New Churches Podcast

Episode 734 We know the value of building leaders, but what about when we need to hire? Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jamie Caldwell about best hiring practices for a new church. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The two sides to hiring How to make great use of stipends Indications a full-time ministry role is needed The danger of drifting toward complexity How pastoring relates to policy Helpful Resources: Todd Adkins’ 90 Second Leadership videos Watch this tribute video about Clint Honor Clint by donating to the Clint Clifton Global Church Planting Fund Download your free copy of his book, Church Planting Thresholds 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): Most church planters think they’ll have multiple full-time staff members. We’re still starry-eyed and optimistic and we haven’t been punched in the in the nose yet by the difficulties of church planting. — Clint Clifton The people you can afford early, you don’t want very long. – Jamie Caldwell We always tell church planters to act their age. Church planters go out and they want everything that every church has. Often they’re trying to do too much too fast, instead of doing a few things really well. — Clint Clifton If you’re bringing somebody from outside, you better be crystal clear on your vision, values, systems and structures. They’re going to make decisions that are outside of what you would want and sometimes it’s not their fault because we haven’t been clear. @Todd Adkins God will give you the church He wants you to have, with the people He knows you need. It’s your job to know them well enough to put them into into place. – Jamie Caldwell Churches will drift toward complexity, not simplicity. You need to be really tight on what you do and what you don’t do, because it’s really hard to kill stuff off later on. @Todd Adkins We cannot neglect that God’s got a sovereign strategy. We can’t jump to Step 2 and start writing policies about hiring until we have a picture of what God is doing and we’re willing to just scrap the rest of it. – Jamie Caldwell The post Best Hiring Practices for a New Church appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 733 Everything about planting screams, “Emergency!” Host Ed Stetzer talks with Scotty Smith and Adam Muhtaseb about the importance of taking the long view on church planting. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to build at the beginning things that become part of the fabric of the church The twin values of mechanics and organics What “living in the whole story of God” means How to personalize taking the long view What it means to live and lead at “the pace of grace” Helpful Resources: Scotty Smith books: Unveiled Hope, Objects of His Affection, Everyday Prayers Adam Muhtaseb podcast episodes: Leading and Loving Difficult Team Members, Raising Pastors from Within 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): Church planters come in and they’re so drunk with the vision. The only thing they’re thinking about is the launch service. It’s not even like, “What do I do the week after?” @EdStetzer I realized early on we were going to absolutely need to do the mechanics but equally the organics. The Lord’s building for eternity, not next week. @Scotty Smith From the beginning, our vision was to be a church planting movement. So I set up systems, values, programs, etc. to build our church toward that. @Adam_Muhtaseb A lot of the church planters I’ve worked with think pragmatically about getting a job done and they lose what Scripture says is central, which is a love for Jesus. @Scotty Smith In the U.K. I lived on this one-lane road and every day I walked by this church that has been worshipping in the same space for over 1,000 years. I don’t hear lot of church planters even talk about 100 years from now. @EdStetzer You should be spending just as much time working on the church as you are working in the church. @Adam_Muhtaseb The good news for some church planters is you don’t have to work 80 hours a week. if you do, that’s called idolatry. @Scotty Smith The post The Long View: Church Planting with End Goals in Mind appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 732 Regardless of a church’s financial situation, every pastor can benefit from having a “No. 2.” Host Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jamie Caldwell about important aspects of adding executive leadership. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why executive leadership isn’t irrelevant in new churches How an executive leader can level up everybody’s church experience The importance of “doing life” with your No. 2 Why you will need to walk yourself back from getting involved The importance of “culture fit” Helpful Resources: Watch this tribute video about Clint Honor Clint by donating to the Clint Clifton Global Church Planting Fund Download your free copy of his book, Church Planting Thresholds 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): You need a guy riding shotgun with you. Whether you pay that guy or not, you need this role. @Todd Adkins You’re looking for somebody who’s going to complement the giftings of the senior pastor. The executive pastor may look a little bit different in one situation than it does in another. @ClintJClifton In a church-planting environment, there’s there’s no way not to do life together. You got to be staying in your house all day not to do life with the people, because the church plant’s usually small and the team’s tight-knit. @ClintJClifton If you trust him, then give him the freedom to do the job. Nobody wants to get hired and then be led by the hand in this incredibly micromanaging process. – Jamie Caldwell Hire slowly and make sure there’s a culture fit before you pull the trigger. If there is any area in which they are different than you, make sure it’s an area you want to change in your culture. @Todd Adkins Know where you’re weak and then ask people to take on roles who can help you with those weaknesses. If they don’t know how to do it, learn together. – Jamie Caldwell Most church planters are gifted on the vision front. They often aren’t real good at the details and administration of the church’s life. Pray that God would provide somebody who could help you. @ClintJClifton The post Executive Leadership in New Churches appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 731 Did the pandemic affect your church differently than others? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about fascinating new research. