New Churches Podcast

Episode 759 Host Ed Stetzer meets with Lifeway’s Director of Leadership Todd Adkins to explore the relationship between the body of Christ—the church—and its next generation of young leaders. Tune in to discover so much more about the church’s responsibility in leading and serving its Gen Z counterparts. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The importance of growing young leaders’ competence and confidence How to help Gen Z-ers navigate the uncertainties of ministry and leadership What the next generation desires from their church leadership Why we’re called to pave the way forward for the future church What you can learn from the Next Gen members in your congregation! Helpful Resources: Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Gen Z seems to lack the confidence of older generations. They’re just as competent, smart, and bright, but they need more encouragement. They need to be brought along and encouraged to lead. — Todd Adkins We are finding that the next generation is slower to commit to a local congregation, and part of that is their negative perception of the scandals and struggles of the church. — Ed Stetzer Gen Z-ers don’t often see the church as a healthy place to exercise their spiritual growth, nor do they see it as a place to grow and develop as a leader. We have to seize that opportunity relationally, authentically, and in community. — Ed Stetzer We’re coming from a completely different generation and perspective. We have to understand that they’re not going to take the same path we did and that the expectations they feel are different as well. — Todd Adkins We need to be personal and patient with the next generation as we bring them along. If we’re not taking them anywhere, they’re not just going to show up anymore. — Todd Adkins The post Leadership Development for the Next Generation appeared first on New Churches.

Learn how leaders should respond to mistakes and the importance of owning, admitting, reconciling, and fixing the situation. Explore the impact of honest apologies and the growth opportunities that come from recognizing and learning from failures. Discover the importance of grace, forgiveness, and having an entrepreneurial spirit in leadership. delve into the topic of pride, humility in prayer, and the warning signs of leadership failure in ministry. Emphasis on loving the Lord wholeheartedly and finishing well.

Leadership mistakes discussed include the power of desperation in prayer, the impact of a gospel culture, and the correlation between church planting and family. Financial planning and the need for a strong leadership structure are also highlighted.

Episode 756 Host Ed Stetzer meets with leadership extraordinaire Todd Adkins to dive into the ways the pandemic has impacted our leaders’ discipleship and development. Tune in to learn how you can empower your people to better lead through intentional relationships. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What culture, leadership, and the weather all have in common The importance of interpersonal connection within the church How to move your people toward personal and congregational growth The ways you can intentionally sow seed for a harvest season Why honing in on discipleship and development is a must! Helpful Resources: Interested in learning more? Start the free Preaching Masterclass Check out our Church Planting Primer. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): We’re living in a world where criticism is at a higher level. We’re also having to set different patterns and rhythms and are needing reservoirs of resilience at higher levels. — Ed Stetzer People kept talking about a new normal, but it never came. The normalization is really inconsistency, not the predictability that we once had. — Todd Adkins The challenges of leading in chaotic times mean that the levers you used to be able to pull to move things have shifted, so the structure and systems that were familiar to you and that you relied on are gone. — Todd Adkins At the end of the day, it’s about relationship. I’m a result of good and godly people who couldn’t have asked you a good coaching question to save their lives. — Todd Adkins The fruit of a volunteer is another volunteer; the fruit of a leader is another leader. — Todd Adkins Men were Jesus’ method, and it really hasn’t changed that much. We think that we need to shift everything, but we just need to find a different way to do what we know has worked in the past. — Todd Adkins The post Leadership Challenges Post-Pandemic appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 755 Host Ed Stetzer meets with writer, professor, and missionary Trevin Wax to discuss the responsibility of preachers and teachers to further the knowledge of their craft. Listen to learn why the congregation, culture, and context you shepherd deserve more of your intellectual attention. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to grow your mental stamina The importance of diversifying the content you consume Why your “shortcuts” assist your greatest gains How to capture the hearts, minds, and imaginations of your people The biggest self-assessment question to ask yourself Helpful Resources: Interested in learning more? Start the free Preaching Masterclass Check out our Church Planting Primer. