New Churches Podcast

Vice President Trevin Wax discusses the evolution of church planting, emphasizing reliance on the Holy Spirit and the impact of capitalism. They delve into the importance of apologetics, equipping future pastors, and the need for impactful church growth. The episode explores shifts in church planting trends, challenges faced, and plans for the podcast's future.

Join pastor, writer, and host Daniel Im as he discusses church growth assumptions, evaluating discipleship pathways, the parable of the sower, success vs. growth, and making disciple makers. Learn how to navigate post-pandemic ministry challenges and prioritize holistic discipleship pathways over rapid expansion in diverse communities.

Author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin discusses the impact of gender-specific small groups for women, emphasizing the importance of family-like relationships in church culture. She explores the balance between emotions and theology in discipleship, highlighting the benefits of single gender spaces and childcare solutions. Jen also promotes women's biblical literacy through resources like her book and free Bible studies.

Hosts Jeff Medders and Tony Merida dive into one of the most difficult areas of leadership development: conflict resolution. Tune in to discover tools with which to view your disagreements, unmet expectations, and miscommunications as growth opportunities rather than situations to flee. Here’s how you can meet your conflicts head-on, honoring Christ and pursuing peace through the help of His Spirit. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why you may naturally gravitate away from conflict and what you may be drifting toward instead Scripture’s examples of relational conflict How church planting conflict is similar to bringing home a newborn Words of encouragement for people pleasers and confrontation avoiders What reconciliation and restoration look like in the context of following Christ Helpful Resources: Are you part of a new church plant? Learn more about our new church offer here. Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): It’s easy to show up to the positive parts of ministry: leading, preaching, discipline, and counseling. It’s harder to show up for the more challenging parts: the church discipline or conflict resolution meeting. Faithful, effective leaders show up for both. — Jeff Medders Some can envision the Christian life as being very doctrinally focused and head-oriented. In reality, it’s doctrine-embodied, relational, people work. — Tony Merida It’s always growing and dynamic, always with fires to put out. The question is not if you’ll have conflict but how you’re going to deal with it appropriately and in a way that’s Christ-honoring and how you can deal with it without dreading or despising it. — Tony Merida Jesus came into the world not only to reconcile us to the Father because we are at war with God in our sinful nature, but also to reconcile us to one another. Jesus is the great mediator and reconciler who brings us peace as the Prince of Peace. — Tony Merida As pastors, it’s very easy to think, “Okay, I need God’s Spirit to help me preach the sermon and help with X, Y, Z.” We forget we need God’s Spirit to help us in our conflict resolution. — Jeff Medders You have to be comfortable having awkward conversations with people. I’ve learned that Jesus shows up in those awkward conversations because He loves when His people are trying to be united. — Tony Merida The post Christ-Centered Conflict Resolution appeared first on New Churches.

Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham meet with author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin to discuss the eternal impact of training up the women in our congregations. Tune in to discover how you can help your church plant grow in Great Commission faithfulness from the household and beyond by intentionally investing in women’s theological equipping. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How women’s theological training benefits the entire congregation How your preaching and teaching of God’s Word affects men and women alike What it looks like to cultivate an active learning environment for the women of your church plant The misconceptions, barriers, and social stigma that women are facing in the church today Why the call of Ephesians 4:12 is for every believer within the body of Christ Helpful Resources: Find Jen on Instagram Jen’s book: Women of the Word Jen’s free Bible study: James: Living a Life of Genuine Faith Jen’s Genesis studies, God of Creation and God of Covenant Learn more about The Deep Discipleship Cohort Are you part of a new church plant? Learn more about our new church offer here. Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): We would be poorly served if we kept women theologically uneducated. The problem’s getting worse, not better. We cannot transmit to the next generation a faith that we ourselves can’t articulate. — Jen Wilkin Women have massive influence in terms of the next generation. So, the more theologically illiterate they are, the more we should expect that of the next generation as well. — Jen Wilkin To be saved into an individual relationship with Jesus Christ is to be saved into a relationship with His church. The kinds of ideas that have sustained the church for 2,000 years are capable of sustaining the individual in this moment. — Jen Wilkin When you don’t have women in your local church who are visibly, theologically equipped to do the work of a mother in church, women don’t stop looking for a mother. They will go and find a mother outside of your church. — Jen Wilkin When it comes to theological training, women need permission from those who are in leadership, and then they need access and to be invited into these learning spaces. — Jen Wilkin The post Theological Training for Women in the Church appeared first on New Churches.

