Build the Church

Imagine walking into a car dealership, finding the exact car you want, and hearing, "We only sell those on the third Friday of the month. Come back in six weeks." That dealership would close its doors. So why do so many churches offer their next step that way?

In this episode of the Build the Church Podcast, host Josh Roberie sits down with Pastor Noah Herrin of Way Church in Nashville, Tennessee for his third time on the show. Way Church is about to pass 1,700 salvations in just under three years, is launching its second location this September, and has become one of the clearest examples anywhere of moving a person from first-time guest to fully connected.

Noah walks through the four stages every person at your church is sitting in right now (seeking, attending, connecting, belonging), why one-size-fits-all communication is quietly costing you people, and the system he and his executive pastor Connor Crumpton built after they got tired of paying for four platforms that would not talk to each other. Then Josh and Noah get into a second conversation worth the listen on its own: why Noah started addressing hot cultural topics head-on, and what Josh Howerton told him that finally pushed him to do it.

If you have ever said "we need to shut the back door," this one gives you the framework and the practical next steps to actually do it.

In this episode, you'll learn: The only two things that shut the back door at any church: community or mission The 4 stages of connection (seeking, attending, connecting, belonging) and how to communicate differently to each Why a monthly or quarterly growth track is costing you people, and what weekly changes How Way Church defines "belonging" with three specific, measurable behaviors Why assuming one strategy works for everybody is the most common assimilation mistake How to promote your next step every Sunday without it becoming a stale announcement The story behind Church Grids, built in 10 hours a week by one executive pastor How one multisite church went from 40% to 65% growth track conversion by fixing follow-up alone Why Noah launched the Way Deeper Podcast after getting jealous of sports podcasts Why Gen Z wants to know what your church believes up front, not a year in

About our guest: Pastor Noah Herrin is the lead pastor of Way Church in Nashville, Tennessee, which he and his wife Maddie planted in 2022. Way Church is launching its second location this September and is approaching 1,700 salvations in under three years. Noah is also the co-creator of Church Grids, an all-in-one communication and assimilation platform now used by more than 30 churches, and the host of the Way Deeper Podcast.

Way Church: https://www.waychurch.com Way Revival, September 25 to 27 in downtown Nashville with Sadie Robertson Huff, Levi Lusko, and Noah Herrin: https://www.wayrevival.com Church Grids: https://www.churchgrids.com

Resources mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Your Team Church, an online assessment that helps you place every volunteer where they thrive. Create your own branded assessment URL in seconds and give each person a one-of-one personality portrait. Take the test for free at https://yourteam.church/disc

Prefer to watch? Catch the full video version on YouTube.

If this episode encouraged you, subscribe and share it with a pastor who needs it. Let's build the church together.

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What happens when God calls you to plant a church in the heart of New York City—and lands you in the exact same ballroom where your grandmother ran a street ministry four decades earlier?

In this episode of the Build the Church Podcast, host Josh Roberie sits down with native New Yorker and lead pastor of Legacy Church NYC, Ryan Schlachter. Ryan shares the unbelievable story of launching Legacy Church in Manhattan, debunks common misconceptions about pastoring in big cities, and breaks down the practical systems needed to disciple people in a fast-paced, transient environment.

🎙️ Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• The Power of God's Timing: The story behind planting in the Prince George Ballroom and honoring a family legacy that spans generations.
• Debunking NYC Myths: Why New Yorkers are actually friendly (and family-oriented) despite the stereotypes.
• Overcoming Transience: How to invest deeply in leaders even when you know they might eventually move away.
• Setting the Pace of Ministry: Why matching the frantic speed of your city burns your team out—and how to build a culture of sustainable joy instead.
• Being a Lighthouse: How to pastor in the middle of cultural friction without "clutching your pearls."
• Neighborhood-Based Systems: How Legacy Church uses localized groups and weekly prayer to combat urban loneliness.

🔗 Resources & Links Mentioned:

• This Episode's Sponsor: Try YourTeam Pro Tier free for 30 days at yourteam.church — Upgrade your Next Steps class with custom-branded, AI-powered personality assessments for volunteer matching!
• Connect with Ryan: Follow Pastor Ryan Schlachter and team on social media or check out legacychurch.nyc.
• Build the Church Podcast: Stay connected with Josh Roberie for practical advice, best practices, and encouragement to help you grow your church and go the distance in ministry.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps other pastors and leaders find the show!

