New Churches Podcast

Episode 794 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham kick off the new year by discussing the significance of casting a church-wide vision as leaders within your congregation. Discover how biblical leadership surpasses the ordinary markers of goal setting and why you’re called to simply take the next step forward in faithfulness as you wait expectantly upon the Lord. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How visionary leadership in the church differs from that of the marketplace God’s Old Testament vision for His people versus the New Testament vision found in Christ Methods of reinforcing vision and assessing progress throughout the calendar year How to use the power of story to effectively communicate vision to your congregation Four ways for your people to seek and hear God as a unified church body 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): Being a visionary leader in pastoring, preaching, writing, and leading means casting vision in every realm where God has placed you. — Noah Oldham Visionary leadership is allowing people to see God’s activity in the world and then showing them how they can get in on it. — Vance Pitman When you show believers the activity of God in the world, you show them that God is big and that He is moving in the world. There is something in the heart of every believer that longs to leverage their life. — Vance Pitman There’s a different paradigm of how God speaks to His people in the New Testament, and the principle is hearing God together. The New Testament knows nothing of a Christianity without community. — Vance Pitman You don’t give to a church; you give through a church as an opportunity to join in God’s activity of expanding His kingdom. — Vance Pitman Don’t let deadlines drive the agenda. Let intimacy with the Father drive the agenda. — Vance Pitman The post Vision Casting for a New Year appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 793 What does it look like to connect with your community? Noah Oldham and Vance Pitman talk with Mark Lee about best practices for engaging your community as a new church planter. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The best place to start connecting with your community How to be seen as a partner, rather than a parasite What foreign missions can teach us about being a missionary The principle of living your life with your eyes open to God’s activity around you How to mentor your core team to reach out to the city Helpful Resources: The Externally Focused Quest The Art of Neighboring 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 begin to be viewed as partners in our communities and cities, we create relational bridges that allow the gospel to walk from our lives into the lives of those we’ve been called to serve. —Vance Pitman The way we connected with the community was that I just wanted to connect with my street, to just be the pastor of my street. Sometimes we can make it too complicated: Who do I need to reach out to? Where do I need to go? I just started where I lived. —Mark Lee The greatest church planting class I took in seminary was actually on foreign missions. It taught me about these principles of being a missionary. And one of those principles was finding a person of peace. —Noah Oldham Find ways you can build relationships with the people in your life. For me, a lot of it had to do with what my kids were doing. The first 13 families I led to Christ, I led to Christ coaching Little League baseball and NFL flag football. —Vance Pitman Once we have followers, disciples and a core team, how do we mentor them to reach out to the city too? For my core team, I provided a framework: prayers, conversations, table fellowships and invitations. —Mark Lee When we started, we created what we called the Personal Touch Tip Sheet. It was 40 examples of how you could connect with someone. Like, for example, when somebody moves in on your street, bake some cookies or bread, make a meal, and take it to your neighbor. —Vance Pitman Keep being faithful and trust the Lord to build His Church. —Noah Oldham The post Best of 2023: Connecting with Your Community as a New Church Planter appeared first on New Churches.

Three Christian authors and speakers, Ed Stetzer, Shane Pruitt, and Catherine Renfro, discuss how to give an effective gospel presentation. They explore different methods of inviting people to Jesus without manipulation and highlight the four types of people hearing every sermon. They also emphasize the importance of clear and concise invitations, as well as the theological elements of a gospel presentation. If you want to learn more about giving an effective gospel presentation, this podcast episode is for you.

Learn about creating a culture of sending through preaching, the biblical basis for a 'Sending Church', how to help people put 'living sent' into action, and the significance of developing a culture of sending in the church. Discover the role of preaching in cultivating this culture and the importance of prioritizing the expansion of God's kingdom over personal ambitions.

Episode 790 Did the COVID-19 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 by the COVID-19 pandemic The effect on planters’ mental health How evangelism and discipleship fared The “big disappointment” in the research findings Advice for planters in light of 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. — Ed Stetzer 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. — Warren Bird New churches put a heavier emphasis on evangelism than discipleship, but discipleship increased. — Ed Stetzer 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. — Warren Bird 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. — Ed Stetzer 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. — Warren Bird 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. — Ed Stetzer The post Best of 2023: Did the Pandemic Change Church Planting? appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 789 Host Ed Stetzer returns with pastor and planter Mark Lee to discuss the impact of creating and maintaining a positive staff culture within the life of your church. Here’s how you can lead your team to multiply leaders within their ministry spaces while cultivating a spiritual and professional environment where your people can thrive. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The marks of an unhealthy staff dynamic How to sustain your staff values when the going gets tough Ways to help your team balance responsibilities and manage stress The pros and cons of hiring a small church staff Why servant leadership is key for head pastors 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 can gauge a healthy culture by how it acts during crisis. — Mark Lee As the church grows, even the senior pastor becomes more removed from the stories happening in the church. Their responsibility is to find those stories and communicate them wherever they can. — Mark Lee As leaders, our goal isn’t to gain many followers. It’s not even to be surrounded by the best technicians. Our job is to empower leaders who will do kingdom work better than we ever could. — Mark Lee We may teach hyperbolically, but when we actually engage with our people, it has to be filled with grace and servant leadership. — Mark Lee People go into ministry because they want to make a difference and feel like they’re in the trenches with other people. So, it’s important for us to act less like an office and to more like a family. — Mark Lee Don’t underestimate the importance of staff culture. Shaping a culture is an indispensable part of your leadership. As the head of staff, no one else can do that for you. — Ed Stetzer The post Creating a Positive Staff Culture appeared first on New Churches.

