Let's face it. We gather people and organize events in our church to connect church families and guests. But when we create events, are we doing them with a next step in mind or how "great" the event can be?

We invite JJ Yount on the broadcast alongside Adi Coe, who both serve at First Redeemer Church in Cumming, Georgia. As a seasoned student pastor and associate pastor, JJ shares some of his processes for helping events be next-step generators in our discipleship pipeline throughout his ministry and as the student pastor at First Redeemer. Adi serves on the team with JJ connecting women at First Redeemer and the community in discipleship. In this episode, the team talks about the following:

• How do we communicate and promote events?
• All events start with how the church views the events in general.
• What makes the engine of your church go, and how do you make it go faster?
• Are your events just for evangelism, or could they also do discipleship? 
• Who are you trying to bring in, and what action must they take?
• Do something exciting they haven't done before but know your strategy beforehand.
• Someone who has never been to church and doesn't have a relationship with the church, and it's hard not to see it from their view if they have been raised there. 
• It's like Marketing 101: Your internal language needs to be rethought and get out of the bubble of the church.
• The same event doesn't translate into different contexts, so know your demographic and the people you want to reach.
• Where do you start trying to make your church more diverse?
• Dig into what the community needs. People know when it's not genuine.
• God loves creativity!
• JJ visited Africa. Noticed that some of the negative impacts are when we go in and try to make churches in Africa like US churches, they lose the culture. We are not there to create a US church. 
• How can we figure out what culturally matters to that person so we can meet them where they are and meet their need?
• Every human wants to belong, but they belong differently, and you must also see this at your events. Train leaders to see this too.
• The win is the people who move on to the next stage (i.e., joining a small group, etc.).
• Pre- and Post-Checklist

Dr. Patrick Morley founded Morley Properties in 1973 and was one of Florida’s 100 largest privately held companies. He’s been the president or managing partner of over 59 different companies and has taught a bible study to over 5,000 men for decades on Friday mornings. He has written over 18 books. His book, Man in the Mirror has sold over 3,000,000 copies worldwide and selected as one of the most influential books of the 20th Century. Dr. Morley has a new book out entitled: A Man’s Guide to Spiritual Disciplines.

In this episode, Patrick and Scott explore:

• The status of men and spiritual growth in America.
• Evangelism without discipleship is cruel. Patrick Morley
• God tends to communicate in 4 ways.
  • Through His works
  • Through His Word
  • Through the whisper of His Spirit
  • Through the witness of believers
• The importance of drawing value from who I am not what I do.
• How to learn to engage with God’s Word even if you do not like to read.
• Explore the deepest hunger of the human heart.
• How a pastor or leader can observe a Sabbath even when overwhelmed with work and family responsibilities.
• How the pastor can build men in the church through spiritual disciplines.
• A suggestion for the true measurement of men’s ministry success.

Scott Sullivan and Carl Johnson interview Ken Adams, pastor at Crossroads Church Newnan, Georgia and the President of IMPACT Ministries. IMPACT Ministries has a full line of resources developed to help disciples make fully trained disciples.

In this episode:

• Ken shares how IMPACT Ministries was birthed and how leaders all over the world are using the material.
• https://impactdisciples.com/
• Ken shares how IMPACT resources may be different from others.
• Carl shares from experience that the material shows the heart of a disciple making pastor and helps the disciple learn to live a disciple making journey.
• We learn the purpose of curriculum and how it can be used effectively to guide one’s journey.
• Solid biblical curriculum always points people to scripture as the source of faith and practice.
• Ken shares practical ideas how IMPACT curriculum is used at Crossroads Church.
• Scott shares that healthy churches multiply disciples, multiply groups, and multiply churches. And curriculum can be a guide to help you align the theology for a seamless biblical focus.

Where does evangelism end and discipleship begin? That is an initial question in a discipleship resource called This is the Gospel. This is the Gospel was created to help new believers and undiscipled believers understand their walk with Christ, become grounded as disciples, and gain a basic framework for the Christian life.

This resource was developed by Dr. Paul Gotthardt, formerly the founding and lead pastor of Life Baptist Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. After 18 years of ministry in Las Vegas, he was called as the sixth senior pastor at Sherwood in June 2021. Paul is a native of Savannah, GA, and he and his wife have been married for 27 years. Father of two college age daughters: Shana and Kaylee.

John Lagrange is the Director of This Is the Gospel at Sherwood Church, and he was previously the missions and groups pastor at Life Baptist Church in Las Vegas. He is originally from New York and married to Virginia. They have three kids and are exploring all South Georgia has to offer!

In this episode:

• What drove Paul to create this curriculum?
• Why are relationships foundational in our walk with the Lord?
• John gives his testimony and talks about his involvement with This is The Gospel.
• How do we maintain the tension of the relationship with Christ, the Church, and the World?
• What does a basic framework for living a life of Christ look like?

Scott N. Smith is the Communications Director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board (GBMB). He was brought on the GBMB team in 2012 after he had built a digital consultancy for churches while traveling in full-time evangelism for 17 years. Scott's expertise in digital strategy and his broad engagement with hundreds of churches created an understanding of what churches need to use digital effectively. He recently did a series of Facebook live events in which his video on Artificial Intelligence went viral with high engagement. 

