Craig Robinson has a fascinating story. He felt called to plant a church in a mountain town and  in 2018, he moved to Canmore to do just that. But Craig and his wife and a few friends spent a year working and living in Canmore to better understand its people and rhythms before starting a church. To this day, he still works part time for his tile setting company while pastoring the Cairn. In this episode we talk about how he prepared for planting, why he chose Canmore, what life in a mountain town is like, being a co-vocational pastor, what a "cairn" is and why he named his church after it and much more. 

If you'd like to get in touch with Craig or the Cairn Church, you can find them at https://www.thecairncanmore.com/. 

If you'd like to get in touch with Ben or the podcast, please email us at [email protected].

If you'd like to find out more about the Grace Network,  please go to www.gracenetwork.ca.

In this episode we talk about why Matt planted Church of the Ward in Guelph ON with all of the pros and cons of a very local church. We talk about moving into needy neighbourhoods and how that affects the family of the church planter. We also talk about why Matt decided to merge his church with another church plant and later, why he decided to move on from that church. This is an honest, frank conversation about the twists and turns of church planting and the decisions you never thought you'd have to make. 

If you'd like to get in touch with Matt, you can find him here: https://www.sendnetwork.ca/contact

If you'd like to know more about the Grace Network, you can find out more here: www.gracenetwork.ca

If you'd like to get in touch with Ben or the podcast, you can email [email protected].

Jeremy tried to plant a church in his 20's which didn't work. But he took the lessons he learned to Huntsville, ON where he planted and pastored a church for more than a decade. Along the way he pioneered some new evangelistic approaches and also helped his denomination develop a healthy church planting ecosystem. We also talk about how Jeremy's church plant went about finding a building. There are lots of practical lessons from Jeremy in this episode.

If you'd like to get in touch with Jeremy, you can find him here: https://www.wycliffecollege.ca/users/jeremy-mcclung#profile-main

If you'd like to get in touch with Ben or the podcast, you can email [email protected].

If you'd like to find out more about the Grace Network, please go to https://www.gracenetwork.ca/.

This episode is different. It's just Ben giving a summary and his thoughts on the book "The Great DeChurching." No interview, no discussion, just straight content. If you liked this episode, please let us know. We have a few other books that we are considering for episodes like this, so if you found it helpful, please shoot us an email at [email protected] to let us know.

To find out more about the Grace Network you can visit gracenetwork.ca.

To get in touch with Ben or the podcast, please email [email protected].

To get the book, you can find it on Amazon.

Nathan Kapetyn is the pastor and church planter of Baden Central Church. You can find our more and get in touch with Nathan at https://badencentral.ca/.

If you'd like to get in touch with Ben or the podcast, please email [email protected]

In this episode we cover where Manitouwadge is, what it is like, who lives there and why you should think about living in a small town. We talk about the need for pastors in small towns and the spiritual climate of these places and why Russell started Boreal Baptist Church.

If you'd like to get in touch with Russell or Boreal Baptist Church, you can find them at https://www.borealbaptistchurch.ca/.

If you'd like to get in touch with the Grace Network, you can find them at https://www.gracenetwork.ca/.

If you'd like to get in touch with Ben or the podcast, please email [email protected].

In this episode we get into how Blair arrived in Regina, starting a church in his living room, surviving COVID, planting a second and third site, merging those sites and how to build a church-planting church. 

This episode is sponsored by the Grace Network, a Canadian Church planting network. To find out more about them, please visit gracenetwork.ca

If you'd like to get in touch with Blair or Compass Regina, please visit compassregina.com.

To get in touch with Ben or the podcast, please email [email protected]

What does it feel like to be a lay person in a church plant? Matt Wills shares his experiences from being part of two church plants. He talks about serving in all kinds of roles, what it is like to watch a church grow and change, what he wishes church planters and pastors knew about their people, whether or not he wants to volunteer in areas of strength or need and much more. 

If you want to get in touch with Ben or the podcast, please email [email protected].

Matt doesn't do much social media, but if you are looking for the church he currently attends, you can find it at www.christchurchtoronto.ca.

If you want to know more about the Grace Network, please go to gracenetwork.ca.

Dr. Andrew Root is an author, speaker and teacher at Luther Seminary in St. Paul MN. He wrote a book called "The Church After Innovation" which has a number of implications for those interested in church planting. In this interview we explore a number of his ideas including: Where did our ideas about innovation come from? How did mission and innovation get equated?  What should we be watching for when the church focuses on entrepreneurship and creativity? Why do we look for 'unique' churches? 

This episode is a bit different, but I think you'll enjoy it.

If you want to read more of what Dr. Root has written, you can find out more at https://www.andrewroot.org/

If you want to know more about the Grace Network, please go to Gracenetwork.ca

If you want to get in touch with Ben or the podcast, please email [email protected]

In this episode we cover how Colton ended up in Charlottetown, what the spiritual climate of PEI is like, the history of Anglicanism on the east coast, what his logo means (spoiler: he didn't make it), how the tourist season changes church life in Charlottetown and much more. 

To find out more about Redemption Church or get in touch with Colton, you can visit https://www.redemptionpei.org/

To find out more about the Grace Network, you can go to www.gracenetwork.ca

To get in touch with Ben, suggest guests/topics for the podcast, or submit Presbyterian jokes, please email [email protected].