NC Baptists

The role of associate pastor can often be neglected or misunderstood. In this episode, hear directly from a pastor and his associate about the essential role this position plays in the life of the church.

In this episode, Mission Catalyst Dennis Conner and Chris Autry, pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Fayetteville, join two other pastors — Associate Pastor Andrew Barclift and now former Pastor Luke Lunceford (now a mission catalyst with N.C. Baptists) — to discuss the role and value of an associate pastor. Together, the pastors share personal experiences, reflect on the relationship between a lead pastor and an associate, and explore how this essential role serves and supports the flock of God.

God has called everyone in the church to live on mission for Him. But sometimes, this call to live on mission can feel overwhelming. On this week’s episode, hear from NAMB’s Women’s Evangelism Director Catherine Renfro as she shares encouragement and advice as we step in faith to share the gospel with those around us.

In this episode of the N.C. Baptists Podcast, Ashley Reffit, women's leadership and discipleship consultant for N.C. Baptists, sits down with Catherine Renfro, national director of women’s evangelism at the North American Mission Board, to discuss living on mission. Together, the two explore reasons we need to be living on mission, why it can feel difficult to share the gospel and practical ways we can be a light to the world around us. 

Listen in to a conversation between Todd Unzicker, Executive Director-Treasurer for N.C. Baptists, and former Executive Director Treasurer Milton Hollifield as they share ministry updates and celebrate how God is moving across the state and beyond. 

During a recent N.C. Baptist “Staff Day,” former EDT Milton Hollifield addressed staff for the first time since his retirement in 2021. Hollifield encouraged N.C. Baptists to “let Christ be magnified.” 

In this episode of the N.C. Baptists Podcast, Chad Austin, managing editor of the Biblical Recorder, caught up with Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Unzicker and Milton Hollifield, who now serves with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) to assist with strategic partnerships with state conventions. 

Listen in to their conversation as they share life and ministry updates, and celebrate God’s work among N.C. Baptist churches.

In early August, communities across North Carolina were met with open arms by nearly 1,200 N.C. Baptist churches through an “on mission together” initiative known as “ServeNC.” But now that the weeklong emphasis has wrapped up, what’s next for churches? 

On this week’s episode of the N.C. Baptist podcast, three N.C. Baptist team members — Antoine Lassiter, Barry Murry and Casey Norkett — share stories of how God moved across the state, how churches met needs and how “ServeNC” can serve as a catalyst for evangelism in your church. 

As you plan to foster relationships that were developed this summer, here are some ways you can continue to love your community in Jesus’ name.

1. Pray for people you met during “ServeNC” and for the relationships your church can develop with the community. 

What does a supporting church and a sending church look like? SendNC stands ready to help churches plant churches — everywhere for everyone. Listen to how your church can support and send church planters across North Carolina. 

In this episode, SendNC Director Mike Pittman and SendNC Church Planting Strategist Paul Ortiz sit down with Pastor Robert Hefner of Pleasant Garden Baptist Church to discuss how N.C. Baptist churches — regardless of size — can be supporting and sending churches. They discuss why your church should support church planters and how you can become a sending church.

God is on the move across our state, and He is using the next generation of Be.Do.Tell staffers to train the next generation of North Carolina students. Learn more about how God is working this summer through our summer youth camps in this week’s podcast episode.

In this episode of the N.C. Baptists’ Podcast, Daniel Rose, a student ministry strategist for N.C. Baptists, sits down with three Be.Do.Tell. summer staffers to hear an update about how God is working in this year’s summer youth weeks at Fort Caswell. Listen in as they share how God led them to work at camp, what they are witnessing in the lives of students and more. 

Podcast guests include summer staffers Maelyn Ginn, Reagan Houchard and Luke Clevenger.

Recent studies show that 9 out of every 10 churches need some form of revitalization. In the latest episode of the N.C. Baptists’ Podcast, hear from a panel of guest speakers about how they’ve seen revitalization bring life back into churches. 

In this episode, hear from a panel of ministry leaders featured at the recent Reconstruct Conference as they discuss the variety of methods for church revitalization, including church fostering, merging and replanting. Hear powerful testimonies of how God is using revitalization efforts to grow and strengthen His church.

List of panel speakers include:

• Ben McRoy, mobilization pastor; Faith Baptist Church, Youngsville

10 years after its release, Kenny Lamm’s article “9 reasons people aren’t singing in worship” continues to resonate with many today. Tune in to hear more about the reasons behind this article and why so many churches still struggle to encourage their members to participate in worship.

In this episode of the N.C. Baptists’ Podcast, Church Health & Revitalization Strategist Terry Long sits down with Kenny Lamm, worship ministries strategist for N.C. Baptists, as the two discuss why churches aren’t singing in worship. Listen in as they explain reasons for stagnated worship and what churches can begin to do to facilitate vibrant worship within their congregations. 

Every church desires to be a safe space for children and adults alike. In this episode of the N.C. Baptists Podcast, hear from two members of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention as they share how their new curriculum will help churches across the country protect the vulnerable and give them the tools they need to prevent and respond to sexual abuse.

Together, the three of them discuss the newly-released ministry toolkit, the five essentials of abuse prevention and response, how churches can protect their flock and more.

Next week, N.C. Baptists will be gathering with partners from across the country to celebrate being on mission together as one team. In this episode, Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Unzicker highlights how we “play ball” together as we put the mission of the gospel first.

What does it look like for N.C. Baptists to play ball as one team? Here are four ways we partner together.

• N.C. Baptists partner as one team to reach the lost near & far. God has given our churches a goal: to go and make disciples of all nations. We play ball together so that people across North Carolina and beyond can have a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• N.C. Baptists partner as one team to train disciples, churches & the next generation. Disciple-making is a core component of the Christian faith. We play ball together to train believers from all stages of life — from the youngest disciple to the most seasoned disciple-maker.

• N.C. Baptists partner as one team to send church planters through the local church. If N.C. Baptists are a baseball team, then the word “sending” belongs somewhere on our jerseys. Sending is in our DNA as N.C. Baptists. Our churches are on mission together to send senders through the local church.