PJ Dunn was between two Scotts (Scott Sullivan and Scott Smith) on this broadcast as the team dived into AI and applied it to discipleship that advances the Gospel:

• Scott Smith lays a definition of AI for the audience.
• Looking into the flaws of AI and how it takes on thinking processes.
• AI doesn't add to knowledge but helps humans do things quicker and more efficiently.
• Practical uses of AI with sermon and discipleship preparation.
• Somewhat like using a commentary. The medium is different, but the application is the same.
• You can give personal prompts to AI to determine the output.
• Is AI strengthening, or is it pushing you over to lethargy?
• See AI as a way to gain time back in your day and as an assistant.
• It can't replace personal study and connection to the Lord and Holy Spirit.
• AI can't duplicate uniqueness as you can.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Where preaching fits into a churches disciple making plan.
• Ideas to engage your church from the pulpit that leads to a next step in discipleship.
• How important it is to think and pray through the invitation, just like the rest of the message.
• That public proclamation (preaching) is not the only tool to make disciples.
• The art of engaging people and equipping them to serve.
• The digital footprint is now the first impression for many.
• Technology in church is a great avenue to involve young generations.
• The shift to hybrid worship (in-person and online) brings accountability in what we say and a stark reminder that many more people are watching than what you know.
• US is not #3 behind India and China in the number of people who profess to NOT be a Christian, Craig Etheridge in his book, BOLD.
• Outreach Magazine says that remote learning “threatens the $670 billion college-industrial complex. It also threatens the traditional approaches to discipleship.”
• Fight for relationship and the right to speak truth into another’s life, not just to assert your authority.

Scott Sullivan and Ray Sullivan conduct an incredible interview with Scott & Dawn Smith. Scott is the Discipleship Pastor at Lakewood Baptist in Gainesville, GA. Dawn is the Connection Director at Lakewood. Together, Scott and Dawn lead a podcast called, Forevermarriage.org.

In this episode we learn:

• The creative ways that Scott Smith and Sully proposed to their brides!
• Why the Smiths began the Forevermarriage.org podcast.
• Key insights for couples to finish well.
• The critical need for leaders to have people upstream (mentors & walking buddies) and downstream (those you invest in).
• Powerful relationship building principles like, “listening to your spouse to understand them not to change them.”
• To study your spouse and discern whether they are a red solo cup or a crystal goblet.
• Hear an important meaning of “passion” that can change your perspective of your spouse.
• Effective ideas to affair proof your marriage.
• Lessons for young parents including: “you can raise your kids and spoil your grandkids or spoil your kids and raise your grandkids.”
• Incredible personal rhythms to help deepen intimacy and gospel impact like fighting through awkwardness to learn to pray together.
• The most powerful marriage advice that Sully has ever heard.

We know we need volunteers, but are we willing to slow down and create opportunities and pipelines that build a volunteer framework to get there? 

Volunteer expert Mac Lake is a pioneering influence in the church planting movement. Through his partnership with West Ridge Church, they created the LAUNCH Network. The North American Mission Board adopted the LAUNCH Church Planting system in 2015, and Mac served at NAMB through implementation. Mac founded the Multiply Group in 2019, which is committed to helping leaders and churches multiply. He is the author of four books, including The Multiplication Effect. Mac and his wife, Cindy, live in Charleston, SC, and have three grown children and four grandchildren.

In this episode, you will learn:

• What Sarah McGlocklin has to do with reaching new volunteers
• Several current volunteer stats, including:
  • 1 in 4 Americans volunteers at least once in the past year, with women volunteering more than men
    • research.lifeway.com/2018/07/26/data-paints-a-picture-of-volunteerism-across-the-nation
• As the percentage of the churches staffing budget increases, the percentage of people volunteering decreases
  • theunstuckgroup.com/measuring-church-health-how-many-people-will-serve
• Post pandemic still waiting for volunteers to return, with only 35% of Americas serving, down 44% from the pre-pandemic era
  • christianitytoday.com/news/2022/january/church-ministry-volunteer-gallup-survey-lifeway-wr.html 
• 61% of people who volunteered in the last six months considered volunteering an act of generosity, and pastors disagree
  • barna.com/research/volunteering-giving
• Mac recaps his book, The Multiplication Effect - multiplygroup.org
• Ray talks first steps in addressing volunteer culture
• How discipleship is the backbone of your volunteer pipeline
• How to apply these principles to a church as small as 10 people
• What has it been like for Mac through and after the pandemic with the Multiply Group
• PJ’s experience as a Serve Minister
• How to implement a “white glove” experience for new volunteers
• A word from Ray that it starts with us and discipleship to change how we reach and engage volunteers

Dr. Josh Smith is the Pastor of Prince Avenue Baptist in Bogart, GA. He is the author of Preaching for a Verdict, co-author of the Psalm 1-50 volume in the Christ-Centered Exposition Series, his latest work, The Titus Ten. Pastor Josh has ministered in more than 30 countries, worked with international students at Duke University, and served as a missionary in central Europe.

FUN Facts: Josh has 4 daughters and wrote a book for MEN!! He was raised with a deep love for all things Elvis!

https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/the-titus-ten-P005834421

In this episode, Josh and Scott explore:

Why men need to be grounded in the Word

• What is real success in local church men’s ministry and why the need for consistent “movement” among our men?
• The need for men to take dominion over 4 domains: the flesh, home, work, and the church.
• How men who have never been discipled learn to disciple others
• Keys to get men serving in your local church
• Why do men seem so hesitant to volunteer in most churches?
• Where do small groups or Sunday School classes fit into effective men’s ministry?
• Josh makes a bold claim that men cannot fulfill God’s design for their lives without being involved in the local church.
• Why delayed gratification may be the missing link in many of our men’s lives?
• And why YOLO may be the most important acronym for men in 2023!