Many churches are asking the same question: “Where have all the student pastors gone?” In this episode, Josh and Sam explore the ongoing shortage of youth ministers and the structural reasons behind it.

The post The Ongoing Shortage of Student Pastors (Where Did They Go?) appeared first on Church Answers.

Many pastors feel it every year: “I hate summer attendance!” In this episode, Thom and Sam unpack real-world insights gathered from conversations with pastors across the country about the predictable, and sometimes preventable, summer slump.

This is your Fall Runway – Prepare Now

Starting a fall sport ministry begins now – because every great season needs a runway. The work you put in today creates space to plan, invite, and build excitement long before the first practice. This is your reminder to start now in creating your timeline to recruit and train volunteers, connect with families, and prepare your church to be a place people want to show up and belong.

When you partner with Upward Sports, you’re not starting from scratch -you’re stepping into a proven path with customizable league formats, ready-to-use marketing tools, practice plans, coach resources, and ministry tools to help you reach the whole family.  From registration support to game-day structure, everything is designed to help you lead with confidence and create a meaningful experience for your community.

Start now, build momentum, and be ready to welcome families onto your field this fall – Upward Sports is ready to walk with you every step of the way. Learn more today at Upward.org/ChurchAnswers

What if going deeper in God’s Word was as simple as opening your Bible?

With the Filament Bible app, your print Bible becomes an interactive study experience. Scan the page number to access trusted study notes, maps, and videos—all designed to bring clarity and context to Scripture.

It’s a powerful tool for sermon prep, group leadership, or personal study.

Discover more at FilamentBibles.com

The post The Church Summer Slump: What Every Pastor Should Know appeared first on Church Answers.

Every church has them—the Sundays when attendance predictably drops. Drawing from feedback from over 400 church leaders, Josh and Sam break down the most common low-attendance days and why they occur.

The post The Top Ten Most Common Low Attendance Days in Churches appeared first on Church Answers.

Sam welcomes Dr. Nijay Gupta to the Rainer on Leadership podcast. He is a senior translator for the New Living Translation, a Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, and the author of several academic books including most recently A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Studies and Tell Her Story. He has a PhD in New Testament from the University of Durham, and co-hosts the Slow Theology podcast with A. J. Swoboda.

What if going deeper in God’s Word was as simple as opening your Bible?

With the Filament Bible app, your print Bible becomes an interactive study experience. Scan the page number to access trusted study notes, maps, and videos—all designed to bring clarity and context to Scripture.

It’s a powerful tool for sermon prep, group leadership, or personal study.

Discover more at FilamentBibles.com

This is your Fall Runway – Prepare Now

Starting a fall sport ministry begins now – because every great season needs a runway. The work you put in today creates space to plan, invite, and build excitement long before the first practice. This is your reminder to start now in creating your timeline to recruit and train volunteers, connect with families, and prepare your church to be a place people want to show up and belong.

When you partner with Upward Sports, you’re not starting from scratch -you’re stepping into a proven path with customizable league formats, ready-to-use marketing tools, practice plans, coach resources, and ministry tools to help you reach the whole family.  From registration support to game-day structure, everything is designed to help you lead with confidence and create a meaningful experience for your community.

Start now, build momentum, and be ready to welcome families onto your field this fall – Upward Sports is ready to walk with you every step of the way. Learn more today at Upward.org/ChurchAnswers

The post A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Bible Translation Committee (What Really Happens) appeared first on Church Answers.

Summer often exposes a quiet reality in many churches: some members begin shopping for a new congregation. In this episode, Josh and Sam address why this happens and how leaders should respond. If you’ve faced it, you are not alone. Every long-tenured pastor has.

The post The Reality of Church Hoppers: A Pastor’s Honest Perspective appeared first on Church Answers.

In this episode, Thom and Sam explore one of the most sobering questions church leaders face: Why do formerly active members quietly disappear for good? After years of research with people who once attended faithfully but haven’t returned to any church for at least two years, clear patterns emerge. Most departures aren’t dramatic or theological. They’re gradual.

This is your Fall Runway – Prepare Now

Starting a fall sport ministry begins now – because every great season needs a runway. The work you put in today creates space to plan, invite, and build excitement long before the first practice. This is your reminder to start now in creating your timeline to recruit and train volunteers, connect with families, and prepare your church to be a place people want to show up and belong.

