New Churches Podcast

Episode 694: What is the mission of the church? To many, the answer seems obvious but the topic actually is pretty significantly debated. Host Ed Stetzer engages the subject with two guests – Nathan Knight and Rivers Partin – who approach it from significantly different directions.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

A lack of clarity about the mission is actually a pretty recurring problem. We assume a lot about the church and what it is, about the mission and what it is, about the gospel and what it is. @EdStetzer

Our mission is really centered around neighbors being neighbors to one another, resting in the love of God for themselves and sharing that love with neighbors. — Rivers Partin

We see the mission of the church is to make disciples. So our mission statement is “Restoration Church exists to make disciples that delight in the supremacy of Christ here in Washington, D.C., and beyond.” @NathanKnightDC

I’m doing kingdom work and when I make the world more like Jesus would want it to be, I join Jesus on His mission. @EdStetzer

If someone wasn’t living out their faith in their community – having compassion for the hurting, wanting to bring the beauty of Jesus into broken spaces – I would say that what’s underneath is they’re not rightfully seeing the beauty of Christ. — Rivers Partin

The Bible has more to say about the work of the church than the average Christian thinks it does, and the more that we give ourselves to understanding what the Bible actually teaches about the work of the church, the church will be healthier. @NathanKnightDC

Our purpose is not cleaning the park. Our purpose is bringing restoration to something that is broken because that’s what the Lord does in our lives. Picking up the trash is a step toward being able to share our story. — Rivers Partin

The post What is the Mission? Why Does it Matter? Part 1 appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 693: Many times, church planters are disappointed when they work hard to rustle up support but walk away empty handed. Host Clint Clifton talks with seasoned Sending Church pastors Jason Robertson and Dannie Williams about why pastors who love church planting might say no when approached for funding.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

The red flag I react to the quickest is their disposition toward team ministry. You can tell pretty quickly if you’re dealing with a team player or with someone who just wants your money. @Jason Robertson

Often church planters think all they need is money, and that’s the problem of youthfulness in church planting. We think we have all the tools and resources before we’ve actually tried to do the work. @ClintJClifton

I met this one guy who was looking at planting as an experiment. If it didn’t work, well, it didn’t work. You can’t go into church planting like that. @Dannie Williams

Some guys are overly confident. Arrogance and pride is never a good thing going into church planting. Some guys are too timid. When you’re out in front and driving a vision, that takes a balance of being courageous and and filled with faith and confidence. @Jason Robertson

Either a person has a high view of God or a high view of himself. The higher the view of God, the more likely this guy is going to succeed, because a man needs to know God is sufficient and he’s not. @Dannie Williams

Money won’t cause you to succeed; money won’t cause you to fail. @ClintJClifton

Abraham would have never seen the ram in the bush if he hadn’t gone to the spot had the knife drawn back. @Dannie Williams

The post Why I Would Never Support Your Church Plant appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 692: When you are planting a church in a community that’s new to you, getting deeply embedded in that community is extremely important. Host Ed Stetzer talks with Jeff Belcher and Amanda Hudson about the why and how of getting embedded in the fabric of your community.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

Washington is a very diverse city where people like to talk and have conversations. It was just a matter of being outside on a Saturday. We have met more people just because of our dog. — Amanda Hudson

Most places have a history. One key thing to ask is “What’s the history?” I want to become an expert on the city where I live. @EdStetzer

There are lots of institutions that serve practical needs of the people but our church wanted to stand out. There’s something to being continually present that helps people see us as people who care about them. —Jeff Belcher

I don’t think we can plant churches via remote control. @EdStetzer

Living among our neighbors was incredibly valuable. In my 800-square-foot row home, we were averaging about 60 people a week because we were in a pedestrian context where people just walked to our house. —Jeff Belcher

I have loved knowing the ins and outs of DC to give people peace of mind … to help someone who comes into the city know the important things of just daily living. — Amanda Hudson

If we’re not living out the goodness of God before the people we’re serving, then we’re robbing others of the opportunity to see God in us. —Jeff Belcher

The post Embedding Into the Fabric of Your City appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 691: Whatever you want to be true of your church in maturity must be embedded at the beginning. Host Clint Clifton discusses with Todd Adkins and Jamie Limato how a church planter should be thinking about his end goals from the very beginning.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

