Field Preachers Episode 20 - Planting Failures

Matt Johnson is a church planter in West Virginia who just completed a dissertation on "Redeeming Failure" in church planting. Listen in to learn more about some of the reasons church plants fail and how we can fail forward. In March of 1739, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, engaged in "field preaching" for the first time after being encouraged by his friend and fellow preacher George Whitefield. Instead of preaching his sermon from a pulpit, Wesley went out from the church and preached in the open air to those who didn't have the time or money to sit in a pew and hear the good news. Thousands of people, mainly those struggling with poverty, came to hear him preach that first week and the revival of Methodism was born as the good news became real in the hearts of those who heard about God's love and grace. Church planters are modern day "field preachers" who go out from the established church into the community where they proclaim good news to those who need it most. This podcast is a series of interviews and stories from modern-day Methodist field preachers who will make you laugh, cry, and think more deeply about how and where we are called to share God's love and grace.