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Most growth problems aren't outreach problems—they're connection problems. Host Josh Roberie sits down with Pastor Dustin Dozier (author of The Connected Church) to discuss practical strategies for closing the gap between Sunday attendance and deep community belonging.

In This Episode:

• Why connection systems are fundamentally an act of discipleship.
• How to master the crucial "first 7 minutes" of a guest's church experience.
• The 30-day follow-up framework that doubled guest retention at Upstate Church.
• Uncovering hidden blind spots in your church's first-time visitor experience.
• Simple, high-impact connection wins for churches with small or volunteer-only teams.
• The simple rule for guest services: "Always lead, never point."

Episode Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Welcome & Episode Overview
• 02:00 – Dustin Dozier’s Ministry Journey
• 03:44 – Bridging Attendance to Belonging
• 05:12 – The Story Behind The Connected Church
• 07:57 – Key Systems for Building a Connections Team
• 10:14 – Identifying & Fixing Guest Experience Blind Spots
• 18:05 – Nurturing First-Time Guests into Next Steps
• 21:22 – Quick Wins for Overwhelmed Ministry Leaders

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by YourTeam.church. Help people in your congregation discover their design and take their next step into serving with a customized digital assessment platform branded for your church. Sync directly with Planning Center and try the YourTeam Pro Tier free for 30 days at yourteam.church.

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Church Health Audit & Resources: theconnectedchurch.com | dustindozier.com
• Book: The Connected Church by Dustin Dozier (Available on Amazon)
• Connect with Dustin: Instagram & Facebook @DustinDozier

If this episode helped you, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and leave a review!

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Don't drop the ball at the finish line.

Too many leaders do everything right in the buildup to a big Sunday, then coast when they should be sprinting. In this solo episode, Josh walks through the final marketing push: the last few weeks before launch day, Easter, back-to-school, Christmas, or any target Sunday you're building toward.

You'll get a practical checklist, plus real examples from real churches, covering everything from your countdown posts to your Google Business profile.

In this episode:

• Why it takes about seven touches before someone walks through your doors, and why every touch should point to your website.
• The one decision your website should drive people to make.
• The most powerful post you can make: a personal invite from you, on camera. (Not a logo. A face and a voice.)
• Countdown posts that actually work: graphics, behind-the-scenes setup reels, POV walkthroughs, and the sticky-note "tomorrow" video.
• Creating anticipation and FOMO instead of making announcements.
• Launch day and the follow-up post: capture the energy in real time, then circle back later in the week.
• Turning your contact list into a nurture sequence four weeks out.
• Website essentials: service time, date, and location front and center, a photo of you and your family, and kids ministry info people can find.
• Local SEO, your Google Business profile, digital missionaries, and why you should search your church in incognito mode.
• Mailers, invite cards, outreach, and the non-digital push.
• Why you are the CIO of your church: the Chief Invite Officer.

Real examples featured from Boundless Church (Covina, CA), Waychurch (AZ), New Circle Church (KY), Balance Church, Awaken Church (Atlanta), and Discover Church (San Marcos). Screenshots and clips are on the video version, and links are below.

Resources:

• Hello Church, for turning your contacts into a nurture sequence: https://www.myhello.church
• REACHRIGHT, for church SEO and the Google Ad Grant: https://reachrightstudios.com
• Church of the Highlands free prayer resources: https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/prayer
• YourTeam.Church: https://yourteam.church/

This episode is sponsored by your team.church, the assessment app that connects every volunteer to a team where they'll actually thrive. Custom URL with your church's branding, AI-powered team matching, and personality insights your church has never had access to before. Schedule a demo, see examples, or start your free trial at yourteam.church.

Follow us on Instagram at @buildthe.church for a free resource every Friday, plus clips and best practices all week. If this episode helped you, leave a rating wherever you listen. Keep building and believing strong.

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Your church doesn't have an invitation problem. It has a connection problem.