James Clear says Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour. Systems are greater than our goals, to some degree, and habits over outcomes. —Jamie Limato

The regular rhythms of what you do day-to-day in pastoral work are going to affect the outcome a lot more than even your talking points or your big initiatives. @ClintJClifton

Clear and compelling vision is your currency. You can’t buy your way to the church you want. You want to build your way to the church you want. @ToddAdkins

Ultimately, creating more spaces on the net for people to take ownership is going to help lead to long-term success. —Jamie Limato

We actually failed at some of those things, but we failed at the right things. Falling and getting back up seemed to further solidify a commitment to multiplication. @ClintJClifton

Everything has an opportunity cost. Anything you say yes to is setting a precedent, and that precedent carried forward can grow out of control like kudzu. @ToddAdkins

Whether your church is 5 years old, 10 years old, 20 years old or 1 year old, plant those seeds immediately and just wait to see them grow. Water them by celebrating and talking and telling the stories about it. —Jamie Limato

The post Build in the Beginning What You Want in the End appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 690: Pastors often are criticized unfairly and need to forgive the sin, yet they also find themselves in the position of making mistakes that need to be forgiven. Host Clint Clifton explores various aspects of that challenge with Dave Harvey and Kathy Litton.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

A lot of church members see pastors like the customer service desk at Walmart. They feel free to speak more critically toward toward the pastor than they would otherwise. @ClintJClifton

I’ve seen this issue with slander and also when I’ve made mistakes. We are called to love the church but it’s not because the church always embodies our beliefs on speech and forgiveness very well. I must be willing, like Christ, to pick up my cross and at times become the object of others’ imperfections, forgive and move on. @RevDaveHarvey

The trajectory of a maturing pastor is continually to have a tender heart and continually to be thick-skinned. @ClintJClifton

Ed and I call this “We’re smoking what we’re selling.” We have to go to the power of the gospel to move our hearts, to give us forgiveness, grace and mercy we cannot manufacture on our own. – Kathy Litton

A spiral of anger and bitterness takes you to a place where you’re not healthy and can’t distribute the kind of grace people in your congregation really deserve. @ClintJClifton

There’s a good outcome to own your sin and confess that and ask for forgiveness. It’s healthy for the church. It’s a signal that needs to be seen in the culture. I have to resist my flesh overtaking my spirit at that point. – Kathy Litton

The most difficult part of forgiveness is that we have to absorb the cost of another person’s sin and allow it to end with us. That’s a tipping point. All I can offer people is the cross, because the gift we received from Christ was not “I’ll forgive you, but it can’t cost me.” @RevDaveHarvey

The post Pastors are Professional Forgivers appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 689: Church planting families face complex issues in today’s increasingly secular social environment, especially when it comes to children in school. Host Clint Clifton tackles the multilayered topic with Noah Oldham and Kathy Litton.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

Living in the urban core of Saint Louis, we were looking not only at low-performing schools but also the worldview being taught. We had to wade through that not only personally for us as a family but also for all the families in our church. @NoahOldham

Our planting wives are very strong women who are navigating these rocky waters of increasing secularization of the schools. They don’t want to vacate secular spaces. So they’re working hard to stay engaged in the mission field but also be responsible parents. – Kathy Litton

I’m raising adults, not kids, so I need I need these young folks in my household to be able to operate as adults. We came here to preach Jesus in a context of people who don’t know Jesus at all, so we’re on mission together as a family. @ClintJClifton

I remember hearing Eric Mason at a conference challenge planters to not send their kids to live the mission for them. The challenge was to not send my kids to do my dirty work. I should be leading from the front. @NoahOldham

It’s heartbreaking to watch your kids suffer and struggle, yet sometimes those struggles galvanize convictions in our children. The alternative to subjecting our kids to secular worldviews is isolating them, which can create this whole new set of problems. @ClintJClifton

Most homeschool kids I’ve known are able to have adult conversations in eighth grade. Our desire is not to keep them from information but to filter that information and explain it to them, so they understand and are able to explain with both both biblical conviction and compassion. @NoahOldham

