New Churches Podcast

People talk about calling in such a subjective way that it’s a little hard to pin down, but one of the most invigorating, satisfying things a pastor can do is “tap the shoulder” of someone who demonstrates ministry leadership qualities. Host Clint Clifton talks with Scott Pace and Shane Pruitt about specific ways to “call out the called.”

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Think about the huge impact it could have if some pastors begin to get a vision for calling out called people in their church: new churches planted, lots of new people in ministry, more ministry happening. @ClintJClifton

We want to reignite the conversation of actually calling out the called – and when we do, what do we do with them? @rscott_pace

Our target is to equip the equipper, to help others in their ministry leadership calling, discovering specifically what it is, and then how to mature in that. @shane_pruitt78

Pastors and other church leaders are on the front lines. They’re able to observe what they see by way of giftedness and there are some objective criteria in terms of giftedness and ability, skills, passions that you recognize in others that you say, “Hey, have you ever considered a calling to ministry?” @rscott_pace

Look out for consistency, humility, teachability – and people who just love Jesus, love people, love to serve – meaning they’re already doing it without any kind of title or position, without any accolades. @shane_pruitt78

Teachability is another characteristic to look for, that they’re eager to learn and they have a passion for the church in general. They see the kingdom big picture, not just the immediate ministry need that’s in front of them. @rscott_pace

I want to challenge pastors to ask, “What’s it going to take for you to be the most influential minister in another minister’s life?” @ClintJClifton

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Seasonal community outreach isn’t a topic of widespread discussion but it’s a very practical component to the ministry of a church planter. Host Clint Clifton talks with John Ames leveraging holidays to engage the community for gospel impact.

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There’s not a whole lot that everybody in your community agrees on but even people who aren’t Christians recognize Christmas season. Statistically speaking, in the U.S. people are a lot more likely to go to church or at least to be introspective about spiritual things around holidays. @ClintJClifton

When you start to listen to and engage your community, you hear the values already in play. People are very excited during Thanksgiving or Christmastime about the idea of just pouring out resources to others and that people are entitled to compassion and kindness during that time. — John Ames

Almost 20 years into church planting, I almost won’t do an event if I don’t have a community partner and I think novelty is not nearly as important as I thought it once was. @ClintJClifton

I really like returning to that theological understanding that God is already on mission where where you’re going. Your goal is not to come in and create something new. Your goal is to find out where God is already at work in the community. — John Ames

Sometimes we can get all excited about something we’re going to do but we don’t ever think about the person we’re serving. We just think about us and how it’s going to make us feel. — John Ames

Some of it is just taking an event that’s already happening and looking for ways to make it more personal by leveraging your members to sit next to a stranger and engage them in conversation. @ClintJClifton

When you provide events that pull people in and engage that shared common interest, you’re already a step ahead. — John Ames

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Is a multi-leader organization really a “two-headed snake”? Or is co-pastoring a restoration of a New Testament trend? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Jon Mollohan and Colby Garman about whether and how co-pastoring can work.

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I have had the privilege of planting, depending how you count, six churches and the one that probably was the most difficult was the time we tried to plant with three co-pastors. @EdStetzer

Co-pastors sounds like the most difficult thing in the history of mankind to do well. Plurality health, however, is just making sure the leadership of a church is guiding one another to lead the church in a healthy way. — Jon Mollohan

It’s good for us to acknowledge that we are stepping into the wise application of some ideas that don’t get entirely fleshed out for us in the New Testament. But if we value plurality, it’s worth valuing at the very highest level. @ColbyGarman

Discipleship should be the greatest expression from the plurality or the leadership of the church. — Jon Mollohan

Church planters have to go into the room being willing to submit to others. That’s a key thing of plurality. @EdStetzer

When we broaden out the the voices that shape and define the church, we protect them against our own weaknesses and having a church built around our own strengths. We prepare the church for the day when we’re not going to be part of it. @ColbyGarman

It is so much fun to be a pastor when you know the elders have your back. You know they care for you. My elders are my friends. I’m actually doing ministry with these guys. — Jon Mollohan

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Planters face challenges trying to raise up pastors, but they also have some advantages. Host Clint Clifton talks with Adam Muhtaseb and Greg Gibson about raising pastors from within your plant.

