New Churches Podcast

As our society tips toward majority non-Christian, the need for clearer calls to the gospel becomes paramount. Ed Stetzer, Shane Pruitt, and Catherine Renfro talk about how to give an effective gospel presentation.

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Sermons should be text driven and every text should be preached in the light of the gospel. And if the gospel is preached, then an opportunity to respond to the gospel should be given. —Shane Pruitt

In giving an invitation, people need to know why they need to put their trust in Jesus and that God’s not made it complicated for us to be saved. —Catherine Renfro

The cheat code for doing an invitation clearly and concisely is to be prepared. A lot of times communicators don’t prepare their invitations like they prepare the sermon. —Shane Pruitt

If there’s confusion on the stage, there will be mass confusion in the seats and the last thing we want anybody to do is to respond in confusion. —Shane Pruitt

At the end of the day, we want to make sure that those who respond to the gospel have an opportunity to talk with someone afterward. —Catherine Renfro

As the leader, the shepherd of the church, your goal is to to create and cultivate a culture of evangelism. You don’t want to go, “OK, this is the one weekend a year we’re actually going to be evangelistic.” —Shane Pruitt

If you proclaim the gospel, give an invitation and people respond but you don’t have a follow-up plan, we’re being bad stewards in that. —Shane Pruitt

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Hosts Noah Oldham and Vance Pitman sit down with Pastor Matt Carter to discuss the significance of creating a culture of sending through preaching. Here’s what it means to “live sent” and to empower your people to do the same.

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The local church is not the ultimate goal; the ultimate goal is the kingdom of God being expanded and God birthing His local church. One of the ways we create that sending culture is through preaching. —Vance Pitman

We always had next steps. It’s one thing to get everybody fired up from the pulpit. It’s another thing to have something they can hang their hat on. —Matt Carter

We end every service telling our our church after we pray, “Go to love, serve and tell.” —Noah Oldham

Preaching is not the dispensing of information. Preaching is a call to transformation. There has to be an opportunity for people to respond. We have to apply “living sent” for our people to begin to take those steps. —Vance Pitman

There’s a pent-up desire in the body of Christ to engage in the mission of God, and I think it’s bottlenecked at the pastor because we’re not giving them the opportunity to do it. —Matt Carter

You’ve got to be passionate about it yourself or your people are never going to follow you. It’s got to be something you believe in, deep down in the core of your being. —Matt Carter

I would warn a pastor to be prepared. There will be opposition. There’s an enemy within and an enemy without. —Vance Pitman

The post Best of 2023: Preaching a Theology of Sending appeared first on New Churches.

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Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your church differently than others? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about fascinating new research.

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Movie theaters and schools where, disproportionately, church plants meet, were shut down. It really had an impact on church planting. When schools started meeting again, many didn’t let anybody in from the outside, to create a bubble. — Ed Stetzer

I was surprised at how few things dipped during the pandemic. I was brought to tears when I tallied the survey responses and I saw how many hundreds of churches launched during the pandemic. — Warren Bird

New churches put a heavier emphasis on evangelism than discipleship, but discipleship increased. — Ed Stetzer

We found that, both pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, evangelism was stronger than the discipleship component, but during the pandemic, the discipleship meter was almost as high as the evangelistic meter. — Warren Bird

I think it probably was the greatest time of church shifting and switching in our lifetime. I want new churches to be evangelized into existence. — Ed Stetzer

While people are willing to gather in most places now, the volunteering piece—that second step of engagement—has been really slow. It did not surge back with the people coming back. — Warren Bird

Can you imagine three years ago saying, “Hey, everyone, scan the QR code on your screen”? But now the grandmas are holding up their phones and scanning the QR code. It is fascinating how this has been accelerated technologically. — Ed Stetzer

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Host Ed Stetzer returns with pastor and planter Mark Lee to discuss the impact of creating and maintaining a positive staff culture within the life of your church. Here’s how you can lead your team to multiply leaders within their ministry spaces while cultivating a spiritual and professional environment where your people can thrive.

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You can gauge a healthy culture by how it acts during crisis. — Mark Lee

As the church grows, even the senior pastor becomes more removed from the stories happening in the church. Their responsibility is to find those stories and communicate them wherever they can. — Mark Lee

As leaders, our goal isn’t to gain many followers. It’s not even to be surrounded by the best technicians. Our job is to empower leaders who will do kingdom work better than we ever could. — Mark Lee

We may teach hyperbolically, but when we actually engage with our people, it has to be filled with grace and servant leadership. — Mark Lee

People go into ministry because they want to make a difference and feel like they’re in the trenches with other people. So, it’s important for us to act less like an office and to more like a family. — Mark Lee

Don’t underestimate the importance of staff culture. Shaping a culture is an indispensable part of your leadership. As the head of staff, no one else can do that for you. — Ed Stetzer

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Host Ed Stetzer chats with pastor and planter Mark Lee to discuss why we need to hold onto biblical endurance as modern-day ministry leaders. Tune in to discover how you can find longevity in ministry through healthier perspectives, sustainable rhythms of rest, and perseverance.

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Some pastors will see their pain as a sign that something is wrong. What we have to attempt to do in that moment is to see that our pain is a process and that it is developing something in us that we could never develop in ourselves. — Mark Lee

People need reservoirs of resilience. Endurance is connected with resilience, and it’s something you have to cultivate. — Ed Stetzer

Sometimes, there is a time where the needs of the kingdom and the desperation of our times are actually more important than what it is that I may be feeling at the time. — Mark Lee

Your answer to that question of “Why?” is the most important endurance weapon that you can possibly have. I have got to not only be able to endure pain, but I’ve got to be able to welcome it. — Mark Lee

If you run with people, you can just run a lot further. Be very intentional about cultivating friendships and relationships with other pastors because they can understand the burden you carry better than anybody else. — Mark Lee

The post How Do We Keep Pastors in the Game? appeared first on New Churches.

