Pastoral Transformation Course
Equip your people to care well in a complex world
A one-year, professionally informed online course that equips pastoral carers to respond to real pastoral situations safely, wisely, and effectively.
Pricing
Pricing
How confident are you that your pastoral carers are equipped to provide safe, effective, and sustainable care?
Most pastoral care systems are built on people who care deeply, but lack sufficient training to respond to the complexity of needs in healthy, appropriate, and informed ways.
The result?
- Increased liability for the church
- Care is ineffective and drains resources unnecessarily
- Carers become overwhelmed, exhausted, and out of their depth
There is a better way.
What is the Pastoral Transformation Course?
Hear from the creator of the course, Richard Black.
The Pastoral Transformation Course will train your people so you have confidence in their ability.
A clear pathway to confident, effective pastoral care
The course equips people to:
The course is practical and provides a structured framework developed through:
Testimonials
Churches we have helped





















What you will learn
Three core areas of training
- How to stay in your lane
- How to listen deeply
- How to ask great questions
- How to navigate different situations
- Understand relational dynamics well
- Integrate faith into pastoral conversations
- What drives behaviour and struggle
- How real change happens
- Grow self-awareness and maturity
- How to support others towards greater wellbeing
- The brain, the mind, the soul, and the spirit
- Beliefs that disrupt Christian thinking
- Grief
- Anxiety
- Suicidality
- Habits and addictions
- Forgiveness
- Rebuilding trust
Outcomes
What changes as a result
People who complete this course consistently report:
- Meet Richard Black
Your Course Teacher
Richard Black is the founder of Thriving Churches HQ. He is an ordained minister, a trained counsellor, and a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors.
He works alongside churches to provide specialised support for pastoral care. He holds a Master’s in Counselling, completing his research on “Emotional health in the role of a church leader”. His Honours dissertation explored key factors that enhance the wellbeing and effectiveness of pastors.
Through counselling, training, and public speaking, he helps people strengthen their thinking, be proactive in relationships, and succeed in life. Having been involved in pastoral ministry for many years, he understands the everyday struggles people face and the demands placed on church leaders.
Richard has the ability to communicate complex issues in a way that is practical and easy to understand. He has authored three books:
• The Thriving Pastor: Realigning ministry so leaders excel and churches flourish
• Centred: Knowing who you are in an off-balanced world
• There’s a Happy Moon in My Side (children’s book)
- FAQ
Questions Answered
The course can be paid monthly across 10 months with 10% administration.
Anyone who wants to grow their ability to work with others, as well as their own mental and emotional wellbeing. Ideal for:
- pastoral carers
- pastors
- ministry leaders
- chaplains
- coaches
This is a one-year, self-guided course with tutorial support. Move at your own pace and engage in the exercises as best suits your needs.
Online course includes:
- 1–2 hours of teaching per week (recommended)
- guided practice exercises
- learning spread across the year
- immediate application in real conversations
Additional time needs to be allowed for after each block course. Depending on the pathway you choose it will involve approximately:
- Personal Development: 30 minutes/week
- Advanced Pastoral Care: 2 hours/week
- Personal Wellbeing Coach: 3 hours/week
NB: You will be required to find a counsellor and supervisor, and have a session with each after each block course. The Mind Health team is available for this
Online Course
$1400 + GST (12 months access)
Instalment option available across 10 months (10% administration fee applies).
NB: This excludes any counselling or supervision sessions required.
Yes. This course can also be delivered in-person when there is sufficient interest.
- typically run in three one-week blocks across the year
- requires approximately 15 participants
- if you have 8–10 people, we can help open it to others
Get in touch to discuss hosting