Certified Coaches

By the grace of God, I have been involved in children’s ministry at different levels for more than 20 years. Children are gifts from God and they are given for purpose. As it is written in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This is not only for adults, it includes children. So, parents are responsible for helping children to fulfill their calling.

I am always telling parents that parenting is not an option. The Connected Families Framework changed my attitude and approach to parent training. We need God’s grace and wisdom to serve and save children for eternal life. We have to encourage and learn from one another for good work.

I am living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where I work in children’s ministry for Wycliffe Ethiopia Bible Translation Association. I am passionate about encouraging and empowering Ethiopian parents wherever they are to raise their children in God’s grace.

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For many years, we pursued help for our sensitive and intense child without success. By the teen years, our family was spiraling out of control. We sent our child to a therapeutic boarding school, but it didn’t produce the promised change in our family. It wasn’t until we found Connected Families and began to change the way we were parenting that we experienced a significant breakthrough. Partnering with a Connected Families coach and learning to utilize the parenting framework brought hope and changed the trajectory of our family. I have a passion for working with parents of young children so that they might avoid the pitfalls we made in our parenting journey. I also have a heart for working with parents of pre-teens and teens so that they know there is always hope for a restored relationship and an opportunity to change the future. The simple and effective teaching of Connected Families helps me recognize what’s really going on in me that drives my reactions to my children, helps me have compassion for what is going on in my children, and provides practical tools to guide them with love and connection that builds wisdom and responsibility. Before Connected Families, I was reading so much about the latest brain research and didn’t really have the skills to apply it to my Christian parenting. When I learned how Connected Families incorporates the latest brain science, therapeutic research, and Biblical truth into a beautiful, grace-filled plan, I knew we were onto something amazing. Learning to parent through the framework has been a journey of spiritual formation for me. I have learned to see how God parents me with patience, kindness, and long-suffering and always for my good. I am convinced that the hard work of applying the Connected Families framework is a journey that draws me closer to Jesus and is forming me into His image. Read more…

I knew I wanted a shift in my parenting, but I didn’t know what else to do. I read the books, did classes, etc. and yet figuring it out with my family makeup felt elusive, that is until we began receiving coaching. I came into coaching (on the receiving end) ready to start at the top of the framework, and it has been such a beautiful journey to recognize how much more impactful, helpful, and wise it is when I start with the foundation. Parent coaching gave skin to the framework and walked us through our need for grace so that we could pass that on to our boys. As a mama of 4 boys, my husband and I have a busy household, yet when things go sideways (yes they still do!) I’m not at a loss. I know the questions to ask myself and strategies to use to get us through situations, and when I mess up, there’s grace to meet me and a second chance. The shift from behavior modification to heart transformation and building wisdom was both a challenge and a welcome relief. Jesus is still showing me toxic beliefs and grace-filled truths with which to combat them. I wouldn’t trade this journey, and I’d be delighted to join you and your family on your own journey of hope. I consider it an honor to walk alongside parents on their path with all its ups and downs. I am driven by the grace I have received in my own parenting and look forward to pointing others to that grace that can transform how they view everyday challenges in their own homes. We can connect virtually or in person. As a Connected Families Certified Parent Coach, I bring 13 years of parenting experience to coaching, and also a degree in early childhood and elementary education. I have experience homeschooling and have a passion for helping families dig into spiritual formation (kid-friendly!). Read more…

The Connected Families framework combines all the things that I value–God’s word, brain research, heart transformation, and practical application–and explains it in a way that makes sense. Walking other moms through this framework, and helping them experience God’s grace and truth in their parenting is such a gift. Through parent coaching, you will discover a way of thinking, of being, that informs your parenting and changes the culture of your home. This might be hard, but it is worth it! I look forward to cheering you on along the way! As far as my own journey goes, big meltdowns, hitting, throwing things, and sensory challenges, were some of the reasons I decided to Google “Christian parent coaching.” And there in the search was Connected Families. As I read and listened and learned about the framework and its application, I felt seen. All the unique aspects of my family were acknowledged, and I felt hope that I could do this parenting thing well after all. I am a work in progress still, as we all will be for our whole lives, but every day I see evidence of God at work in me and my children. I rejoice in those victories! I am an adoptive mom of 3 kiddos, a former social worker and foster parent, and the host of the podcast Moms Take Ten. Read more…

