Thank you for your interest in pursuing a credential with the International Christian Coaching Institute (ICCI). Please complete all requested information in all sections or mark "N/A" if not applicable. You may save your work and resume the process at a later time, but please note that uploads will not be saved.

ICCI will not disclose the confidential information given in this application to a third party without your express, written consent. Please allow 1-3 weeks for processing.

Demographics

This information will update your profile information.

Education/Training in Christian Life Coaching

• I Agree

Mentor Coaching
Leadership Coaching
Health and Wellness Coaching
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
Safetalk - 3 hour suicide intervention training
Moral Injury Coaching
Ethics and Core Values
Foundation and Courage
Powerful Questions
Coaching Fundamentals
Lifelong Learning
Situational Leadership
Behavioral Coaching
Self-Limiting Behavior
Coaching with Vision
Group Coaching
Unconscious Bias

• Regent-University-Transcript.pdf
• Southeastern-Baptist-Seminary-Transcript.pdf
• UMO-Transcript-2025.pdf
• ICF-ACC-Certificate.pdf
• Copy-of-Richard-Holmes-Coach-Training-Coaching-Hours-Part-2.xlsx
• Copy-of-Richard-Holmes-Coach-Training-Coaching-Hours-Part-2-1.xlsx
• ACTP-Certficate_Holmes.pdf
• 2RL-Expert-Coach-125-Credly.pdf
• Richard-Holmes-Resume-Jan-6-2024.pdf

Mentoring in Christian Life Coaching

• I Agree

Field Experience in Christian Life Coaching

• I Agree

I am an Air Force Chaplain who was trained to be a life coach in July of 2023. I have coached several members on Christian Life values in various areas of their life to include, faith, marriage, family, fitness, and suicide intervention.

I served at Broadmoor Baptist Church's Counseling Center as a Life Coach from November 2022 - June 2024

Other Professional Credentialing or Certification

• Moral-Injury-2.0-Certfication.pdf
• Certification-Health-and-Wellness-Coaching-2.0-Richard-Holmes.pdf
• ICF-ACC-Certificate1.pdf
• ACTP-Certficate_Holmes1.pdf
• 2RL-Expert-Coach-125-Credly1.pdf

Spiritual Orientation and Practice

Please define/describe your thoughts and beliefs on the following questions.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I start my day by spending time in prayer and devotion, and I pray to him throughout the day. Finally, when I close my eyes at night, He is the one I thank for my day. Jesus is Lord over all that I am and have.

A person becomes a Christian first by admitting he or she is a sinner. Romans 3:23. They also recognize they cannot save themselves.

The person must then believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They must believe that he was born to a virgin and that he lived as a human being, teaching, preaching, and performing miracles. We must believe that he was crucified on the cross, bled and died, was buried in a tomb, and arose from the grave three days later to overcome death. The Bible says, "Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Jesus." John 14:6

I believe that the Bible is the infallible and inspired Word of God. It is without error and is trustworthy for all believers. The Bible can guide me not just to "be a hearer of the word but a doer." It shows me how to walk in faith. The Bible is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The word can inspire me, convict me, and challenge me all at the same time. The Bible is God's love letter to the world.

I believe the Holy Spirit is God with me. He guides me in God's ways, comforts me when I am hurting, and provides me with peace that I often do not understand. He also guides me to the right questions when I work with clients, helps me resist temptations, and helps me know God's will. I am thankful for His presence.

