The Acts 29 Podcast

Acts 29 STORIES | Will Basham

Redeemer Fellowship ChurchActs 29 Church in Hard PlacesActs 29 Rural CollectiveMatthew Spandler-Davison on Twitter

Acts 29 UrbanActs 29 Urban ResourcesPastor Brian Key on TwitterGrimke Seminary

Most of us imagine lush green hills dotted by sheep when we think of Ireland. But it’s been said that the Republic of Ireland is the least-churched English-speaking country in the world. Research shows that Bible-believing Christians make up less than one percent of the nearly five million people who call Ireland home, and many towns have no evangelical churches at all. In the land of St. Patrick, secularism is growing. Many people don’t know or care about the Bible’s claims. Jonny Pollock joins me on the podcast today to discuss church planting in Ireland. Jonny is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and became a Christian at the age of 21 after being given a Bible. Jonny and his wife, Julie, trained as nurses and served as missionaries in Mexico before returning to Ireland where they’re planting an Acts 29 church.

Redeemer Church 

Christian entertainment often gets a bad rap. It’s either seen as cheesy, irrelevant or promoting a dishonest view of the faith. But The Chosen, a television series on the ministry of Jesus which debuted in 2018, seems to stand in a category of its own, being hailed as “Christian America’s Must-See TV Show '' by The Atlantic. The series, which is in its third season, is the highest crowd-funded media project of all time and has had 300 million viewers around the world. Dallas Jenkins, creator, director, and co-writer of The Chosen series, joins the podcast to discuss the show's impact and success. Jenkins is a graduate of the University of Northwestern - St. Paul where he met his wife, Amanda. The two also released an interactive study guide of The Chosen in 2021.

Planting healthy, multiplying churches can be costly. In the early stages of church planting, few things occupy a planter’s mind more than finances. A new church’s noble vision to reach its city can be hindered by a lack of resources. This is why fundraising is an essential part of strategic planting. While most pastors receive significant training in biblical theology, many are ill-equipped in fundraising. Acts 29 pastors Travis Cunningham and Adam Muhtaseb join the podcast to discuss how church planters can gain confidence in fundraising. Travis planted Story Church in Rancho Cucamonga, California and Adam planted Redemption City Church in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ministry is a joy but also a burden. It’s a calling from the Lord that we cannot sustain apart from him. When we’re young in church planting and optimistic at the start of something new, we might know in our heads that it won’t always feel so exciting—but still, we’re excited. But as months and years pass, hard times can wear us down. Ministry challenges, pressures, failures, and heartaches assail us; we realize this whole church planting / pastoral ministry thing is way beyond us. How do we keep going in faithful gospel ministry? Hunter Beaumont joins the podcast today to discuss ministry faithfulness for the long haul. Hunter is the lead pastor of Fellowship Denver Church in central Denver, CO. He has a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, was a CPA in his previous life, and claims to be “mediocre” at several Colorado pursuits such as snow skiing, cycling, and fly fishing.

Acts 29 cares deeply about the spiritual and emotional health of our pastors and their wives. Ministry constantly pelts pastors with hectic demands but, if married, their wives and families are their primary responsibility before the Lord. How can husbands better care for their wives, and wives for their husbands, to encourage family and ministry health for the long term? And when is it time to get outside help? Dwayne Bond joins the podcast today to discuss how Acts 29 is helping ministry couples care for each other well. Dwayne serves Acts 29 as our director of pastoral care and is the lead and planting pastor of Wellspring Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dwayne has a Ph.D. in professional counseling, a master’s in counseling and discipleship, another master’s in religion, and a bachelor’s in finance. He has been married to Leslie for more than 25 years, and they have three children.