs, relationships, decisions and everyday life.
A completed workbook is not the goal. The goal is a Christian who understands the truth and learns to live it.
A BIBLE YOU WILL LEARN TO USE
A Reliable Bible Resource for Every Session
The New King James Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible supports the prepared teaching and gives you and each participant a shared place to read, ask questions and find helpful background.
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- Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible
The New King James Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible used throughout the pathway.
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- Study note
- Cross reference
Study notes run beneath the text, so an unfamiliar passage comes with its explanation.
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- Kingdom Dynamics
- Word study
Kingdom Dynamics and word studies draw out the meaning behind the words.
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- Used with Personal Discovery
The Bible and the Personal Discovery Manual are designed to be used side by side.
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The Spirit-Filled Life Bible and participant manual are used together throughout Personal Discovery.
For the coach
Supporting You as You Coach New Christians
- Provides reliable background and study material.
- Supports the biblical content in the Coach’s Manual.
- Reduces the pressure to have every answer yourself.
- Helps maintain consistency and theological integrity.
- Gives the coach and participant a shared Bible resource.
Your Teaching Resource
The Coach’s Manual
The manuals provide the content and biblical guardrails. You provide the relationship, prayer, encouragement, accountability and spiritual parenting.
- Complete lesson plans and weekly session structures
- Biblical references, completed answers and background commentary
- Personal Discovery guidance and discussion questions
- Freedom Event teaching and running orders
- Coach practicum, certification and centre guidance
SEE HOW THE JOURNEY WORKS
See Exactly What You Will Receive
Your Coach Manual provides prepared teaching, completed answers, Bible references, background notes and discussion guidance.
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The Coach’s Manual
Completed answers, biblical references, background commentary and discussion guidance help the coach lead confidently.
The participant and coach resources are separate, clearly labelled and prepared for their different roles.
Prepared resources
Two Manuals. Two Clearly Defined Roles.
The participant and coach resources are separate, clearly labelled and prepared for the different roles each person carries in the weekly journey.
The Disciple’s Manual
Provides the Personal Discovery pages, Bible references and weekly material the disciple uses to discover truth personally and prepare for discussion.
The Coach’s Manual
Provides complete verbal-presentation scripts, biblical references, completed Personal Discovery answers, background commentary, suggested review questions and group-discussion guidance.
Where Will I Find Disciples?
You Will Not Be Expected to Launch Alone
The Growing Deep and Strong® Operations and Marketing team is being designed to coordinate approved campaigns in selected areas where certified coaches and New Christian Training Centres are ready to receive people.
Area-Based Marketing Support
Approved campaigns may include Google advertising, digital and social promotion, area-specific landing pages, applications, coach-and-disciple matching, Find Your Destiny promotion, follow-up communication and referrals.
Relationships and Referrals
Disciples may also come through personal relationships, community connections, churches, workplaces, families, friendship networks and online referrals. Marketing creates opportunity; the coach provides personal relationship and intentional discipleship.
Prayer prepares the area → coordinated marketing identifies spiritually hungry people → Find Your Destiny creates connection → disciples enter the pathway → a New Christian Training Centre begins to grow.
Marketing support is coordinated lead generation and connection. It is not a guarantee of a specific number of disciples.
Wherever You Are
We Ship Worldwide
Manuals are dispatched from Victoria, Australia to wherever your group meets.
Before You Apply
What Happens When You Press Submit
Applying is the first stage only. It is a conversation, not a commitment, and it does not ask you for payment.
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Your Application Is Read by a Person
Not an automated screen. Someone reads what you wrote about your calling.
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An Initial Conversation Is Arranged
Questions in both directions, to establish alignment and readiness.
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Your Starting Point Is Confirmed
You leave that conversation knowing which entry pathway is yours and what formation is still required.
BEGIN HERE
Coach Formation Application & Self-Assessment
This is more than an application form. It is an opportunity to reflect honestly on your Christian journey, your relationships, your experience, your calling and your readiness to disciple others. There are no perfect applicants. We are looking for honesty, teachability, biblical alignment and a willingness to grow.
Not Ready to Apply Yet?
Read the Blueprint First
Every new coach works from this strategic blueprint. It provides our benchmark for establishing and running each New Christian Training Centre.
Download the Strategic BlueprintMarketing and disciple connections
The Operations Team will help coordinate approved marketing campaigns, enquiries, referrals and coach-and-disciple matching in areas where certified coaches and Training Centres are ready to receive people.
Training Centre launch and growth
You will receive step-by-step operational guidance as you open, establish and develop your New Christian Training Centre. You will not be expected to create the systems or launch alone.
Freedom Event assistance
The Growing Deep and Strong® team will assist with the planning, coordination, preparation and delivery of the scheduled Freedom Events so the coach is supported and participants are cared for appropriately.
Ongoing operations partnership
Coaches will continue to work alongside the Operations Team with access to approved systems, resources, communication, practical problem-solving and future coach development as the movement grows.