MINISTERING TO THE MINISTRY LEADER
Invest Leadership COACHING
Duke works with high impact ministry leaders and their teams helping them succeed in the areas of personal growth, leadership development, and organizational advancement.
Ministers Mastermind
A place for highly motivated pastors to expand their leadership capacity, share ideas, and build relationships, while being challenged and encouraged.
GrowthYOUniversity
A growth community for the motivated leader who loves ministry, leadership, personal and profession development, and wants to grow.
OUR PURPOSE
Ministry is challenging. Ministry leaders face a multitude of personal and leadership demands while spending their time serving others. Many times, that can leave the leader feeling isolated, discouraged, and burnt out. Our goal is to cultivate a safe space where leaders can be recharged and encouraged, while gaining practical tools facilitating wholeness and success.
Our purpose is to minister to the ministry leader. We accomplish this through coaching, training, connecting, and community.
coaching
Coaching has the ability to focus your desire to grow as a leader and as a person into goals and actionable steps. Coaching is for leaders, ministers, business owners or anyone else wanting to wanting to accelerate growth.
training
Our training is specifically designed for pastoral teams or teams of lay leaders. We take a fun and practical approach to equipping teams to communicate better, work smarter and serve well.
community
Growth happens in community. We have community groups like Ministers Mastermind and GrowthYOUniversity designed specifically for leaders to connect, share ideas, and encourage one another in a safe space.
Here’s our why…
In his book Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul, Lance Witt lays out some difficult statistics regarding pastors today.
According to studies by The Barna Group, Focus on the Family, Fuller Seminary, and the Institute of Church Leadership Development:
- 1,500 pastors leave the ministry permanently each month in America
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80% of pastors feel discouraged in their roles
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70% of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant or mentor
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Over 50% of pastors are so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could but have no other way of making a living
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Over 50% of pastor’s wives feel that their husband entering ministry was the most destructive thing to ever happen to their families
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71% of pastors stated they were burned out, and they battle depression beyond fatigue on a weekly and even a daily basis
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One out of every ten ministers will actually retire as a minister
“70% of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant or mentor.”
MINISTERS DON’T HAVE TO WALK ALONE.
Statistics like those above are exactly what motivated Duke to start this ministry.
“I have been there before. It is far too easy to allow yourself to become isolated as a ministry leader. Loneliness has a way of creeping in and causing destruction in our lives. Through a coaching relationship and joining a community of like-minded leaders, you are able to combat isolation in a healthy way – all while pursuing growth, success, and achieving your goals.”
– Duke Matlock, Founder, Invest Leadership Initiative
Duke has been there and so has our team of successful ministry coaches and mentors!
meet the team
DUKE MATLOCK, FOUNDER & COACH
Duke has been a pastor and coach for over 30 years. Today, he works full time as a coach, speaker, and writer. He is the Founder of Invest Leadership Initiative where he helps high impact leaders and their teams facing personal and organizational challenges develop and grow by investing in themselves, assuring the realization of success and life fulfillment.
Rod Whitlock
Coach
Rod Whitlock and his wife, Kim, have been married for 40 years and have four children and eight grandchildren. Rod is a Creative Leadership Coach, Certified DiSC Practitioner, and Certified Marriage Enrichment Facilitator. He has a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership and is a professionally trained leadership coach. His ministry experiences include serving as Vice President of Development in one of our AG Bible Colleges, Senior Director at Convoy of Hope, AG National Student Discipleship Director, District Youth/Christian Education Director, and pastoral ministries. He was a lead team writer for the Bible Engagement Project, has authored four books, and designed multiple discipleship resources for the local church.
Julia Parrish
Coach
Julia is an experienced ministry leader with many years dedicated to serving in various roles, including Children’s Pastor. As a military spouse for nearly two decades and a devoted mother, she understands the challenges and rewards of balancing family and service. Passionate about leadership development, she encourages fellow leaders to grow through peer connections and stepping outside of their comfort zones.
Aaron Bell
Coach
Aaron is a ministry leader based in the St. Louis area who has spent years building healthy teams, developing leaders, and creating systems that help churches move from surviving to thriving. He has served in kids ministry leadership, led as a Senior Department Head overseeing first-time guest experience and volunteer development, and most recently transitioned into an Executive Pastor role. His background also includes business ownership, giving him a practical, organizational lens that he brings into every coaching conversation. Aaron is passionate about the local church and the leaders who give their lives to it, particularly those doing the daily work of building teams and leading up without always having the authority to match.
McKenzie Matlock
Creative & Technology
Danielle Reyes
Client Relations
Julia Parrish
Client Relations
Contact us
Email:
duke@dukematlock.com
danielle@dukematlock.com