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and intellectually, there’s a workout required for preaching, so you must have the right calorie intake for the right kind of output. — Trevin Wax An ongoing intellectual stimulation is helpful for anyone who is teaching and preaching God’s Word. — Ed Stetzer Part of the learning process is having something to offer through reading and listening to other great preachers and podcasts, while also getting to know the people God has called you to teach and shepherd. — Trevin Wax Do we want to be wise and experienced with sermons that are fresh, full of insight, marked by the fragrance of Jesus, and with truth beautifully expressed? If so, then we must take steps now. — Trevin Wax Not everyone’s a missiologist, but we should all be missionary-minded and inclined. — Ed Stetzer Just like we’ve got to take care of our bodies, we must take care of our minds. We may have to shuffle our priorities to make it happen, but if we want to be ever-learning, we will prioritize it. — Trevin Wax The post The Ever-Learning Preacher appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 754 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham join Brad Lomenick for the second installment of their discussion on humble, hungry, and hustle-driven leadership. Listen as they delve even further into the topic of church-planting leader development, especially through the lens of healthy hunger and how rest can take you further in your hustle. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Where to find zeal and wisdom in your discipleship development Tips for finding joy within your church-planting journey Why curiosity in one of your greatest assets in leadership How rest is correlated to obedience Why you may be feeling burned out Helpful Resources: Brad’s book: H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): A lot of church planters assume they have to become pastors, but the reality is that Paul never pastored any of the churches he planted. He was the planter and apostolic missionary who raised up leaders. — Vance Pitman When you ask a good question, you honor the person you’re asking, and you’re saying to them, “I’m really interested and want to know more.” — Brad Lomenick Hunger doesn’t take skill or know-how, but it does take experience. It’s the mindset of walking into every environment with a posture of asking questions compared to just giving answers. — Brad Lomenick Leadership is not sitting in a room with a whiteboard and dreaming up something great for God; it’s about living in dependence and in pursuit of Him, seeking what He’s doing in the world, and then leveraging our lives to get in on it. — Vance Pitman Church planting requires hard work and a generation of leaders who are saying, “I’m willing to do the hard things.” — Noah Oldham The post H3 Leader: Part 2 appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 753 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham spend time with author, speaker, and consultant Brad Lomenick examining the impact of humble, hungry, and hustle-driven leadership within the church planting context. Here’s how you can level up your personal and professional development as you seek to become the planter and leader whom God has wired you to be. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The impact of generationally-led discipleship and development Tips for steering your team further in the direction of their callings How to find the balance between your work ethic and rest ethic Why self-awareness is key in your own personal development How humility transforms your faith in God’s faithfulness Helpful Resources: Brad’s book: H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Leaders are often utility players who wear a lot of hats, meaning they probably have a number of areas where they can and do need to grow. — Noah Oldham It’s so easy to let your identity get wrapped up in what you do instead of who you are in Christ. Leadership isn’t a destination we reach; it’s a posture we cultivate. — Vance Pitman Psalm 33 says, “The plans of the Lord are from generation to generation,” meaning we’re simply stewarding something that belongs to Him and that it’s going to continue in the next generation. — Vance Pitman I’m always looking for transparency, vulnerability, authenticity, honesty, and self-awareness when it comes to humility. I want now more than ever to follow that kind of leader today. In the old days, it was “fake it ‘til you make it,” but today’s young leaders will see right through that. — Brad Lomenick When it comes to calling and assignment, you have to find what that God has wired you to do, as well as what you’re passionate about. When you find this talent, passion, and connection all undergirded by God’s story, that’s when you are in the sweet spot. — Brad Lomenick The post H3 Leader: Part 1 appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 752 Host Ed Stetzer meets with Tony Merida and Adam Muhtaseb to discuss the complex yet essential relationship between church plants and their sending churches. Listen to learn more about establishing a sending culture within your own congregation, as well as how to partner with planters in a healthy way. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Tips for creating a church-wide lifestyle of abiding on mission How to raise up sending leaders from inside your church The importance of setting healthy expectations How to foster a thriving relationship with those you’ve partnered with Why your calendar prioritization matters Helpful Resources: Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): When we’re all in to see the gospel change our society, there are no sidelines. — Adam Muhtaseb When you create a sending culture—like the church in Antioch who sent people who sent people–your people will end up being a missionary force. — Adam Muhtaseb Every church plant should have time set aside for Ephesians 4’s equipping the saints to do the work at the ministry. Our job is not to do ministry, but to equip the saints who do the work of the ministry. — Adam Muhtaseb As a sending church, we want to help our planters theologically think through ecclesiology and contextualization. We want to care for their souls and make sure they’re ministering out of spiritual health—not merely out of gifting or hard work. — Tony Merida The best kind of sending church sends from a context with a similar passion for church planting. So, church-planting churches become church-planting churches. — Ed Stetzer The post Sending Churches: From Parent to Partner appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 751 Hosts Ed Stetzer and Trevin Wax sit down to discuss the life and impact of Dr. Tim Keller. Known for his many roles as an author, pastor, apologist, and evangelist, he was also an esteemed urban missionary to New York City and beyond. Listen to learn more about Dr. Keller’s legacy in transforming the world of church planting as we know it. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Dr. Keller’s influence on urban missions The significance of his missionary mindset in pastoral ministry How cultural engagement shifted his approach to church planting What grieved Dr. Keller about modern evangelism Why he didn’t recommend his early preaching style be replicated Helpful Resources: Ed Stetzer Live episode about Tim Keller: The Legacy of Tim Keller Trevin Wax’s article on Tim Keller: Tim Keller into the Sunset (1950–2023) Trevin Wax’s article on contextualization: Let’s Contextualize Tim Keller Reconstructing Faith last episode: It’s Time to Rebuild Book by Tim Keller: Center Church Church Leaders article on Tim Keller: “Above All, He Loved Jesus” Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Tim loved church planting, and he loved church planters. — Ed Stetzer Keller’s concern was that everybody had their own medicine they were in love with and that they were constantly belittling other people’s medicines for an ailing church and culture. — Trevin Wax Tim was one of the first people to say that if you’re going to learn contextualization, you have to be an exegete of the culture and of the Scriptures so that you can bring the Scriptures into what you know.  — Trevin Wax What I love about Tim’s work is that he didn’t just tell you what to do; he taught you how to think like a missionary. — Trevin Wax Tim would say that you want to present Christianity in such a way that people who aren’t believers want it to be true. That comes out in his preaching and theological vision for ministry as well. — Trevin Wax Tim Keller’s church planting was driven by evangelizing secular people. That’s the future, and that’s where we’ve got to learn. — Ed Stetzer The post The Legacy of Tim Keller on Church Planting appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 750 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham team back up with The Hub Urban Ministries’ Cassie Hammett to share how your church can take the next step in serving the most vulnerable populations in your city. Here’s how you can mobilize your people to live on mission while creating space for all who may come to believe in the name of Jesus. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How trauma impacts discipleship Why sustainability in outreach matters The role of leadership in reaching the lost Tips to determine your church’s serving capacity Why a missionary mindset is your greatest asset Helpful Resources: Article: The Six Principles of Trauma-Informed Care eBook: Establish a Local Ministry Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass? Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): The city is where God has called us, and the church is the tool He established to engage the city with the gospel. —  Vance Pitman The churches that have the biggest impact among vulnerable populations are the ones showing up with their pastors and leadership there, saying, “Come do this with me.” — Cassie Hammett The ultimate goal of engagement among vulnerable populations would be that they find a spot to belong in your church body. — Cassie Hammett For something to make any sort of impact in serving vulnerable populations sustainably, biblically, and holistically takes a really long time. — Cassie Hammett You have to assess what we are and who we are. Think about it in two lanes: resources and relationships. What are the resources we have, and what are the relationships we are connected to? —  Vance Pitman We want the gospel to be the answer for someone who’s gone through trauma. — Cassie Hammett The post Trauma-Informed Care in Your Church: Response appeared first on New Churches.