Discover the importance of biblical endurance in modern-day ministry. Learn about reframing pain as an opportunity for growth, cultivating resilience, discerning your calling, and finding a sustainable pace. Explore the challenges faced by pastors and the need for support and relationships with fellow pastors.

Episode 787 Host Tony Merida sits down with longtime friend, pastor, and author David Platt to discuss the Great Commission’s call for missional preaching. Tune in to learn more about how the meditation and internalization of Scripture can impact your own heart for change as you seek to transform the nations with the gospel. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The danger of separating your preaching from your discipleship Your role as part of the global body of Christ Ways to encourage your fellow leaders in their missional zeal Why prayer and preaching are both essential for your church’s discipleship culture How Scripture emphasizes the global church Helpful Resources: Sermons from Radical: Radical’s Messages Archive David’s Preaching Masterclass lesson: Preaching with the Nations in View 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 can all grow in our preaching as Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:15: ‘…let them see your progress.’ — Tony Merida What we’re doing in preaching is presenting people with the good news so that they can escape God’s wrath and find refuge and grace in Christ—and we want to do that among the nations. — Tony Merida The God we are pointing people to is the global God of the nations; not just God of the people we’re talking to at that moment, or people who look like those we’re talking to at that moment, or those we’re entrusted with the responsibility of shepherding. Jesus is the Savior of all nations. — David Platt Preaching is a fundamental part of this Great Commission we’ve been given, but if all we’re doing is preparing and teaching sermons, then we are not doing all that disciple making requires. — David Platt If we are worshipers of a global God, we should have a heart for the nations and for the spread of God’s glory among all the nations. That’s where all history is headed. — David Platt The zeal for the spread of God’s glory among all the nations is not just for a few people, but for every follower of Jesus. — David Platt The post David Platt on Preaching with the Nations in View appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 786 Host Ed Stetzer meets with Emmy award-winning producer and director of Lifeway Kids, Chuck Peters. Tune in as they discuss effective ways to engage children and their families as you further the gospel within your kids ministry context. Learn more about this rising generation’s social and emotional needs as it pertains to their identity in Christ. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What millennial parents are looking for The impact of accessible and applicable children’s curriculum Why presenting absolute truth is essential for the next generation The cultural, intellectual, and behavioral needs of kids today Why your church needs a game plan for what you teach and how you reach the children of your community Helpful Resources: Lifeway Kids’ new ministry Resource: Hyfi Currriculum Lifeway Kids’ free eBook: Flip the Script 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): Reaching families starts with reaching kids in any community. — Chuck Peters One of the biggest felt needs that parents have is for their children to find connection in a safe place. If they feel their kids are in a safe place, those parents are more likely to come and listen to what it is we have to share. — Chuck Peters There are pathways for engaging people who don’t know the Lord through church plants, specifically through children’s ministry. — Ed Stetzer Trust plus respect equals influence. — Chuck Peters Technology is a great way to engage with kids. But the performance-based ministry models of the past are not where it’s at. What’s more important is personal relational engagement, and we can do that anywhere. — Chuck Peters This is a generation that desperately needs to know that their identity is not something that they achieve. It’s something they receive and that God has spoken to. — Chuck Peters The post Kids Ministry appeared first on New Churches.

Episode 785 Host Tony Merida sits down with longtime friend, pastor, and author David Platt to discuss the fruitfulness of passionately pursuing Jesus amidst the difficulties of church planting today. Tune in discover how you can more effectively cultivate unity, conviction, and reliance on Jesus as you shepherd the people God has entrusted you with. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to categorize the primary, secondary, and tertiary convictions of the local church Why a global Christian worldview is crucial for living life on mission How a church’s compassion toward their community impacts the spread of the gospel locally Ways to cultivate healthy conversation around the gospel, the church, justice, and race Scriptural encouragement for the exhausted church planter Helpful Resources: David’s New book, Don’t Hold Back 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): I’ve seen so much division, discouragement, disconnect, and even despair in the church because we’ve been holding fast to not just an American dream, but holding back from the issues that the gospel requires us to press into. — David Platt The last thing the nations need is the exportation of nominal, cultural American Christianity. I’m zealous to see people sent out from churches in our country go to the nations, but I want to make sure they’re taking the gospel and not an Americanized version of it. — David Platt What’s led to a lot of the unhealthy things we’ve seen in the church is wielding God’s Word like it’s a weapon in a culture war instead of water for friends in a desert. — David Platt When sitting down with a brother or sister who’s struggling in their leadership role, start with the promises of God. You’re not alone in this long line of history of those who’ve gone before you. — David Platt These have been hard days. But if God is the goal, then these are great days. Don’t hold back from God; that’s the big picture. — David Platt The post Pursuing Jesus appeared first on New Churches.