I came to know Christ when I was nine years old. I was attending Peletier Missionary Baptist Church when Pastor King preached a message that helped me to see how I needed to trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I walked down the aisle and shared my desire to be a Christian. A few weeks later, I was Baptized in the White Oak River in North Carolina. As a boy, I would go to church, Sunday school, and vacation Bible school with my mom for the next several years. When I was 16, I got a job that allowed me to be pulled away from church on Sunday. However, I had a friend in high school named Ronnie who kept asking me to go to church with him. Unfortunately, it took him dying in a tragic boating accident to help me see he was right. It was at this moment I started going back to church. During my senior year in high school, I met a girl who was highly involved in church when I visited a Christian College. She helped get me back into the church where I belonged. I applied and was accepted to the University of Mount Olive (Mount Olive College at the time). I grew spiritually while attending this Christian College and church, reading the Word and praying more. As I got involved in more things of the faith, I began to feel a strong sense of working in Christian ministry. However, I did not have the support of this girlfriend, so I did not pursue it. We broke up during our sophomore year in college, and I started discovering my faith more. The summer after my sophomore year in college, I worked at a Christian summer camp, loving every minute of sharing Christ with teenagers. One night/morning, I kept a poor minister until 4:00 am, telling him how I felt called to the ministry and why I should not be one. The Holy Spirit gave him answers to all my reasons and questions. The next day, I made it official that I had accepted my call to the ministry. I returned home and shared this calling with the girl I was dating (my wife of 33 years). I asked her how she felt about dating a minister, and she said she was happy.
For the next three years, I would prepare for ministry by preaching at churches, attending school, and preparing for my ordination exam. On February 16, 1992, I was ordained as a minister and began to serve my first church as a Pastor. I would serve Sidney Free Will Baptist Church for two years before God led me to another church. I began serving Milbournie Free Will Baptist Church in Wilson, NC, in 1994. While serving this church, God led me to start on a Master of Divinity in Counseling through Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. While attending seminary, God reminded me of my love for counseling and family ministry. In all my counseling classes, I felt the passion get stronger and stronger, and I felt the Lord may be leading me into a counseling ministry.
However, when returning home from class one day, I opened my mailbox to find a flier from the Navy about chaplaincy. In this flier were the words, "When you are a Navy Chaplain, you do not serve a local congregation. You serve people of all races, ages, and denominations. This truly spoke to my heart, so I began to explore my calling, and it seemed God just started throwing open so many doors that seemed impossible. In 2001, I joined the Air Force Chaplain Corps as a chaplain candidate. In 2002, I became a reserve Chaplain, and in 2003, God opened the door for me to enter active duty. In the chaplain corps, I fulfilled what I felt was my calling of counseling, teaching, holding marriage and family seminars, and training young people in their faith. I am still living this almost 24 years later. However, in 2021, I was selected as one of 70 candidates to be trained to become a Department of Defense/Air Force Executive Coach. As soon as I started coaching folks, I felt the Holy Spirit showing me that this can help people overcome their victim mentality and see how they can be victorious through Jesus. In November of 2022, God opened the door for me to have the opportunity to work at Broadmoor Baptist Church's counseling center as a coach. After each meeting, I would walk out, thanking God for showing me what he wanted me to do when I retired from the Air Force Chaplain Corps. He also laid on my heart to start a part-time coaching business I am still working on. So many things are happening right now to show me how God is leading me to this calling. That is part of my journey, and I look forward to seeing how God will direct the rest of my journey.
Most importantly, along this journey, God gave me my wife, Katina, who has been with me for almost 33 years. He blessed us with Dustin, whom we adopted when he was ten. Years later, after many struggles with infertility, God blessed us with Chloe Faith, who is now 18 years old. My walk consists of morning devotions and prayer, prayers throughout my day, and seeking his wisdom in everything I do. Since we are part of a military chapel, we give to the chapel and various other ministries we know are making an impact locally, worldwide, and in the lives of families. We are also currently seeking God's guidance on when to retire and what doors he will open for me to serve him as a coach, instructor, or both. Our lives are His; we have surrendered all.

Currently, I coach various airmen who come in for counseling but are looking for direction in their lives. Thus, I ask them thought-provoking questions like, "Tell me where you are in your faith. " From that question, I can determine where we go from there. I want the clients to explore how faith can help them find direction in their lives, relationships, and jobs.

I am trying to find churches that may want me to serve them and their members as a Christian Life Coach. For several years, I have lived by Mathew 5:14-16: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." God working through this Word led me to launch Lighthouse Life and Family Coaching. We want to be a lighthouse that helps people find their way and map their pathway in life, praying that they will know Christ, serve Christ, and make Him known to others.

Before sessions, I will pray for God to use me, guiding me to ask the right questions and listen with my eyes and ears to what my clients may be saying. I will then pray with clients at the beginning and end of sessions. Throughout sessions, we will talk about scriptures that may pertain to their life situations and help them explore how they can be doers of those scriptures. I want them to know the Word can be their guide, their road map. However, I want them to be invested, so I ask thought-provoking questions to help them discover the path God wants them on. Many time during the week I will pray for my clients during prayer time. I love this calling to Coach and desire that God will open doors so that, with His help, we can make a positive impact in at least one person's life each day.

ICCI Applicant Attestation

Note: The following statements require your attestation (affirming each one to be true to the best of your knowledge). Please be sure to respond to each and every section regarding yourself and your Life Coaching practice or ministry.

The foundation to all work and identity as a Christian Life Coach is a living, vibrant, and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The following statements require your attestation (affirming each one to be true to the best of your knowledge). Please be sure to review each and every section that directly pertains to you and your professional life coaching, and/or ministerial work. The information it contains is important and will be referenced in the Application Form. Depending on your responses, additional information may be required in order to process your Application. 

SECTION A: Christian Personal Testimony

SECTION B: Christian Coaching Testimony (Required)

The practice of Christian Life Coaching genuinely incorporates scriptural truths, biblical principles and guidance, and a Christian value system into one’s coaching/ministerial practice, theoretical orientation, and professional life. ICCI is dedicated to credentialing Christian Life Coaches, not simply people and lay helpers who happen to be Christian, but do not incorporate their faith into practice. Please respond to the following items by checking the appropriate box: (Required)

SECTION C: Ethical Integrity (Required)

Each applicant must demonstrate and maintain ethical integrity in all Life Coaching, ministerial, and professionally related activities. Please note that a Yes answer to any of the following questions will not necessarily disqualify you for the credential you are seeking. If the case has been properly remedied and/or disposed of, and you are under no current ethical complaint or investigation, then the application process can proceed. Please respond to the following items by checking the appropriate box:

• I Agree

ICCI Applicant Agreement

CERTIFICATION

Applicants certify all information in the Application Packet is true and complete, and understand they have the burden of producing all information necessary for ICCI to fairly and fully evaluate their qualifications, background, ethics, and Christian character in order to be considered for one of the ICCI credentials. They agree to inform ICCI of any changes in this information. Misstatements or omissions from the Application may be cause for denial of appointment or reappointment of the credential. Applicants further agree that any subsequent adverse information about them and/or their practice may be cause for disciplinary action – including the possibility of having the credential suspended or revoked.

