Worksheet: Creating Powerful Ministry Coaching Questions
Topic 5 Worksheet
Creating Powerful Ministry Coaching Questions
Course: Coaching Ministry Foundations
Topic 5: Life Coaching Questions for Ministry
Presentation: Questions That Open the Soul
Reading: Asking Powerful Questions with Spiritual Insight
Case Study: I Just Feel Stuck
This worksheet helps students practice asking open, respectful, Spirit-aware questions that help people reflect honestly, hear their own story, and move toward faithful action before God. It builds from Topic 5’s emphasis on questions that honor agency, invite reflection, avoid manipulation, and create room for the Holy Spirit’s work.
Part 1: Opening Scripture Reflection
Read the following passages slowly. Underline or write down one phrase that connects to ministry coaching questions.
Proverbs 20:5, WEB
“Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
James 1:19, WEB
“So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”
Mark 10:51, WEB
“Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘Rabboni, that I may see again.’”
Matthew 16:15, WEB
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’”
John 5:6, WEB
“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’”
Reflection Questions
What do these passages teach you about the power of a well-timed question?
How did Jesus use questions to invite ownership rather than force answers?
What does Proverbs 20:5 teach about drawing out what is deep in a person’s heart?
Why must a Life Coach Minister be “slow to speak” when asking questions?
Part 2: Personal Reflection — My Question-Asking Habits
Answer honestly.
When someone shares a struggle with me, my first instinct is usually to:
___ Give advice
___ Share my own story
___ Ask a question
___ Quote Scripture quickly
___ Pray immediately
___ Stay silent and listen
___ Try to fix the problemWhat makes it hard for me to ask good questions?
Do I ever ask questions because I am uncomfortable with silence?
Do I ever ask questions to lead someone toward my preferred answer?
What kind of question has helped me personally during a difficult season?
What kind of question has made me feel judged, cornered, or misunderstood?
Part 3: Understanding Powerful Ministry Coaching Questions
A powerful ministry coaching question is not asked to impress, control, interrogate, or satisfy curiosity. It is asked to serve the person’s soul before God.
A Powerful Question Is:
Open-ended
It invites reflection, not just a yes or no answer.
Respectful
It honors the person’s agency and dignity.
Spirit-aware
It leaves room for God’s work beneath the surface.
Client-centered
It serves the person’s story, not the coach’s agenda.
Invitation-based
It opens a door without forcing the person to walk through it.
Reflection
Which of these five qualities comes most naturally to you?
Which one do you need to practice most?
Why is it dangerous for a Life Coach Minister to use questions as a hidden way of giving advice?
Part 4: Turning Weak Questions into Strong Questions
Rewrite each question so it becomes more open, respectful, and spiritually helpful.
1. Weak Question
“Are you praying about this?”
Better Question:
2. Weak Question
“Don’t you think you should forgive them?”
Better Question:
3. Weak Question
“Why would you do something like that?”
Better Question:
4. Weak Question
“Have you tried reading your Bible more?”
Better Question:
5. Weak Question
“Isn’t it obvious God wants you to move on?”
Better Question:
6. Weak Question
“Are you just afraid?”
Better Question:
7. Weak Question
“Why don’t you just talk to your father?”
Better Question:
Part 5: Practice Categories of Soul-Opening Questions
Write two questions for each category.
Reflective Questions
These help a person pause and notice what is happening inside.
Example: “What is stirring in your heart as you talk about this?”
Clarifying Questions
These help the person explain what they mean more fully.
Example: “When you say you feel stuck, what does stuck feel like in your daily life?”
Story Questions
These help the person explore where a belief, fear, wound, or pattern began.
Example: “When did you first start believing that about yourself?”
Spiritual Discernment Questions
These help the person notice God’s presence, invitation, conviction, or comfort.
Example: “Where do you sense God in this right now?”
Future-Oriented Questions
These help the person imagine healing, obedience, courage, or faithful action.
Example: “What would healing look like in this area of your life?”
Action Questions
These help the person identify a realistic next step.
Example: “What is one small faithful step you could take this week?”
Part 6: Case Study Reflection — “I Just Feel Stuck”
Review the case study about Evan and Sofia.
Evan first said, “I just feel stuck.” What deeper issue eventually surfaced?
Why would immediate advice about career, dating, or education have missed the deeper issue?
What question helped Evan connect his present stuckness to his past shame?
What did Sofia do well when Evan became emotional?
How did Sofia use Scripture without forcing it?
What was Evan’s faithful next step?
What boundary did Sofia respect by not pressuring Evan to call his father immediately?
What question would you ask Evan in the next meeting?
Part 7: Ministry Sciences Reflection
Ministry Sciences helps the Life Coach Minister see the whole person before God. A person’s struggle may include spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, vocational, practical, and calling-related concerns.
Using Evan’s story, identify what may be happening in each area.
Spiritual Concerns
What was Evan believing about God, grace, repentance, or condemnation?
Emotional Concerns
What emotions were beneath his words?
Relational Concerns
How did his relationship with his parents affect his stuckness?
Practical Concerns
What real-life decisions or responsibilities did Evan need to face?
Identity Concerns
What false story had Evan begun to believe about himself?
Calling or Purpose Concerns
How might shame have affected Evan’s ability to discern his future?
Part 8: Truth, Grace, and Action
Use the Truth, Grace, and Action model to think through a ministry coaching conversation.
Truth
What truth may need to be gently named?
What question could help the person name that truth?
Grace
What grace may need to be received?
What question could help the person receive that grace?
Action
What faithful next step may need to be encouraged?
What question could help the person choose that step?
Part 9: Questions to Avoid
In ministry coaching, some questions can shut people down, create shame, or pressure them toward the coach’s agenda.
Avoid Leading Questions
Example: “Don’t you think it is time to let that go?”
Why this can be harmful:
Better question:
Avoid Loaded Questions
Example: “Why would God let this happen to you?”
Why this can be harmful:
Better question:
Avoid Judgmental Questions
Example: “How could you believe that?”
Why this can be harmful:
Better question:
Avoid Overusing Yes/No Questions
Example: “Are you reading your Bible?”
Why this can limit reflection:
Better question:
Part 10: Boundary Discernment
A Life Coach Minister asks powerful questions but does not become the fixer, savior, therapist, controller, or Holy Spirit.
Answer the following:
What should a Life Coach Minister not try to carry for the person?
When might a question become manipulative?
When might silence be better than another question?
When might the coach need to refer the person to a pastor, counselor, crisis resource, mentor, or other support?
How can the coach ask questions while still respecting the person’s freedom and responsibility?
Part 11: Practice Scenario
A young adult says:
“I don’t know what I believe anymore. I still go to church, but honestly, I feel numb. Everyone thinks I am fine because I still serve. But I do not feel close to God. I do not even know if I want to talk about it.”
Write five questions you could ask that are open, gentle, and Spirit-aware.
Now choose your best question and explain why you would ask it.
Best question:
Why this question may help:
Part 12: My Personal Question Bank
Write ten ministry coaching questions you want to practice.
Place a star beside the three questions you think would be most helpful in your ministry context.
Part 13: My Next Faithful Step
This week, I will practice asking better questions by:
One person or ministry setting where I can practice respectful curiosity is:
One habit I need to resist is:
One question I want to ask more often is:
Closing Prayer
Father, teach me to listen before I speak. Give me wisdom to ask questions that honor the person, welcome Your presence, and draw out what is deep in the heart. Keep me from controlling, fixing, rushing, or judging. Help me ask with humility, compassion, truth, and grace. May my questions become doorways for faithful next steps before You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.