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Even megachurches with all the resources in the world are struggling to raise up leaders. @Adam_Muhtaseb

One advantage is that there’s less people, so you can already see who’s engaged, who’s faithful and then who has these more apostolic gift sets. It’s definitely more observable in a smaller context. — Greg Gibson

Jesus did not rent out the Roman Colosseum and start a service. He had dinner with 12 guys for three years. So who are you having dinner with? Who are you developing? @Adam_Muhtaseb

You’re imagining from the beginning something that’s going to work, not just for one or two people you have a personal relationship with, but you’re trying to create a pipeline where members can move through the process. @ClintJClifton

My impulse is always to want the excellent person, but in a sense I want to lower my standards a little and look for people who have high moral character, love Jesus and are willing to be faithful, to make sacrifices for him. — Greg Gibson

No one’s on the bench. We’re all being developed to our next step. Just what is our next step? @Adam_Muhtaseb

The professionalization of pastors doesn’t equate to church advance. So maybe if we de-professionalize pastoral ministry, we might make a little more progress. @ClintJClifton

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As you reach people for Jesus, inevitably they are going to ask what the church believes about a particular point of theology – and a pastor better be prepared to explain. Host Ed Stetzer talks with Trevin Wax and Colby Garman about why theology position papers matter in a practical way for a church planter.

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Someone’s going to be the resident theologian of your church. It ought to be you, because God has given you the responsibility of being the dominant theological voice in that congregation and because healthy doctrine matters. You ought to care about the unity of the church. @TrevinWax

A well thought-out and clearly articulated position statement – on some important subject in the life of the church – draws out where the Bible touches on the subject and how we actually live that out in the in the context of the local church. @ColbyGarman

I have seen pastors use position papers in the hiring process. I’ve seen churches get blown up because they bring on pastoral staff and find out they are not on the same page about a doctrinal issue and how you work out that issue. @TrevinWax

We have a real opportunity as pastors here to teach our churches how to gather around core historic Christian doctrine, while at the same time creating space for people in their discipleship to grow and develop and become more nuanced. @ColbyGarman

Clarity is good. People ask if it is unkind to lay out details. No, quite the opposite. It’s kind to tell people this is where we are on what sometimes may be difficult issues. @EdStetzer

Position papers really are useful when the the culture around us or the shared assumptions we might have change. If we don’t somehow articulate them, we move into categories of talking about those topics that are driven primarily by the culture. @ColbyGarman

Statement papers enable you to thoughtfully, convictionally, biblically, winsomely lay out what you believe. I say to people, “Take a look at that and then let’s talk through if you have additional questions.” @EdStetzer

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Leveraging business for mission presents numerous challenges, yet there are strong arguments to be made for its benefits. Host Clint Clifton talks with Adam Muhtaseb and Greg Gibson about the value and tensions inherent in mixing the two.

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It’s naive to think that if you enter the business world with your church it will not take away your time. We had a lot of lost people coming to our building and we were making money, but I spent so much of my time on the businesses, it was driving me insane. @Adam_Muhtaseb

I wanted to be able to plant churches and not always have the the weight of the the financial need behind me. I was thinking about how we can plant churches in major cities that are super expensive and quickly think about sustainability and then reproducibility. — Greg Gibson

You have to clearly define your “why.” But I also want to sit in the seat of the prudent man and think in terms of stewardship: How can I turn what I have into more? — Greg Gibson

The reason we even do business as a church is because money is mission ammunition, and we want more bullets to shoot to adoption funds, church plants and staff. @Adam_Muhtaseb

It is a necessary follow-on from the focus on urban church planting. It’s inevitable that those who embed themselves in the most expensive cities in the world and try to do so on a bivocational, volunteer or a small church-planting salary would have to get creative in order to stay. @ClintJClifton

From Paul’s tent-making days to the modern covocational thing, church planting’s always had a foot in the marketplace and the marketplace has had a foot in the church. This is not a brand-new conversation. @ClintJClifton

I’m interested in training business guys in my churches to think about using their businesses as mission. The missiological impact of it begins to unfold exponentially. — Greg Gibson

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There’s so much to book writing that’s unknown and kind of mysterious to those who desire to write a book. Host Clint Clifton talks with Ed Stetzer and Christine Hoover about steps aspiring writers need to take.