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Host Tony Merida sits down with longtime friend, pastor, and author David Platt to discuss the Great Commission’s call for missional preaching. Tune in to learn more about how the meditation and internalization of Scripture can impact your own heart for change as you seek to transform the nations with the gospel.

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We can all grow in our preaching as Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:15: ‘…let them see your progress.’ — Tony Merida

What we’re doing in preaching is presenting people with the good news so that they can escape God’s wrath and find refuge and grace in Christ—and we want to do that among the nations. — Tony Merida

The God we are pointing people to is the global God of the nations; not just God of the people we’re talking to at that moment, or people who look like those we’re talking to at that moment, or those we’re entrusted with the responsibility of shepherding. Jesus is the Savior of all nations. — David Platt

Preaching is a fundamental part of this Great Commission we’ve been given, but if all we’re doing is preparing and teaching sermons, then we are not doing all that disciple making requires. — David Platt

If we are worshipers of a global God, we should have a heart for the nations and for the spread of God’s glory among all the nations. That’s where all history is headed. — David Platt

The zeal for the spread of God’s glory among all the nations is not just for a few people, but for every follower of Jesus. — David Platt

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Host Ed Stetzer meets with Emmy award-winning producer and director of Lifeway Kids, Chuck Peters. Tune in as they discuss effective ways to engage children and their families as you further the gospel within your kids ministry context. Learn more about this rising generation’s social and emotional needs as it pertains to their identity in Christ.

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Reaching families starts with reaching kids in any community. — Chuck Peters

One of the biggest felt needs that parents have is for their children to find connection in a safe place. If they feel their kids are in a safe place, those parents are more likely to come and listen to what it is we have to share. — Chuck Peters

There are pathways for engaging people who don’t know the Lord through church plants, specifically through children’s ministry. — Ed Stetzer

Trust plus respect equals influence. — Chuck Peters

Technology is a great way to engage with kids. But the performance-based ministry models of the past are not where it’s at. What’s more important is personal relational engagement, and we can do that anywhere. — Chuck Peters

This is a generation that desperately needs to know that their identity is not something that they achieve. It’s something they receive and that God has spoken to. — Chuck Peters

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Host Tony Merida sits down with longtime friend, pastor, and author David Platt to discuss the fruitfulness of passionately pursuing Jesus amidst the difficulties of church planting today. Tune in discover how you can more effectively cultivate unity, conviction, and reliance on Jesus as you shepherd the people God has entrusted you with.

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I’ve seen so much division, discouragement, disconnect, and even despair in the church because we’ve been holding fast to not just an American dream, but holding back from the issues that the gospel requires us to press into. — David Platt

The last thing the nations need is the exportation of nominal, cultural American Christianity. I’m zealous to see people sent out from churches in our country go to the nations, but I want to make sure they’re taking the gospel and not an Americanized version of it. — David Platt

What’s led to a lot of the unhealthy things we’ve seen in the church is wielding God’s Word like it’s a weapon in a culture war instead of water for friends in a desert. — David Platt

When sitting down with a brother or sister who’s struggling in their leadership role, start with the promises of God. You’re not alone in this long line of history of those who’ve gone before you. — David Platt

These have been hard days. But if God is the goal, then these are great days. Don’t hold back from God; that’s the big picture. — David Platt

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In this second installment of “Transitions and Leaving Well,” host Ed Stetzer meets with returning guest Todd Adkins, the Director of Leadership Development at Lifeway, to discuss best practices in navigating the people and processes related to your current role. Tune in to discover why retaining relational currency is essential as you honor God—and His people—with your next steps.

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If we’re doing it right, our legacy is not just what we do, but also what was developed under our leadership. Take big responsibility in carrying that forward. — Todd Adkins

Leaving well matters in ministry because the church is a community of people who know one another. They’re still going to know each other and be around one another after you leave. — Ed Stetzer

It says a lot more about you than it does your organization when you don’t leave well. — Todd Adkins

When you announce your transition, your church has to immediately start making decisions. If you’re the church planter, they will look to you. And when they can’t do that, it can be frustrating for them. — Ed Stetzer

Leaving well means helping your people walk through their stages of grief. — Todd Adkins

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Host Ed Stetzer meets back up with Lifeway’s Director of Leadership Development Todd Adkins to discuss how you can transition out of your church plant with your congregation’s best interests in mind. Tune in to discover your responsibilities in stewarding your plant’s relationships and systems well as you follow God’s guidance for your life.

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Creating a culture that transitions well means creating one that develops well and intentionally. — Todd Adkins

So much of church planting is connected with you as the planter. It’s very hard to extricate yourself from that. — Ed Stetzer

Take a look at your systems and say, “Hey, are these set up to where somebody can step in and run? Are these are set up in a way that is not completely dependent up on my personality, gifts, and skillset?” — Todd Adkins

You want to be sure that there’s a plan in place because in a leadership vacuum, the person with the loudest voice or the clearest new vision is the guy that gets to pick it up. And we know that’s not always healthy or helpful. — Todd Adkins

There’s always going to be a part of us there as church planters because we helped launch this thing. In many ways, it’s our baby, and whether you planted it or it’s a ministry you started or a software you developed, it’s going to be hard to transition away from it. — Todd Adkins

The post Transitions and Leaving Well: Part 1 appeared first on New Churches.

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