As a mother to 5 kids (ages 17 to 7), I understand the unique challenges and joy parents face, especially parenting children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, gifted, dyslexia, developmental delays, mental health challenges and adoption trauma. Before finding Connected Families I searched everywhere for resources and read book after book about methods that were short lived. That is where I hit the wall of desperation and sought parent coaching through Connected Families. I ultimately became a coach through their training program to help others like me. I have seen transformation in our home through working with a framework that not only has changed our children’s behavior, but transformed our hearts as well. You are not alone on this parenting journey. There is hope and you can enjoy your children, building lasting relationships with your children and deep connection that lasts a lifetime. And I’m here to help. Read more…

Experience personalized coaching through Built on Rock! We, Jarrett and Luisa, Certified Parent Coaches, listen to your struggles, provide tailored guidance, and train you in the powerful Connected Families framework to help you overcome the unique challenges you are facing. Whether you need help with discipline, connection, correction, or instilling faith, we are here to empower you in your parenting journey. Enroll today and equip yourself with the confidence and skills needed to parent your children in God’s grace and wisdom. We help parents navigate challenges with hope, understanding, and grace. We can help you rediscover the delight and deep joy of connecting with your children, even in the midst of complex situations. Our family is a mix of languages and cultures, child loss, adoption, and birth. Our parenting journey includes trauma and sensory needs, grief, and redemption. If any of these are part of your own story, we understand the complexity of emotions that you experience and the deep desire that you have to be the best parent you can be. We know by experience how hard parenting can be and how lonely it can get when it seems like no one else faces the same challenges you are dealing with. Maybe you have read many books, listened to many podcasts, and tried all the tricks you can possibly think of just to find yourself exhausted and without hope. You really want to enjoy your children but it seems like all you do is correct their misbehaviors and nothing is getting better. We are here to share the good news and cheer you on! It would be an honor to walk alongside you on your unique parenting journey! Read more…

Having benefited so much from Connected Families courses and materials myself, I’m excited to support other parents in ministry who are also seeking to build healthy connections with their children, and to guide them, with love and grace, towards wisdom and responsibility. I’m originally from the UK, where I trained as a primary school teacher. For most of my adult life, though, I’ve been supporting missionaries and their children in the South Pacific. My roles have included teacher, school leader, and missionary care worker. In addition to completing Connected Families courses, I’ve received training in coaching, missionary care, conflict resolution, debriefing, and trauma-informed classrooms. By marrying Andrew (an American who grew up in Peru) and becoming a parent to our three children, I’ve gained experience in cross-cultural marriage and raising Third Culture Kids! Read more…

Family is God’s design, and we are made to thrive! I am deeply passionate about parenting, and pursuing a healthy, thriving family. We have 3 very different children, and have learned (and grown) the most in parenting our oldest son, who is very sensitive and intense. It’s an honor and privilege to support parents in their parenting journey, as they aspire to learn and grow to become the best parents, and living examples, for their children. I’ve accumulated mass amounts of content and knowledge from countless parenting resources. Connected Families, and their parenting framework I teach, is by far the best I’ve ever come across for building trust and relationships with our children, while raising them up to be who God has made them to be. Read more…

Working with the Connected Families framework has become an important part of my everyday life. The need for change in our ways of thinking and acting is a task that our circumstances often push us toward. As a mother of three, I have needed truthful and grace-filled insight into my own parenting and my ways of responding to the changing needs and situations in my children’s lives — without forgetting myself in the process. Taking time for parent coaching with this concept is life-changing and empowering. I offer parent coaching and courses for small groups in Finnish. Minulle työskentely Connected Families -ydinmallin kanssa on tullut tärkeäksi osaksi arkeani. Ajattelu- ja toimintatapojen muutos on työ, johon huutavat tarpeet yleensä ajavat ja kutsuvat meitä. Kolmen lapsen äitinä olen tarvinnut totuudellista ja armollista valaistusta omaan vanhemmuuteeni ja tapoihini vastata muuttuviin tarpeisiin ja tilanteisiin lasteni elämässä – unohtamatta itseäni listalta. Ajan ottaminen vanhemmuuden valmennukseen tämän konseptin parissa on elämää muuttavaa ja voimaannuttavaa. Tarjoan vanhemmuuden valmennusta ja pienryhmien ohjausta suomeksi. Read more…

