Relational Wisdom®, in essence, is the desire and ability to obey Jesus’ command, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart … and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-39). RW combines the gospel, the wisdom-principles of Scripture and our God-given capacity for emotional intelligence into a discipleship paradigm for developing skills that strengthen relationships and prevent conflict (dig deeper here).

Relational Peacemaking is a practical theology for resolving conflict and reconciling people. This training is based on Ken Sande’s book, The Peacemaker, which has sold over 500,000 copies in 20 languages and is organized under four key principles (the “4 G’s”): Glorify God, Get the Log Out of Your Own Eye, Gently Restore and Go and Be Reconciled (dig deeper here).

RW Shepherding involves the application of RW, peacemaking, coaching and  conciliation skills by church or ministry leaders. This training is especially relevant to pastors but is also useful for elders, deacons and anyone else in Christian leadership.

Conflict Coaching assists others to resolve existing conflicts personally and privately by applying the principles of relational wisdom and peacemaking.

RW Life Coaching is a special form of “life coaching” that focuses on assisting other individuals to improve their relational skills in order to build stronger, deeper and more resilient relationships and to “get upstream of future conflict.”

Christian Conciliation is a process for resolving disputes between Christians in a biblically faithful manner. This process may involve conflict coaching (advising individuals how to resolve a dispute personally and privately), mediation (meeting with both parties to improve understanding and facilitate a voluntary agreement) or arbitration (a trusted individual resolves a conflict by rendering a binding decision). These processes are described in detail in Guiding People Through Conflict.

Scripture teaches that God calls churches to provide practical guidance and assistance to help their members build relationships that reveal the transforming power of the gospel (John 13:34-35). The first step in this process is to instruct members how to live out biblical principles that enable them to build strong relationships, prevent conflicts and be peacemakers when conflicts arise (see, e.g., Matt. 5:9; 1 Tim. 4:11-13; Titus 2:1-10).

When conflicts do arise, churches can promote reconciliation by providing members with coaching, mediation and arbitration services. These processes are commended throughout Scripture. Moses avoided burnout by training respected men to assist him in settling disputes (Ex. 18:13-27; Deut. 1:9-18). Jesus instructed his followers to seek mediation assistance from the church when they cannot resolve conflicts in private (Matt. 18:16). Paul urged church leaders to mediate between two estranged women in Philippi (Phil. 4:2-3) and instructed the Christians in Corinth to turn to the church to arbitrate disputes, even if they involved legal issues (1 Cor. 6:1-8).

Clearly, God is calling churches to be prepared to equip and assist their members to build peaceful relationships and resolve conflict in a way that honors him. This is exactly what Peace Sower Teams are designed to do.

No. Most teams begin with a single RW Shepherd and two RW Instructors, whose sole focus is on teaching relational wisdom and peacemaking to their congregation and community. A team may stay at this level indefinitely, or it may eventually decide to pursue additonal training or add new members so that it can provide coaching and conciliation services as well as teaching. Expansion is entirely discretionary.

Yes. In addition to leading small group studies and Sunday school classes on relational wisdom and peacemaking in their own church, Instructors can teach PACE seminars in their wider community to promote outreach, evangelism and church growth.

Yes. Although RW360’s training is designed primarily for use in local churches, it is available to ministries, schools, nonprofits and Christian owned businesses that wish to establish their own in-house Peace Sower Teams.   

As illustrated by this letter from a Peacemaking Team in Action, it doesn’t take long for a team to begin producing a harvest of reconciled relationships. This newsletter shows how quickly another church came up to speed and started to serve its congregation.

Peace Sower Teams usually serve under the authority of ordained church leaders to provide teaching, coaching and conciliation services that reduce the number of hours that church leaders need to spend dealing with conflict (see Exod. 18:13-27). A six-person Phase 3 Team will typically volunteer 120-180 hours annually and average 23 training events, 28 coached individuals and 6 mediations per year.

Whenever relational wisdom and peacemaking principles are sown and nurtured through these types of discipleship activities, churches can experience a harvest of reconciliation, peace, evangelism and church growth (James 3:18). For example: 

• RW Instructors can advance the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) by taking RW training into schools, businesses, hospitals, colleges, government agencies and other organizations in their communities, which can introduce hundreds of people to the gospel and enhance church growth (see RW for Outreach and Evangelism and Six Ways to Use the Transformed Pamphlet and PACE Program). 
• Churches are spared from conflicts that might divide their leaders or congregations and damage their community witness (see A Wave of Confessions Saves a Church) 
• Members learn how to apply peacemaking in the workplace and to resolve conflicts and share the gospel with coworkers (see Reconciling Two Stubborn Scientists)
• Members are less likely to leave their church because of unresolved conflict (see Four Amazing Church Discipline Cases). 
• Married couples are enabled to address relational issues before they require extensive pastoral counseling or result in divorce (see How to Resurrect a Dead Relationship and The Best Way to Rewrite History). 
• Pastors are equipped to shepherd members through difficult conflicts (see Daddy Is That You? and Turning Assault into Reconciliation). 
• Pastors are spared from long hours of counseling, which frees them to devote more time to their preaching ministry and to their own families, which reduces the likelihood of burnout (see Guiding People through Conflict, pp. 62-63).

The greatest blessing of being an instructor is the joy of being used by God to bring about a harvest of peace, reconciliation and salvation in the lives of others, as described above. As instructors apply the principles of relational wisdom and peacemaking in their own families and jobs, they can also experience stronger marriages and better parenting, as well as improved job performance and career advancement

It costs approximately $1,450 to train and register a Phase 1 Peace Sower Team with one RW Shepherd and two RW Instructors. It costs between $1,100 and $1,200 to move to each of the higher phases of ministry (see detailed costs below).

Absolutely. Although Peace Sower Teams focus on personal ministry impact, they can also save their churches thousands of dollars every year. For Example:

• As church members learn how to deal with relational tensions more effectively, they are less likely to leave their church because of conflict. Their continued fellowship not only preserves peace in the body but also maintains their financial support for the church, which averages $2,224 per year for a typical family in America (see Church Giving Statistics).
• As church members learn how to model biblical relational skills and become more comfortable sharing the gospel with friends and coworkers, they may draw new people into their church, where they may put their trust in Christ, grow in godliness, and become new financial supporters of the church and its ministries.
• The members of a Peace Sower Team typically provide between 120 and 180 hours of volunteer ministry each year. If this service was instead provided by a paid pastor, the financial value of that many hours of work would be between $5,500 and $8,500 per year (see Pastor Salaries in U.S.).
• By relieving pastors from many hours of stressful counseling or conflict resolution, Peace Sower Teams can reduce the likelihood that pastors will burn out or leave a church because of conflict. Preserving pastors in ministry not only spares their churches the trauma of losing a beloved shepherd but also guards the church from the financial costs of searching for, interviewing, and relocating a new pastor, which can easily exceed $83,000 (see Strike the Shepherd).

Begin by sharing this information with the leadership team in your church to get their approval, support and guidance. If they encourage you to explore this concept, you could teach one or more Sunday school classes or small group studies on relational wisdom and peacemaking to identify three or more respected church members who resonate with these concepts, have teaching abilities and are enthused about forming a team. If your leaders approve, these people could then start through RW Shepherd and RW Instructor training and eventually register as your initial Peace Sower Team.

Certainly! Most of the information you need to establish a team is provided in this document and its linked materials. Even so, our staff is available by email, phone or zoom to answer your questions and help you find creative ways to build a team that fits your church’s theology, culture and vision for ministry. You can engage a Senior Ministry Consultant right now by completing this Initial Inquiry for Information form.