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Writing a book is not just having the idea, not just having the desire. It’s putting your bottom in a seat and actually spending time doing it. It’s really an act of discipline. @ChristineHoover

Most books should be an article and most articles should be a Tweet. The expansion of ideas across chapters is a stunning amount of effort. If you want to write a book, you better start by writing some articles. @EdStetzer

I don’t read anything until I’m done and then I go back through and I re-read and edit myself pretty extensively. @ChristineHoover

Real writing is editing. Anyone can write something once. It’s your editing and re-editing where the pain comes, but it’s necessary. @EdStetzer

I have to go away for multiple days to get anything substantive done. Both of the major writing projects I’ve done were accomplished in two-, four- or five-day chunks of time. @ClintJClifton

You can self-publish and then be picked up by a publisher. That’s an increasingly common path as well. @EdStetzer

One way, especially for women, is using social media platforms to write and test things. When people resonate with certain topics, you realize, “Oh.” @ChristineHoover

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When disaster strikes your community, every church planter must see it as a God-given opportunity to get the gospel into lives. Host Clint Clifton talks with Taylor Field and Kay Bennett about ways a church can position itself to be ready to respond.

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When somebody comes for relief items, it’s not the items they want the most. They want to tell their story. Listening to their story, debrief them, help them deal with what’s going on. Pray for them. The disaster has a person where they’re ready to hear about Jesus. — Kay Bennett

Throughout history, God has used His people in times of disaster and distress to advance the gospel. You help people rebuild their lives, one at a time, and it matters to every person you help. Focus on the one. — Clint Clifton

If we’re imagining what we’re doing as worship, as opposed to moving the needle in terms of correcting the  problem, it makes a difference in your motivation for why you’re doing what you’re doing. — Clint Clifton

The bigger the crisis, the more personal we need to become. We don’t want to know people by their need. We want to know them by their name. Sacrifice is what’s going to touch people, where you pour out your life for other people. — Taylor Field

Churches should be engaged front and center in these issues and be known for their partnerships with nonprofits that spearhead these efforts. The church’s organized engagement has potential for incredible power. — Clint Clifton

When you engage with nonprofits, it opens a door for you that normally wouldn’t be available. You get to see the greatest needs in your area and you’re able to come alongside to meet those needs. It’ll be amazing what it does to give your church an identity. — Kay Bennett

When a crisis comes, make a three- to five-year plan, not a one-month plan. Because being embedded in your community is going to make a difference in a lot of different ways. Think about it not just as a crisis for a few weeks. — Taylor Field

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As we’re coming out of Covid, how do we get churches thinking about church planting again? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Chuy Rodriguez and Catherine Renfro about raising the “church planting IQ” of a congregation.

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A lot of congregations – new and existing – don’t really know how to articulate church planting as part of their vision. Maybe they don’t even feel church planning is very vital. @EdStetzer

The importance of church planting is taught, but a passion for it is caught. That comes from a church leader continuously showing passion. You talk about it. You give to it. You send people. That shows it’s important to us. @CatherineRenfro

If you leave the the majority culture, you find a new harvest and a new group of people in desperate need of new churches and the gospel. —Chuy Rodriguez

One of the advantages of being part of a denomination or network is you have churches of different ethnicities and backgrounds. That gives you an opportunity to engage in different ways. @EdStetzer

The more we engage our churches with the immigrant, with the widow, with the poor, the more they will realize that we need more churches. —Chuy Rodriguez

A lot of people wonder “Is church planting for me?” If every church member knew and really understood that everybody can do something when it comes to church planting, it makes it a lot easier to engage. @CatherineRenfro

I would suggest taking local mission trips. I truly believe the future of church planting lies in how we are going to reach the new people coming to our country. One of the best ways to get our IQ high as a church is rethinking local missions. —Chuy Rodriguez

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Planters and church-planting networks and organizations are trying to figure out how they fit alongside other. Clint Clifton, Trevin Wax and Vance Pitman hash through the relational levels between and value of national and micro-networks.

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What really holds church-based and micro networks together is values collaboration. @VancePitman

It’s really good for us to recognize the concentric circles of care and love that make it more likely a church planter will be successful. @ClintJClifton

The ground is level when it comes to church multiplication, because it only takes one thing to multiply a church and that’s a ready leader. It’s all about discipleship. @ClintJClifton

The big mega-church in the New Testament missed out on Paul They sent him home. It was the small Antioch church that was able to build the relational equity with him where Saul became Paul. So who had greater impact? @VancePitman

As organizations grow, we go from barbarians to bureaucrats, from being willing to do whatever it takes to having lots of factors to consider. Sometimes the barbarians are just better suited. @ClintJClifton

But sometimes the bureaucrats have larger reach and extent of of influence too. @TrevinWax

The kingdom of God is bigger than any one denomination network or tribe. The endgame is about kingdom expansion to the ends of the earth. @VancePitman

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