
Practical Church
Practical church exists to give you practical tips, advice, and encouragement when it comes to leading and growing healthy churches. Whether you are interested in planting a church, are in the process of planting a church, or just want to learn more about building healthy churches, you’ve come to the right place.
Latest episodes

Aug 17, 2022 • 31min
PCP 289: 7 Helpful Things To Cover In a Welcome Or Membership Class
While there may be obvious things you should cover in a welcome or new members class, what are important things that are easily overlooked? In this episode, we share 7 helpful things to cover that you might miss. Welcome to episode 289 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the 7 things we discuss in this episode: Start with something fun/interesting History of your church Expectations of members Church beliefs on secondary issues Staff & elder pictures Overview of the Gospel A tour of your meeting space ------------------------------------------- CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Aug 10, 2022 • 42min
PCP 288: 9 Events You Can Try At Your Church
Building community is a vital part of a healthy church. In this episode, we share 9 events you can try at your church and how we actually do them. Welcome to episode 288 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the 9 events we discuss in this episode: Trivia night After church cookout Outdoor movie night Fantasy football league Chili cook-off Bingo night Trunk or treat Pizza in the park Bracket Challenge ------------------------------------------- CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Aug 3, 2022 • 33min
PCP 287: 7 Tips For Better Slide Transitions During Your Sermon
Sermon slides are a helpful tool to keep people engaged while preaching, but they can also cause a number of distractions during your service if they are not done well. In this episode, we share with you 7 tips for better slide transitions during your sermon. Welcome to episode 287 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the 7 tips we discuss in this episode: Slides inputted and edited before Sunday Print outline/notes for screens person (+ livestream) with notes for ques Talk through screen points during run-through One sentence/phrase per slide Try not to leave slide transition timing up to your screens person Turn down fading between slides Fill in the blank notes can help retention and focus ------------------------------------------- CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Jul 27, 2022 • 42min
PCP 286: 7 Ways To Reduce Time On Sermon Prep
Want to preach effective sermons without spending an unnecessary amount of time on sermon prep? In this episode, we give you 7 ways you can do it. Welcome to episode 286 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the 7 ways we discuss in this episode: Same time every week Same setup every week Large block of uninterrupted time (with a deadline) Get ahead Review sermon with others Focus on one thing to improve on at a time Preach a lot of sermons (with good study habits) ------------------------------------------- CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Jul 20, 2022 • 27min
PCP 285: 6 Small Hacks That Make Ministry Better
Ministry can at times be unpredictable and stressful, but there are things we can do to make it better. In this episode, we share 6 small hacks you can easily try. Welcome to episode 285 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the 6 hacks we discuss in this episode: Give yourself 2 weeks to choose from by prepping your sermon ahead of time Make a "to do list" of things coming up in your weekly newsletter Use Siri/Google for time sensitive reminders Suggest the time/place when meeting with someone Work a full Monday Plan out your next workday at the end of your current workday. CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Jul 13, 2022 • 34min
PCP 284: 6 Ways To Preach More Practical Sermons
We all want our sermons to not simply involving information, but lead to people taking steps in their faith. In this episode, we share 6 ways you can be more practical in your sermons. Welcome to episode 284 of Practical Church Planting. Give a simple and specific way to pray this week Give a simple and specific action item to do this week Give some practical examples of how to do what you're asking people to do Explain things like your friend who has never been to church is there Assume people want to take a step Celebrate the effort, not the result CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Jul 6, 2022 • 30min
PCP 283: 6 Tips For Dealing With Discouragement In Ministry
Discouragement in ministry happens to everyone, so how can we endure it well? In this episode, we share 6 tips for dealing with discouragement in ministry. Welcome to episode 283 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the 6 tips we discuss: No major decisions on Monday Work on Monday Find a pastor to meet with regularly Be honest with your elders/leadership team Put vacations/time away on your calendar Discouragement is normal, staying there consistently is a warning CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Jun 29, 2022 • 30min
PCP 282: 9 Church Planting Regrets
In this episode, I (Dylan) share 9 church planting regrets. Welcome to episode 281 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the regrets I discuss in this episode: Church planting residency More & better training Clear & defined planting timeline Sermon work/coaching sooner More clarity around my management team Two monitors Logos for sermon prep Consistent working calendar Interested in sending Dylan a MarcoPolo message? Download the app and then send Dylan a Facebook message or an email at dylandodson@newcityrdu.com with your phone number. CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Jun 22, 2022 • 44min
PCP 281: Answering Your Ministry Questions
In this episode, we answer ministry questions asked in your Practical Church Planting Facebook group. Welcome to episode 281 of Practical Church Planting. You can watch this episode below, or subscribe to the podcast and get our episodes delivered right to you. Interested in sending Dylan a MarcoPolo message? Download the app and then send Dylan a Facebook message or an email at dylandodson@newcityrdu.com with your phone number. CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.

Jun 15, 2022 • 25min
PCP 280: 6 Underrated Church Planting Tactics
When it comes to planting a church, what you might think is most helpful in raising money and gathering a team might not be as helpful as you think. At the same time, there are things that can make a bigger difference than you might realize. In this episode, we share 6 underrated church planting tactics. Welcome to episode 280 of Practical Church Planting. Here are the 6 underrated tactics we discuss in this episode: A defined timeline Talk about why you want to plant this church Tell me a story of what God is doing Speak well of what God is already doing in the community Have a network/denomination on board Tell me what your family thinks Here are the six tactics we discuss in this episode: Prospectus Talking about not wanting to be a large church Post-launch timelines Talking about statistics about your area Talking about how different your church is going to be A sophisticated discipleship plan CONNECT AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get practical tips delivered right to you. For free resources to help you plant a church that thrives, check out practicalplanting.com. You can also watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. Have questions or want encouragement from other church planters? Join the Practical Church Planting Facebook group.