Can you believe it? We’re just three short weeks, a mere 21 days, away from our incredible journey to Congo! The excitement is truly building as we get closer to being there with everyone.
Gary Reinecke’s Christian coaching through InFocus has been a transformative support for us at The Lobiko Initiative. His deep knowledge, grounded in both biblical principles and coaching best practices, has helped reframe our entire understanding of what Christian coaching truly is. Gary doesn’t just teach theory; he equips us with practical tools, creates space for reflection, and guides us through real opportunities to practice.
What stands out most is his remarkable ability to contextualize coaching for our Congolese team, skillfully navigating cultural nuances and helping us apply the framework in ways that are both spiritually grounded and relevant to our context. As a result, our team’s coaching capacity has grown tremendously, and we feel far more equipped to walk alongside our partners and leaders in Congo.
I’m confident that this coaching will continue to empower leaders across Congo to realize their potential and bring lasting transformation to their communities. I can’t wait to bring more leaders into this coaching process!
Wilita Sanguma (The Lobiko Initiative, Executive Director)
Coach Training Update
We kicked off our coaching cohort back in January 2025, and it’s been such a rich experience with five of us, including me, diving deep into the process. Our main aim has been to really ground each leader in the coaching principles we explore in our book, Christian Coaching Essentials. It’s a comprehensive process, truly anchored in Christ, and each time we gather, participants dig into a part of the book, focusing on one of the five core elements. They then reflect and thoughtfully respond to some questions beforehand.
When we come together as a cohort, it’s a vibrant space where everyone gets to share their questions and insights from the reading. They also have the beautiful opportunity to be coached themselves, and for those who feel ready, to step into the coaching role.
Over these first four two-hour sessions, it’s been truly amazing to see the ‘lights turn on’ for each person. They’re making those vital connections, seeing clearly how they can better engage and empower the leaders with whom they’re currently working. This is such a pivotal moment in the training because it sets the stage perfectly for our face-to-face workshop in Canchasa, where they’ll get to practice and receive real-time feedback.
Some heartfelt observations from the training so far:
Why is this such a slow process?
Honestly, coaching isn’t something that comes naturally to many of us, and I’m learning to embrace the patience it takes to help people grasp the subtle, yet incredibly significant, shifts leaders need to make to effectively guide others through their self-discovery journey. By taking our time now, participants will actually be able to move much faster once it truly clicks for them and they begin coaching.
How do cultural nuances affect the training process?
This is a beautiful challenge, even here in America, but it’s especially true across cultures. The key for all of us (and especially for me!) is to maintain a posture of curiosity, remain open-hearted, and be truly eager to learn. In short, each session is a wonderful learning opportunity, inviting us all to grow. Practically speaking, we’ll certainly address language barriers as they pop up. One way I’m trying to help with this is by stepping away from traditional PowerPoints and using pictures as the primary way to communicate the main concepts.
How does coaching translate in the specific context of Congo?
This feels a bit like an experiment, and while I’ve had my doubts, it’s truly sticking! I’m taking a very relational approach in how I conduct the virtual training, which is why we’ve kept the group small, at five members. This allows for rich conversations, not just a one-way flow of information. I’m also becoming more and more aware of how crucial it is to let people actually see what coaching looks and feels like by doing real-life demonstrations during our sessions. It’s a powerful reminder of the importance of “showing how” before expecting people to understand. The payoff is immense: when we gather in July, everyone will have the chance to practice with real-time feedback. The reality is, each person will have had 10-15 hours of orientation before we even meet in person, so they’ll already be familiar with the coaching process, will have seen it in action, and will have experienced it for themselves.
Let me take a moment to answer some questions that might be on your mind:
Q: What about the travel ban?
A: Not to worry, it’s not us! There are two Congos, and the travel ban applies to the Republic of Congo. We are heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo. And either way, the ban is on their citizens traveling to the US, not on US citizens traveling there.
Q: What will be the impact of the coach training you are doing?
A: We’re truly focused on the “long game” here – training trainers! Ultimately, our goal is to empower these incredible leaders to multiply their impact. There are three key areas where this will deeply impact the local workers in Congo:
- Relationally: Leaders will learn to truly listen to their team members and ask questions that open up new ideas, explore fresh options, and significantly increase their awareness.
- Expand: This will help them expand their ministries’ influence and grow their teams in meaningful ways.
- Accessible: By partnering with national, indigenous leaders, we’ll work hand-in-hand to contextualize the training, making it accessible to the local church to help plant healthy, reproducing churches.
Q: What will you be doing in Congo?
A: Here’s a glimpse of our exciting itinerary from July 9-19, 2025:
- Wednesday: We’ll arrive in Canchasa (the capital city) and take a well-deserved rest.
- Saturday: We’ll fly to Gemena to connect with Project Lobiko, the ministry team we’re so excited to be training.
- Sunday: We’ll have the joy of attending church and spending precious time with the children at the orphanage.
- Monday: We’ll participate in the university chapel, then visit the medical center and the nutritional program (which serves 200 kids!). We’ll end the day with dinner and time to simply hang out with the children.
- Tuesday: We’ll spend the morning seeing more local ministries, followed by a wonderful celebration in the evening.
- Wednesday: We’ll fly back to Canchasa to regroup and rest.
- Thursday – Friday (July 17-18th): We’ll have the InFocus Project Congo Training Workshop.
We are so incredibly grateful for your support and prayers as we prepare for this impactful trip! The exciting part for me is when we meet next July 2026 in Canchasa, the team will be leading the workshop while I observe and give feedback. This is when the real learning occurs.
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Who do you know that would like to partner with us?
I would love to connect with your friends and family who would be open to talking about our vision for Project Congo. Email me at greinecke@infocusnet.org to introduce us. Help us fill the gap that we need to meet our budget – CLICK HERE!
Photo by Roman Nguyen on Unsplash