In this episode, Josh sits down with Michael Murphy, founder of Leaderscape, author of XLR8, and former executive pastor at Hillsong Church. Michael has helped churches around the world connect guests and build disciple-making systems, and he shares the strategy at the heart of it all: the VIP team.

You'll learn why every guest should be treated as God's guest, why your welcome team is as important as your worship team, and the step-by-step guest experience Michael teaches churches from plants of 70 to multi-site movements in the thousands.

In this episode:

• The conviction that changes everything: they're not visitors, they're God's guests.
• Make disciples vs. let disciples, and the spiritual battle behind guest connection.
• Why your welcome team is as important as your worship team.
• The VIP team explained: undercover angels with one job.
• The numbers: 4% of attendance in guests, 8% of the room ready to receive them.
• The scripted conversation that turns a greeting into a friendship.
• The second mile: offering brunch, and why it works even when guests say no.
• The connection card at the end, not the beginning. No pressure, all warmth.

Resources:

• Connect with Michael: DM @michaelrmurphy on Instagram and mention Josh and the Build the Church podcast.
• Read XLR8 by Michael Murphy, with a foreword by Pastor Chris Hodges.

This episode is sponsored by your team.church, the online spiritual gift and DISC assessment that matches people to volunteer teams at your church. Try the free version at yourteam.church/disc, or unlock every feature free for 30 days at yourteam.church.

Follow us on social media at @buildthe.church. If this episode helped you, leave a rating wherever you listen. Keep building and believing strong.

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What are your first-time guests talking about on the drive home? Pastor Victor Ehiemere says his entire goal is to "hijack the conversation on the way home," and it's one of the biggest reasons The Well Church has grown so fast.

In this episode of the Build the Church Podcast, host Josh Roberie sits down with Pastor Victor Ehiemere, a trained medical doctor turned church planter who leads The Well Church in Maryland. Since launching in 2022 with around 470 people, The Well has grown to 1,300 to 1,400 every weekend, with 2,800 this past Easter, largely because they've become experts at connecting first-time guests and helping them take a next step.

At the center of it all is a simple, fun idea Victor calls "Party With the Pastor." If you've ever struggled to move people from the crowd into your Growth Track, next-steps class, or small groups, this conversation will give you a practical, repeatable strategy you can start using right away.

In this episode, you'll learn: How to "hijack the conversation" so guests talk about your church all the way home What a "Party With the Pastor" is, and the exact 15-minute (5-5-5) formula that makes it work Why Victor tells his church, "We're here more for the first-time guests than we are for you" How to naturally feed your Growth Track every single month without begging people to sign up The in-person and online "feeder" systems that get guests to the party (cards, texts, personalized videos) Why "nothing makes a person stick to a church more than finding a friend" How a doctor from Nigeria ended up planting one of the fastest-growing churches around

This is a masterclass in church connection, guest follow-up, and assimilation for pastors, church planters, and ministry leaders who want people to move from attending to belonging.

About our guest: Pastor Victor Ehiemere is the lead pastor of The Well Church in Maryland, which he planted with his wife, Pastor Amby. He's a trained medical doctor, a communicator, and the creator of resources to help people take their next step of faith.

🔗 The Well Church: https://www.mywellchurch.com ▶️ Pastor Victor TV (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@victorehiemere

Resources mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Your Team Church, an online personality and spiritual gifts assessment that's fun to take and easy to administrate. Get your own branded URL so people can scan a QR code in your next-steps class and get matched to a team. Take it free, or try the full platform free for 30 days: 👉 https://yourteam.church/disc

⏱️ Chapters (adjust timestamps to your final edit) 00:00 Intro 00:00 From medical doctor to church planter 00:00 The Well Church's growth story 00:00 Why they're obsessed with connection 00:00 What is "Party With the Pastor"? 00:00 The 15-minute formula (5-5-5) 00:00 Hijacking the conversation on the way home 00:00 The feeder systems: cards, texts, and personal videos 00:00 Following up into Growth Track and groups 00:00 Why finding a friend is everything 00:00 Pastor Victor TV and next-step resources

Connect with Build the Church: 🌐 Website: https://www.buildthe.church 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/build-the-church/id1637368624 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5evaiz9zBcH34YeFAeh5Gw 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildthe.church/

If this episode helped you, subscribe and share it with a pastor who needs it. Let's build the church together.