My name is Heather Benjamin. I have a passion for the way Connected Families has combined brain science, and early childhood development with a biblical foundation creating a unique parenting framework. I am a mom to six kiddos – with one special angel awaiting me in Heaven. After losing my precious son Matthew at just 11 months old in 2022 due to complications with Dandy-Walker Syndrome & simultaneously going through a divorce, I was shattered. Dealing with my own grief and heartache was one thing, but trying to help my children figure out their own was another. My other son Alex, was struggling tremendously. He struggled with intense anger. My other kiddos struggled with ADHD, high energy, and anxiety. I was desperate and needed help. Connected families turned my life around. The tools and resources gave me the ability to help each one of my children in a unique way. Almost three years later I have now become a coach myself and my husband Kevin and I are implementing the framework daily. It’s not perfect nor will it ever be, however, I have learned to have grace with myself and with them and we are in a better place because of it. Our other five kiddos range from the age of one and a half all the way to eleven. I have experience with trauma, grief, anger, ADHD, divorce, sensitive and intense kids, special needs, and more. Through this coaching journey, I have also learned that I am sensitive and intense myself. I feel that God has used this in a way to allow me to be able to speak to parents who also struggle with things such as perfectionism, OCD, over-stimulation, stress-cycles, fight/flight, and more. I chose Connected Families because I knew, deep in my spirit, that there was a better way. A healthier and more biblical way to parent. I wanted to break toxic generational patterns, and ineffective discipline and see the transformation to being a healthy family. It would be my privilege to support and guide you through your own unique transforming journey. Read more…

If you’ve landed on this page, your experience of parenthood is probably not going like you thought it would. Maybe you’re discouraged, exhausted, and unsure if you’re doing it “right”? You’re not alone. And you’re not failing. So often we turn to parenting techniques rooted in control and punishment… but parenting was never meant to be an experience of fear. Not for us, and not for our kids. God’s promise for us is power, love, and a sound mind. For years, I wrestled with the same struggles. As a mom of five energetic sons, I often found myself overwhelmed and dysregulated, desperate to manage the chaos and do right by my kids. But in that struggle, God began a transformation. I started to see a different picture of parenting—one that reflects the heart of Jesus. His way of leading wasn’t about control or perfection; it was about influence born from love, that leads to wisdom and lasting change. That journey led me to become a Certified Parent Coach with Connected Families, where I now walk alongside parents who are ready to move from frustration to fruitfulness. Ultimately, my goal is that parents are daily experiencing what it means to walk in the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control that is our inheritance through Christ. I spend most days with kids, and have experience on staff in a ministry setting, as well as running a homeschool cooperative and directing a children’s theater group. I’ve seen one truth again and again: children thrive when they feel connected, understood, and deeply loved. If you’re ready to start building a home where all inside experience the depth of your love for them, while you embrace the depth of God’s love for you, then LET’S GO. You CAN raise wise, confident, connected kids… and ENJOY doing it! Reach out to me at [email protected] if you’re ready to take the next step. I would consider it an honor to walk with you. Read more…

We help parents have peace and a plan for living the intentional life they deeply desire with their kids. We knew we wanted to disciple our kids to know and love Jesus, but the daily chaos of homeschooling four kids and running a business, along with sensitive and intense temperaments among us all, left us feeling reactive, angry, controlling, and disconnected from our kids. Connected Families parent coaching brought the peace and plan we needed to be the kind of parents we wanted to be – ones who do not find our identity in perfect parenting but who receive God’s grace and truth for ourselves and then pass that on to our children. As Connected Families certified coaches since 2021, we help parents become more confident in who they are in Christ, and from this foundation, begin to enjoy close, connected relationships while discipling their children to grow in wisdom. We are the hosts of the Building Wise Families Podcast, and our heart for parents as they disciple their kids comes from Proverbs 24:3-4: “By wisdom, a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” It would be an honor to walk alongside you in parent coaching as you grow in knowing you are treasured by God and equipped to build your family with wisdom. Corrie is a homeschool mom of 4 with a Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. Alan works from home and started his own architecture firm in 2015 after coming back to the States from overseas. We also have the privilege of training new Connected Families Certified Parent Coaches and seeing discipleship happen all over the world. To reach us, please email. It would be a joy to connect! Read more…