In the Church, the roles of the mentor and counselor are accepted and understood, looked to for instruction, direction, and advice. Coaching is a less understood function, a fact complicated by the numbers of people calling themselves coaches, whether or not they have received specialized training.
A life coach or leadership coach has been trained (and coached) in a different skill set than a mentor or counselor. The mentor imparts knowledge; the counselor seeks to heal and restore. The underlying premise of coaching is that God has made you the steward of your life, not the coach. Therefore, a coach does not tell you what to do, but works with you to help you discover what course of action to take and why. A Christian coach is interested in helping you understand what work God is accomplishing within you at this season of your life.
“Mentoring is imparting to you what God has given me; coaching is drawing out of you what God has put in you.” ~ Dale Stoll