The ultimate trust in the Father in this is really trusting Him with your kids. You don’t wait to trust God with children because now some new things must be considered with far more intentionality than we had before. – Kathy Litton

The post Church Planter Kids in a Secular School appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 688: A lot of planters and pastors want to read more but they are strapped for time. Trevin Wax and Todd Adkins offer some immensely practical ways to read more when you’re really busy.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

One of the things you have to do is to develop other leaders so you can hand stuff off and have enough time to read. @ToddAdkins

You often can’t put yourself in the position to make the best decisions unless you’re reading well. @ToddAdkins

I have books in different places. I encourage people to make use of space well. And there are ways you can nudge yourself into a reading posture, where reading is really just part of the day.@TrevinWax

Communication is a work of imagination.@TrevinWax

Reading more is about setting yourself up, in a world of distraction, to read well. I don’t have my phone sitting next to me when I’m reading. Eliminating distractions is massive. @ToddAdkins

You have more time than you realize. If you want to read well, if you want to read widely, if you want to read a lot, have a book nearby all the time. And then in the dead times, you can knock out a chapter or two of a book.@TrevinWax

If you just commit to reading just 20 minutes a day, you will work through more than a dozen books in a year.

It’s not as hard as people think. It’s just the prioritizing of the time, eliminating distractions.@TrevinWax

The post So Many Books, So Little Time appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Description: Episode 687: Leaders are readers and if you’re not a learner in this day and age, you’ve got a short shelf life as a leader. But acquiring books is difficult for a pastor whose finances are limited. Trevin Wax and Todd Adkins point out several ways to read great books on a tight budget.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

You got to have a mix of both “book smarts” and “street smarts.” In planting, you got to learn from experience, but what you know translates into practice. @TrevinWax

You have to be selective. One of the best ways to do that is to find a couple other guys that are just as hungry to read as you are, because they’re going to help you by recommending good books. You often can borrow them from each other. @ToddAdkins

If you can’t afford books, read good book reviews. A well-done book review will summarize the book really well in a short amount of space, and then will probably get into some kind of either criticism or appreciation of the book. @TrevinWax

Some of the older books have moved into the public domain. Those are incredible books that have stood the test of time. @ToddAdkins

Books are more and more expensive these days. There’s nothing wrong with rereading the best books. @TrevinWax

Most of us have more books in our home than some of the great theologians and pastors of the Christian tradition ever had in their lifetime. Some of the great pastors and theologians didn’t have thousands of books. They had a number of books that they went super deep into. @TrevinWax

Your local library has digital ebooks available. You’re not going to get great theological classics there, but if you want to read about history or biography, you’d be amazed at how many you can download. @TrevinWax

The post Reading on a Budget appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 686: The old maxim is “Church planting and money – it’s hard to get them in the same room.” But host Clint Clifton and experienced planter Peyton Jones discuss why church planting actually is free and they sketch out a pathway for planting without raising and expending large financial resources.

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

All the fundamental things needed for church ministry are free, and if you start there you’ll have a lot more positive experience when it comes to resources and and church planting. @ClintJClifton

If you’re spending the majority of your time trying to raise money to throw a church service that people either do or do not come to, imagine getting in a time machine and going back to tell the apostle Paul what you’re doing. Paul’s most likely going to say, “You don’t have to do all that. I didn’t do all that.” — PeytonJones

You should never let the lack of resources be an excuse for not doing what God’s put in your heart to do. @ClintJClifton

We started pretty early on but we never push for tithing. We would just tell people to “give what’s on your heart” and we taught them cheerful giving. We typically found that if we trusted people to give out of worship, it was great. — PeytonJones

Most churches around the world are not led by full-time vocational pastors. And yet the gospel has spread all all over the world – north and south, east and west, across mountains and oceans – and it did not do it on the backs of people who were paid for that work. @ClintJClifton

I’m going to always work another job to not be a burden to the church, so the gospel can spread faster. — PeytonJones

I think Covid was God tipping the hand, like “You can do this. You can get back outside and do stuff for free.” I think we got a taste, but I’m not sure we’ve swallowed the pill yet. — PeytonJones

The post Church Planting is Free appeared first on New Churches.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.