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How church launches and funding were affected The effect on planters’ mental health How evangelism and discipleship fared The “big disappointment” in the research findings Advice for planters in light of in the research Helpful Resources: EFCA research: New Faces of Church Planting and Multi-siting PDF download: EFCA findings on the pandemic’s impact Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers 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): Movie theaters and schools where, disproportionately, church plants meet, were shut down. It really had an impact on church planting. When schools started meeting again, many didn’t let anybody in from the outside, to create a bubble. @EdStetzer I was surprised at how few things dipped during the pandemic. I was brought to tears when I tallied the survey responses and I saw how many hundreds of churches launched during the pandemic. @WarrenBird New churches put a heavier emphasis on evangelism than discipleship, but discipleship increased. @EdStetzer We found that, both pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, evangelism was stronger than the discipleship component, but during the pandemic the discipleship meter was almost as high as the evangelistic meter. @WarrenBird I think it probably was the greatest time of church shifting and switching in our lifetime. I want new churches to be evangelized into existence. @EdStetzer While people are willing to gather in most places now, the volunteering piece – that second step of engagement – has been really slow. It did not surge back with the people coming back. @WarrenBird Can you imagine three years ago saying, “Hey, everyone, scan the QR code on your screen”? But now the grandmas are holding up their phones and scanning the QR code. It is fascinating how this has been accelerated technologically. @EdStetzer The post Did the Pandemic Change Church Planting? appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 730 Jesus said to make disciples, but how do we make disciples who make disciples? Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about the challenge of discipling new believers. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How evangelism and discipleship rightly relate to one another Basic tools of discipleship Four discipleship “destinations” How long before a new disciple begins discipling another person A Bible verse that encapsulates the entire discipleship process Helpful Resources: Colby Garman’s Ten Rhythms of a Growing Christian Dave Proffit’s discipleship course: English, Spanish, Portuguese Watch this tribute video about Clint Clifton Honor Clint by donating to the Clint Clifton Global Church Planting Fund Download your free copy of his book, Church Planting Thresholds 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): We’ve created the separate categories of discipleship and evangelism. Jesus simply says our task is to make disciples. Evangelism plays that role of helping people understand who Jesus is and become disciples. The continuation of their growth is the ongoing work of discipleship. @Colby Garman Discipleship has a more academic part and then there’s the activity part. We’ve got to have the information but we’ve got to do the activity as well. – Dave Proffitt What we’ve seen in churches a lot is training and training but never having a use for that training. When somebody has something particular in view, they see learning as important and valuable. @clintjclifton There’s nothing more powerful than feeling out of your depth, so we have to push people to accomplish something they never thought they could do. @Colby Garman I believe if you teach something to somebody, that person should go right out and find an audience. I mean immediately. – Dave Proffitt Every aspect of the life of the church has a discipleship opportunity buried in it. How we see people serving, how we think about the membership process – all these things are discipleship. @Colby Garman The post Discipling New Believers appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 728 Clint Clifton believed our love of the Lord compels us to evangelize and multiply churches. Host Ed Stetzer, Colby Garman and Trevin Wax honor Clint by talking about what mattered to him. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What wrong questions we ask about church planting The right question to ask about church planting How Clint multiplied himself and his passion What it looks like for smaller congregations to plant churches The kind of person needed to plant churches Helpful Resources: Watch this tribute video about Clint Honor Clint by donating to the Clint Clifton Global Church Planting Fund Download your free copy of his book, Church Planting Thresholds 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): Such a tragic loss. You could see the tidal wave of grief and loss spread. It’s been difficult, but we’ve also seen God’s grace give strength. @Colby Garman Clint wrote: “If you’re going to plant a new church or lead your church to plant a new church, you will have to maintain a deep resolve to endure the difficulties ahead.” @EdStetzer Clint’s planting legacy comes back to the assumption that every church should be involved in church planting, not “Should we? Could we?” but “Why would we not? How could we not be involved?” @TrevinWax At the core of Clint was that life is an act of worship. Church planting for him was an act of worship, more than a strategy. @Colby Garman Clint was continually willing to get up again, do it again, start something again. This is the kind of church planter that really makes a gospel difference.  @EdStetzer Clint’s heart was to trust the good heart of the Father. @TrevinWax Clint would want you to know that it doesn’t take you being the most brilliant or the most articulate. It just takes showing up, doing it again, making much of Jesus and not making it about you. @EdStetzer The post What Clint Clifton Would Want You to Know About Church Planting appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 727 What does it actually cost to plant a church? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about the fascinating results of a new church planter survey. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: A typical breakdown of church plant funding  Financial paths church plants often take How planters should think about ministry financing When most plants become financially self-sustaining How outside church support compares to denominational Helpful Resources: EFCA research: New Faces of Church Planting and Multi-siting Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers 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): Financial self-sustainability begins at about 76 in attendance. @WarrenBird Self-sustainability takes longer or could be faster in some settings. Setting makes a difference. @EdStetzer  Funding of churches, like everything else, is becoming more localized. I want to be able to go visit it, help out, see it and and put my body where my money is. @WarrenBird The greatest growth by percentile happened in churches that had no paid staff members, and churches with a part-time pastor grew faster than those with a full-time pastor. @EdStetzer To grow anything on scale, if that’s what you think God is doing, if that’s where you think the harvest is, generally the sooner you can work with people’s giving in order to be fully focused on that mission, the better. @WarrenBird God’s doing all kinds of things in all different ways. This kind of research really helps us think well about church planting. @EdStetzer The post Funding: What Does it Cost to Plant a Church? appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 726 Looking at this past year, many of us think, “Wow, that could’ve gone better.” Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about planning well to execute your ministry task. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Who to include in your planning  How to plan and also be open to the spiritual work going on around you Practices for creating healthy ministry margins What church planters should fill their schedule with 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): You will either plan to advance the key things in the life of the church or someone else is going to plan those things for you. @Colby Garman Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” @clintjclifton A lot of what the church needs to know is not necessarily going to come from the pastor. It’s going to come from the team of gifted people God has assembled to be the foundation for the church. – Dave Proffitt I think of times in our ministry where a person had an idea that I, in a million lifetimes, never would have come up with. @clintjclifton I want to plan to accomplish, but I also want to be prepared to pivot where I see God working. @Colby Garman Often we have no idea what God’s doing. Our work is worship. We offer it to God because we love Him and He does with it what He sees fit. @clintjclifton You’ve got to commit to prayer and to evangelism. You’ve got to connect with people. You’ve got to a servant leader. We need to train a disciple and we need to mentor. We need a coach and we need to recruit, recruit, recruit. We need to apprentice and become apprenticed. – Dave Proffitt The post Set Yourself Up for a Great Year! appeared first on New Churches.

Year in Review: Episode 725 One of the most important topics for pastors and church planters is improving their preaching. Host Clint Clifton and Noah Oldham discuss ways to continue to grow as preachers. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Two schools of thought when it comes to preaching Three things young preachers can do improve to their preaching Helpful Resources: John Stott’s Between Two Worlds Our Bivocational ministry course 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): Most church planters consider themselves to be pretty good preachers yet, in my observation, most need to grow in their preaching. @clintjclifton Most church planters need time and reps and seasons to grow as communicators so they can be effective in the long run to help the church be strengthened. @NoahOldham An Indian proverb says, ‘He who has a good friend needs no mirror.'” @clintjclifton When I’m preaching, I want to disappear, yet I often carry more of myself into the pulpit than I realize. I want Him to increase and me to decrease. @NoahOldham Every time we imitate another preacher, it’s like a photocopy of a photocopy. @clintjclifton We call sermon critiques “wins and opportunities.” There’s no losses. It’s an opportunity for growth. @NoahOldham I heard Tim Keller say your first 300 sermons are garbage. So if you’re not to 300 yet, you should just assume your preaching needs a lot of improvement. @clintjclifton The post Year in Review: 3 Ways to Improve Your Preaching appeared first on New Churches.

Year in Review | Episode 723 Pastors and church planters feel the pinch of not having enough time. Host Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jessica Thompson about the value of – and techniques for – organizing your week. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The difference between delegation and leadership development Why it’s important to set aside less time for doing and more for developing The value of bringing alongside ministry partners who excel in areas where you’re weak How task prioritization may be more important than time management What the stickiness of your plant depends on Helpful Resources: Free podcasts: Building a Team from Scratch Discovering Pastoral Potential Multiplying Church Leaders Free ebook: Building Your Core Team 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): It’s getting harder and harder for pastors of new churches to have enough money to take care of their family, meet their obligations and survive in the cities God’s called them to reach. @ClintJClifton  You’re probably spending way too much time doing versus developing. The most practical thing you can do is set aside less time for doing and more time for developing. @ToddAdkins You need to be disciplined enough to know what you have time for. What five things do I need to accomplish this week?Don’t let other people’s needs and demands move you from what you feel God has on your plate to do this week. – Jessica Thompson What are the things that only you can do? That’s the category where you need to be doing and developing. @ClintJClifton For a church planter who hasn’t launched yet, the absolute most important thing you can be doing is developing people. When you hit the launch phase, you’re going to need all those people, and the stickiness of your plant depends on the people, not the programming. @ToddAdkins Build your team with people who are willing to step out in faith and cast your vision, being able to communicate clearly what God has called your church to do, because that’s going to draw people to the Lord. – Jessica Thompson Church planting feels a lot like Whac-A-Mole. There’s a lot of things going on on a lot of different fronts and you can get into this pattern of frenzy and feverishness. The truth is, if I’m trying to hit every head that pops up, I’m going to miss some important ones. @ClintJClifton The post Year in Review: Organizing Your Week appeared first on New Churches.