Host Tony Merida meets with Doug Logan and Jeff Medders to discuss how evangelism and discipleship can converge to establish a soul-winning culture within your church plant. Tune in to discover the mindset and systems shifts you can cultivate in your congregation to reach people for Christ and continue to grow them for the furtherance of the gospel. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How you can disciple the new converts of your church plant The roles of evangelism and prayer within your congregation How you can seek out the next generation of church planters through your church’s discipleship processes The characteristics of faithful, fruitful, and effective evangelists What Spurgeon meant by the term “soul winner” and how you can create such a culture within your plant, as well Helpful Resources: Charles Spurgeon’s The Soul Winner Are you part of a new church plant? Learn more about our new church offer here. Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): We want to see the “sheep trade market” close down and see more people converted unto Christ. — Jeff Medders Guilt is never something we want to encourage as a part of the Christian life. There is conviction, and that comes from the Spirit and propels us forward. — Jeff Medders We are dealing with things of eternity. We’re not just rehearsing facts. When we evangelize, we are dealing with matters of light and darkness, heaven and hell, eternity and forgiveness. It should create a sense of urgency, dependency, prayer, and zeal that we’re dealing with people’s souls. — Jeff Medders We have to be able to have a plan in place to see people walk from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. We have to assume that because the Great Commission is about making disciples—not evangelizing—but it’s making disciples through the process of sanctification. — Doug Logan The gospel is for the lost and the found. — Doug Logan The post The Soul-Winning Church appeared first on New Churches.

Hosts Vance Pitman and Jeff Medders team up with Troy Nesbitt, the president of the Salt Network, to discuss the roles of mentorship, discipleship, and leadership within our ministry spheres. Tune in to discover how you can reach the next generation’s leaders and the part you’re called to play in helping them live on mission for Christ. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The key characteristics that define potential leaders What it means for the gospel to go upstream in your life How to facilitate mentor relationships within your new church plant What to look for from your potential mentees The importance of community in the life of our leaders Helpful Resources: The Salt Network Are you part of a new church plant? Learn more about our new church offer here. Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): That liminal age group from 18 to 22 is when most people make life-altering decisions. It’s where you lay a foundation for what your faith is going to be. — Troy Nesbitt Our churches need young leaders who are leading for people to be able to see, “Oh, there’s something I can do and be a part of.” We are trying to raise up young leaders and give them a real platform. — Troy Nesbitt You can raise a person’s level of influence, but you’re not going to take somebody who’s not influencing people and all of a sudden make them an influencer. — Vance Pitman Ministry is not for professionals; ministry is for everybody. If you have the Spirit of God alive in you, you should be able to win, train, and send somebody in your influence. You know somebody who’s far from God but close to you. — Troy Nesbitt You need to trust God’s plan for you and how He’s allowing you to be developed, cultivated, and mentored. — Vance Pitman If you have to make it convenient before you can pour into them and mentor them, you’re probably pouring into and mentoring the wrong people. — Vance Pitman The post Identifying and Raising Up the Next Generation to Lead Now appeared first on New Churches.

Host Tony Merida and guest Adam Muhtaseb discuss the importance of humility in leadership within the church, touching on topics like defining humility, balancing authority, church structure, vulnerability, and decision-making. They emphasize the value of Christlike leadership rooted in selflessness, transparency, and trust in God.

Host Ed Stetzer chats with Vice President of Research and Resources Development, Trevin Wax, about the shifts in how church planters relate to denominational affiliations, networks, and institutions as a whole. Tune in to learn more about current church planting trends and their impact on the future of our new churches. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Your denomination’s role in supporting and shaping your church plant The events that have led to the decline of denominational affiliation and the rapid rise of the non-denominational church How to approach the question of belonging to a network of churches versus belonging to a denomination The significance of theological conviction in selecting who you’ll partner with How church planting networks are fulfilling the call of Hebrews 10:24 today Helpful Resources: Ed’s article, “The Rise of the Evangelical ‘Nones'” The Reconstructing Faith Podcast Church Planting Leadership Fellowship Facebook Page Are you part of a new church plant? Learn more about our new church offer here. Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes. Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches): Institutions endure way more than we give them credit for. We live in an anti-institutional age that doesn’t seem to value what institutions bring because change can be really difficult within them. You can lose patience and wonder if it’s as effective as it once was. — Trevin Wax Denominations are most needed when difficult times come. Of course, church planters never think there’s going to be difficult times, but invariably, they do come. And you want a group of people who are there for you. — Ed Stetzer In the church planting world, there’s been not only the arrival of new networks in the past 20 years or so, but also a renewed emphasis on church planting within denominations. There’s renewed creative energy taking place. — Trevin Wax Institutions endure. If you look at the two big denominations church planting in America today, it’s the Assemblies of God and the Southern Baptists. They’re the two big ones, and they’re going to be doing this in 15 years. — Ed Stetzer Don’t take money from a family you’re not willing to be part of first. The Lord has put us in a family. Let’s stay connected to that family and make that family better. — Ed Stetzer Decisions are made by people who show up. So, if you’re in a denomination or a network, there’s value to being in there. By walking this journey with institutions, we can make a bigger difference. You go slower, but you go farther when you do it in institutions. — Ed Stetzer The post Big Questions Facing the Church about Planting and Denominations appeared first on New Churches.

Troy Nesbitt, President of the Salt Network, shares his passion for church planting in college towns, emphasizing the unique potential to connect with students in their formative years. He discusses strategies for outreach, highlighting how local partnerships can amplify efforts to reach young people with the gospel. Troy also explains the importance of cultivating a culture of sending within these communities, as well as the transformative impact of mentoring students ready to embrace faith. The episode showcases a clear vision for nurturing future leaders in church planting.