AUTHORIZATION

Applicants authorize and give the ICCI consent to contact and, without restriction, discuss any issues pertaining to their character and qualifications with individuals submitting recommendation forms or providing mentoring services. Consent is given for the release of all information, records, and documents, by whatever means the ICCI chooses to collect this data, and to assist them in the good-faith evaluation of their Application. If a question arises in the future about their character and qualifications to the credential, they agree to assist the ICCI in its efforts to resolve any questions it may have.

INDEMNIFICATION

Applicants release from any and all liability ICCI, Hope Together Network, LLC, Hope for the Heart, JAWS, LLC, and any individual officers, directors, employees, or agents of these organizations for any and all acts done in good faith and without malice or intent to harm in connection with the evaluation of their Application for an ICCI credential.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

If a dispute arises between the applicant and ICCI regarding the application or any future matter, applicants agree to engage in dispute resolution that (1) first attempts direct negotiation; (2) then attempts mediation with a mediator acceptable to both parties; (3) then uses arbitration and binding arbitration to resolve the matter, which mediation/arbitration shall take place in Dallas, Texas.

CREDENTIAL RESOLUTION

Applicants resolve to support the mission and goals of the ICCI and further agree to abide by and fully adhere to the ICCI Doctrinal Statement. They have not hidden, nor omitted any necessary information related to receiving the credential. If they qualify, they will hold their ICCI credential in the highest regard, honor the calling of God in Christian Life Coaching, and maintain both excellence and an ethical stance as a servant-leader in the field. Furthermore, they will strive to avoid all behavior that compromises the name of Christ, the cause of Christian Life Coaching, and the purposes of the ICCI.

Applicants acknowledge they have read, discussed as needed, and fully understand this Agreement. They acknowledge that by signing the formal Application Form, they do hereby agree with all consent and authorization statements that are described herein.

• I Agree

Credential Requirements

Basic Requirements

Continuing Education Requirements

All ICCI credential holders are required to obtain 15 CONTACT HOURS of Continuing Education on an annual basis and these hours must incorporate biblical principles and coaching skills with theory, knowledge, and practice.

Continuing Education is a term that applies to obtaining contact hours across a broad range of post-secondary (beyond high school) learning activities and programs. Some examples include degree credit courses, non-degree career training, self-directed learning, experiential learning, seminars, symposiums, workshops, conference presentations, and classroom lectures. The method and format of delivery may be face-to-face, distance/online learning, printed texts/workbooks, the use of videotaped materials, etc.

ICCI approved Continuing Education and competency activities can occur in the following categories:

Category #1: Continuing Education activities that the credential holder ENGAGES in as a RECIPIENT

NOTE: A minimum of ten (10) contact hours of the required total number of hours must be from Category #1

• Formally organized learning (college/university courses, workshops, seminars, professional or ministerial conferences, presentations, home study, etc.). The delivery of content may be either face-to-face or electronic (e.g., CD, DVD, computer, Web-based, etc.)
• Training experiences at churches or other Christian organizations that resulted in a certificate of completion or other verifiable documentation of participation
• Publications (e.g., journals, magazines, etc.) that have a CE component and a process providing verification of completion
• Coaching supervision and/or consultation that is received and documented

Category #2: Continuing Education activities that the credential holder PROVIDES as a FACILITATOR

• Facilitating, training or presenting at an organized conference/seminar/class that incorporates biblical principles and life coaching skills with theory, knowledge, and practice (the same presentation may only be used once in a renewal period)
• Teaching a post-secondary class that incorporates biblical principles and life coaching skills with theory, knowledge, and practice (the same course may only be used once in a renewal period)
• Producing new training materials and/or curriculum that incorporates biblical principles and coaching skills with theory, knowledge, and practice
• Publishing (a book, book chapter, journal/magazine article, etc.)

Acceptable Forms of Documentation for Continuing Education activities:

• Certificates of Completion
• CE letters or other forms documenting participation
• Official transcripts and/or diplomas
• Reprints of published articles, book chapters, training materials, etc.
• Proof of presentations that were given and/or courses that were taught
• Formal letters from supervisors and/or consultants

• I Agree

References

Processing your application begins when all references are received. Please alert your references to watch for emails from ICCI requesting their reference for your credential approval. White-listing our email address ([email protected]) will ensure emails arrive in inboxes rather than spam/junk folders

Sign and Send

• I Agree

I affirm and attest by my electronic signature below that I have answered all questions in this Application truthfully and have done so to the best of my knowledge and with full disclosure. I further authorize ICCI to verify this information and understand that in the process of verification, these facts might become known to third parties. I expressively waive any claim to confidentiality of the material enclosed in this Application except where otherwise noted.