#churchconnection #churchgrowth #firsttimeguests #growthtrack #churchplanting #pastors #ministry #nextsteps #assimilation #buildthechurch #guestexperience #discipleship

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People can doubt your faith and disagree with your theology, but they can't deny it when you're serving them. In this episode, Josh Roberie sits down with Dave Thomas, pastor of Courageous Church in Charleston, SC, to share 101 simple outreach ideas your church can start using today—many of them completely free.

You'll hear how one school breakfast transformed an entire church-community relationship, why a single bottle of water led to a changed life, and the best practices every church should follow before serving (including how NOT to get chased by the police).

Want the full list plus 101 BONUS ideas? Email [email protected] or DM Josh the word "outreach."

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"Grandma is on TikTok." And according to Pastor Chris Moore, she might just be the cheapest person your church can reach online.

Most churches are completely ignoring TikTok, and according to Pastor Chris Moore, that's exactly why it's one of the cheapest and most fruitful places to reach new people right now.

In this episode of the Build the Church Podcast, host Josh Roberie sits down with Chris Moore, ARC church planter, lead pastor of Valley Church in Phoenix, Arizona, and founder of Good and Faithful Studio. Chris pulls back the curtain on the TikTok ad strategies he's used to help churches reach their communities for a fraction of what they're spending on Facebook and Instagram, plus a few "gatekeeping secrets" he's never shared publicly before.

If you're a pastor or ministry leader who feels behind on social media, this conversation will give you practical, doable next steps to get the word out about your church.

In this episode, you'll learn: Why the cheapest audience to reach on TikTok is actually 50+ (yes, grandma is on TikTok) How Chris's TikTok ads performed 3x better than Meta, with "plan your visit" costs as low as $7 to $11 What makes a scroll-stopping church ad (and why over-producing it can hurt you) The simple daily ad budget sweet spot for the best return on investment Whether your church needs its own TikTok account or can just run ads Why a pastor's personal account often out-performs the church's account The Facebook group strategy Chris used to build an audience of 25,000+ people in his city Chris's wild journey from youth pastor, to selling bulldogs online, to digital marketing

About our guest: Pastor Chris Moore is the lead pastor of Valley Church in Phoenix, AZ, and the founder of Good and Faithful Studio, a creative agency providing done-for-you social media, photo, and video for churches. He's also the creator of Blessed Babysitting, a new app helping churches and families book faith-aligned childcare.

Good and Faithful Studio: https://goodandfaithful.studio

Resources mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Your Team Church, an online assessment that helps you place every volunteer where they thrive. Create your own branded assessment URL in seconds and give each person a one-of-one personality portrait. Take the test for free at https://yourteam.church/disc

Prefer to watch? Catch the full video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rHwmKJevnxY

If this episode encouraged you, subscribe and share it with a pastor who needs it. Let's believe again for what God can do through your church.

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In this episode of the Build the Church podcast, host Josh Roberie speaks with Brian Ayers from Gloo about the transformative role of artificial intelligence in ministry. They explore the intersection of AI and human flourishing, discussing research on AI's impact on spiritual growth and the development of tools like Church.tech and Glue AI Chat, designed to empower pastors and enhance their outreach efforts. The conversation emphasizes the importance of aligning AI with Christian values and the potential for technology to support meaningful connections within the church.

https://church.tech/

https://chat.gloo.com/api/auth/authorize-anonymous-user?redirect=/

https://gloo.com/resources/blog/introducing-the-flourishing-ai-benchmark

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In this episode of the Build the Church podcast, host Josh Roberie speaks with Pastor Donnell Mann, who shares his incredible journey from a life of addiction and incarceration to becoming the lead pastor of Your Story Church in Houston. Donnell emphasizes the importance of personal stories, the transformative power of faith, and the role of community in recovery. He discusses the challenges he faced, including serious legal charges and the impact of his past on his family relationships. Through his experiences, Donnell highlights that God is always writing our stories and that hope can be found even in the darkest times.

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