LILR 141 | Joel Thomas on Next Level Leadership

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Sep 9, 2025

Joel Thomas, lead pastor at Buckhead Church and director at North Point Ministries, shares his transformative journey in leadership. He emphasizes the importance of investing in young leaders and the nuances between turnaround and realignment strategies. Joel opens up about his experiences at Mission Community Church, tackling challenges that tested his leadership skills. He also discusses preparing for succession in large organizations, highlighting how self-awareness and effective team building play crucial roles in a leader's success.

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ANECDOTE

How Joel Entered Ministry

Joel Thomas stumbled into ministry by serving temporarily in student ministry and then interning at North Point.
He declined an early job to get education and became North Point's first intern, launching his ministry career.

INSIGHT

One‑At‑A‑Time Leadership Development

Leaders are developed one person at a time through life-on-life investment and attention.
Growth happens by placing people with strong leaders and giving them opportunities before they're ready.

ANECDOTE

A Supernatural Call To Arizona

Joel and his wife sensed a supernatural call to lead Mission Community Church despite strong personal reasons not to move.
Small confirmations in worship and repeated prompting convinced them to obey and relocate.

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In this episode of Leaders in Living Rooms, Sean Morgan sits down with Joel Thomas, Lead Pastor at Buckhead Church and senior leader at North Point Ministries. Joel shares his unique journey into ministry, lessons from his time at North Point and Mission Community Church, and the leadership insights he’s gained along the way. From the power of investing in young leaders, to discerning between turnaround and realignment, to navigating succession in a large church context, Joel offers wisdom for leaders at every stage.

Welcome to Episode 141 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan.

EPISODE LINKS

sean@theascentleader.org

theascentleader.org

If you’re a leader approaching a succession or transition, or maybe you’re a few years in and beginning to see how complex transitions leadership is… go to The Art of Pastoral Succession and check out my course in partnership with Carey Nieuwhof.

Are you in Transition or have one on the horizon? Check out our cohorts and get connected with us at: https://theascentleader.org/cohorts/

WHO IS JOEL THOMAS?

Joel Thomas is the director of NPM, providing point leadership for the NPM Directional Team. Joel is also lead pastor of Buckhead Church, where he provides visionary and directional leadership for the staff and congregation. Joel began his ministry career as the first intern of North Point Ministries in 1998, then served in college, singles, and married adult ministries before becoming the lead pastor of North Point Community Church in 2011. In 2015, Joel and his family moved to Arizona where Joel served as senior pastor of Mission Community Church for almost seven years before returning to the Atlanta area to rejoin the North Point Ministries team. Joel and his wife, Jenn, aspire to finish life together having experienced an abundance of faith, love, and fun along the way with their four amazing children: Talan, Gentry, Kason, and Nixon.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

Thanks to our sponsor: OneHope: OneHope’s mission is to reach every child and youth in the world with God’s Word through the global church. In 35 years of ministry OneHope has reached more than 2 billion young people with the Gospel. Learn how you and your church can get involved by visiting onehope.net/learnmore/.