Hi, my name is Erik Wagter and I am the founder of Expert Family Coach. It is our mission to create a network of highly skilled therapeutic family coaches throughout the churches in the UK, to best support and nurture the families both within their churches and in their local communities.
It is well known that Local Authorities only provide assistance after a certain criteria is met in terms of family crisis, but it can be too late by the time they reach that point. As a social worker, trainer and coach for over 21 years, I have met and worked with many families in this position, and I can safely say that most, if not all of them, could have been saved from irreparable damage.
The church can be an optimal entity by reaching out to their local families and prevent the need for Social Services to intervene. Our aim is to create a team of highly trained Expert Family coaches within churches throughout the UK, and to build a partnership with each church, working closely with them, to support the families in their area.
Expert Family Coach also offers on-site training and workshops for your church staff and your congregation. It is vital that people who work with families, feel confident in knowing how to best support them during challenging times. We can help you, by training your staff and provide them with the knowledge and skill-set, to truly support people and help them to move from where they are now to where they would like to be. This training is ideal for house group leaders, worship pastors, family pastors, pastoral support workers, children’s workers, pastors and people from the leaders’ team.
In 2018, I was invited to train the management team at Christians Against Poverty. Here’s what James Carne from the management team said:
“Aside from the theoretical and practical thing that stood out, Erik’s passion for coaching, helping people and seeing them supported in becoming the best they can be was inspirational”.
