Digital Tools Help the Church Do God's Work in the Neighborhood with Rev. Joshua Hayashi

In this episode of the Igniting Imagination podcast, hosts Rev. Lisa Greenwood and Rev. Dr. Amy Butler sit down with Rev. Joshua Hayashi, CEO and Co-Founder of Mission Management Company, for a powerful conversation on what he calls Holy Disruption. Together, they explore how churches can reimagine their physical spaces—not as burdens, but as opportunities for transformation.

As congregations shrink and neighborhoods shift, Josh challenges faith communities to take a bold, data-informed look at their properties. What stories do these buildings still have to tell? What new life could they make possible?

This episode is a call to action: to see church buildings not as relics of the past, but as tools for justice, hospitality, and community renewal.

Host

Rev. Lisa Greenwood is the President & CEO of Wesleyan Impact Partners and Texas Methodist Foundation. She joined the staff of TMF in 2012 serving as Vice President for Leadership Ministry before taking her current role in 2022. Rev. Greenwood is an ordained elder in the North Texas (now Horizon Texas) Conference of the United Methodist Church, where she served congregations for twenty years. During the last five years of her local church ministry, Lisa served as a ministry strategist with Horizons Stewardship Company. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. 

Co-Host

Rev. Dr. Amy Butler is the founder of the philanthropic initiative Invested Faith. She previously served as the first woman senior minister of The Riverside Church in New York City, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church (D.C.), associate pastor at St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, and intentional interim minister at National City Christian Church (D.C.). Pastor Amy holds degrees from Baylor University, the International Baptist Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She's a mother of three children and currently lives in Hawaii.

Amy’s book is Beautiful and Terrible Things: Faith, Doubt, and Discovering a Way Back to Each Other.

Guest

Ordained reverend, cultural champion, and connection maker Rev. Joshua Hayashi is the CEO and Co-Founder of Mission Management Company (MMCo) in Honolulu, Hawaii, a business that promotes repurposing church assets and the power of cross-denominational collaboration. MMCo helps local religious communities thrive in novel ways by assessing their financial health, transformation readiness, and property potential, which then guides discussions on mission and property-development viability, as well as how to align church missions with neighborhood needs. Josh is also a school chaplain at Punahou School, helping students develop spiritual and ethical values inspired by their Hawaiian and Christian heritage.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

07:58 - Introducing Josh Hayashi and Mission Management

10:29 - The Intersection of Church and Community Needs

25:23 - Resurrection and Hope in Challenging Times

39:42 - Navigating Church Challenges and Discontent

Links

Visit our show’s website at www.ignitingimagination.org.

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