200churches Podcast: Ministry Encouragement for Pastors of Small Churches

Thom Rainer is the co-host with his son Sam of the Rainer On Leadership Podcast, and the founder of ChurchAnswers.com and ChurchAnswers.University.

Thom is a research guy and a data guy and has studied the church for many years. He has written many books which you can see listed HERE. Thom and Jeff spoke about Thom's book, Pray and Go, which releases in June 2023, and about ChatGPT and pastors, and Thom's ministry membership site, Church Answers.

We talked about the HopeInitiative.com which helps church leaders change the culture of their church to reflect the heart of God for lost people.

For information about Church Answers University and questions about potential partial scholarships, contact [email protected]

Robby Angle is the CEO of Trueface.org and joins Jeff today to talk about what he and his team are doing with Trueface, about his life and background, and about how Trueface is resourcing churches with training in best practices for discipleship.

As Jeff said on the podcast, Trueface.org is offering some great training for you and your small group leadership, so you should definitely check it out!

Check out Robby's new book - The Cure For Groups - How to lead a small group people will talk about the rest of their lives!

And check out these other Trueface-related episodes:

Episode 61 with John Lynch - How Not To Impress God As A Pastor

Episode 64 with John Lynch - The Pastor's Secret To Breaking Sin's Power

Episode 304 with John Lynch - A Truckload of Pastoral Encouragement and Hope

Episode 239 with Steve Mason -  What Authors and Small Church Pastors Dream of - A Story of Radical Life Change

Pastor Tony is the pastor of Nicholasville United Methodist Church in Nicholasville Kentucky. You are in for a real treat with a humble, godly, 200church pastor from Kentucky. Enjoy!

Check out Tony' book, Jesus, The Four Gospels in Politics HERE!

David Wentz was a pastor for 38 years, originally an Engineer by vocation, and now an author and equipper of pastors around the world. Lots of kids and grandkids (I've forgotten how many!)

David and I speak for a bit about the revival at Asbury, and revivals in general - quite interesting to me. But we talk mostly about the ability of the church to thrive outside of a building - meeting with God in living rooms.

You can check out David's books here!

A HELLO Video from David is here

And His Website is HERE!

She's still writing the 1 Peter volume of the New International Commentary on the New Testament. She is on the NIV Translation Team. She has written three commentaries on Matthew and one on Philippians, as well as a book called Scripture As Communication, a book on biblical hermeneutics.

We talk about 1 Peter's content, but also what happens from the time you get the assignment to write a commentary on a book of the Bible, until it's actually published and on the shelf!

Check out Jeannine's books here.

Check out the Stetzer Church Leaders Podcast with Karl Vaters HERE!

On the eve of Saddleback's ouster from the Southern Baptist Convention, Rick Warren marched through a long conversation with me and Jonny. Rick talks about that in this episode. It's obvious he's not happy about it, but as always he remains gracious.

Undaunted by rejection, Rick is focused on his new calling, as the leader of FTT, Finishing The Task. He is pushing ahead to see what we in the Christian and Missionary Alliance call Great Commission Completion!

Rick recently finished his pastoral ministry of 43 years at Saddleback.  I (Jeff) was at his conference in 1997, when I was 34 and he was 43.  At that time Saddleback was 17 years old and 13,000 in attendance. They would more than double in the next 25 years.

You can find everything Rick is up to, with all the links, at PastorRick.com!

Rick is a teacher, coach, and adviser of pastors - you will get A LOT out of this episode! Enjoy!

Steve Dewitt is a husband, and father of two daughters, an author, pastor, and Christian leader. This is a conversation about his most recent book, and so much more! You're going to like Steve!

Check out a lot (not everything!) of what Steve is up to below...

Steve's Radio/Podcast Ministry: The Journey

Bethel Church where Steve is Lead Pastor

Steve's First Book: Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in everything

Steve's Second Book: Enjoying God In Everything - A Guide to Maximizing Life's Pleasures

Steve's Gospel Coalition articles

Jim Cymbala for 50 years had pastored the Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn - New York City. He joined Jeff to talk about his approach to ministry, his latest book, his experience through COVID, and him opinions on ministry culture, church growth, sermon prep, and so much more!

Jim has produced TheCallingSeries.org for pastors and church leaders - a group of 30 YouTube video lessons on the calling to pastoral ministry. You can access them for FREE - THIRTY 10-12 minute video lessons to encourage and develop your calling to serve.

Check out his book, Fan the Flame: Let Jesus Renew Your Calling and Revive Your Church - just released in September 2022.

Todd Rhoades has been in the "Connecting Staff to Churches" business since the dawn of the New Millennium, the year 2000! He recently spent 10 years on the team at the Leadership Network, and almost four years ago co-founded ChemistryStaffing.com with Matt Steen.

Todd has been neck deep in ministry practice, theory, and leadership for a long time. I've seen him on websites and emails for years and have FINALLY had the opportunity to sit down with him for an hour-long conversation, which I share with you today on Episode 413! Enjoy!

If you are sensing God's call to a new ministry, or if you need to call a new staff member and need help in the search, contact Todd or Matt at Chemistry Staffing!

Roger Parrott is the President of Belhaven University in Jackson Mississippi. He has written a book unlike any book I've ever seen on leadership - it's called Opportunity Leadership - Stop Planning and Start Getting Results.

Roger told me "getting rid of planning is the single best leadership decision I ever made!" I spoke with Dr. Parrott about his university, where he has served for decades, about his family, and about his perspective on leadership.

He has a phenomenal 5-part video series called "The Real Cost of College" which would be helpful to you if you are planning on sending a kid to college this year.