When you partner with Upward Sports, you’re not starting from scratch -you’re stepping into a proven path with customizable league formats, ready-to-use marketing tools, practice plans, coach resources, and ministry tools to help you reach the whole family.  From registration support to game-day structure, everything is designed to help you lead with confidence and create a meaningful experience for your community.

Start now, build momentum, and be ready to welcome families onto your field this fall – Upward Sports is ready to walk with you every step of the way. Learn more today at Upward.org/ChurchAnswers

What if going deeper in God’s Word was as simple as opening your Bible?

With the Filament Bible app, your print Bible becomes an interactive study experience. Scan the page number to access trusted study notes, maps, and videos—all designed to bring clarity and context to Scripture.

It’s a powerful tool for sermon prep, group leadership, or personal study.

Discover more at FilamentBibles.com

The post Why Members Leave Their Church and Never Come Back appeared first on Church Answers.

In this episode, Josh and Sam explore what sets apart pastors who stay at one church for ten, twenty, or even thirty years and still lead with energy and joy. Long-tenured pastors aren’t just “hanging on.” They’ve built habits that sustain both their soul and their ministry. They’ve weathered criticism, resisted the lure of greener grass, and chosen faithfulness over constant movement.

The post Why Some Pastors Stay for Decades (and Thrive in Their Churches) appeared first on Church Answers.

Sam interviews Todd Brown and Isaac Brown of Brown Church Development Group. A growing number of church leaders, architects, and donors are reconsidering what sacred space should look like. In this episode, we explore the rise of the hyper-traditionalist movement in church architecture—a revival of classical, Gothic, Romanesque, Byzantine, and other historic styles that aim to communicate permanence, beauty, and theological depth. While this movement is still niche in North America, it is more than an aesthetic preference. It reflects a broader conviction that church buildings should feel unmistakably sacred rather than utilitarian or disposable.

What if going deeper in God’s Word was as simple as opening your Bible?

With the Filament Bible app, your print Bible becomes an interactive study experience. Scan the page number to access trusted study notes, maps, and videos—all designed to bring clarity and context to Scripture.

It’s a powerful tool for sermon prep, group leadership, or personal study.

Discover more at FilamentBibles.com

Celebrate the World Cup with Soccer

This is the month soccer is on the main stage. What better way to celebrate than by starting your own Upward Sports soccer league? With so many families watching the games, kids will be excited to get on the field and play. 

Upward Sports is ready to help your church launch a fall league for the first time. You’ll have support every step of the way – from communication tools and marketing materials to jerseys that honor the event and amazing ministry resources. Plus, to help your ministry get off the ground for the first time, Upward will send you two free soccer goals when you create your fall 2026 league.

Don’t wait. Schedule a call with the Upward team today, and they’ll help you build the right timeline for your soccer launch. Learn more at Upward.org/Soccer

The post The Hyper-Traditionalist Movement in Church Architecture (Is Anyone Really Building Churches This Way?) appeared first on Church Answers.

In this episode, Josh and Sam use a striking metaphor to talk about church health: fault lines and tsunamis. Just like unseen shifts beneath the ocean floor can trigger devastating waves, hidden weaknesses inside a church can quietly build until the damage is sudden and overwhelming. The good news? Fault lines can be repaired before disaster strikes. The call for leaders is simple: face reality now, simplify ministry, refocus on mission, and deal with issues while they’re still manageable.

Ministry isn’t theoretical. It comes with complex challenges that demand wisdom and clarity.

The Doctor of Ministry at Southern Seminary is designed to help you address those challenges head-on.

You’ll bring a pressing issue from your church into the program and, under the guidance of trusted faculty, develop a biblically grounded plan you can implement in your context.

This is theological depth applied directly to preaching, leadership, counseling, and shepherding.

If you want solutions anchored in God’s Word and built for your church, learn more at sbts.edu/dmin.

The post The Church “Fault Lines” That Could Become Ministry Tsunamis appeared first on Church Answers.

In this episode, we break down Ryan Burge’s demographic analysis of American Protestant churches and the uncomfortable math behind membership decline. Using age-distribution data across major denominations, Burge argues many churches aren’t stable—they’re simply being “buoyed by the Baby Boomers.” With modal ages in the late 60s, shrinking numbers of young adults, and fewer children in the pipeline, many groups are approaching a demographic tipping point. Decline won’t be gradual; it will feel slow and then sudden. Unless leaders plan now, some denominations could lose 30–50% of their adult members over the next couple of decades. The message is clear: this isn’t a theological or programmatic problem. It’s an actuarial problem, and the clock is already ticking.

See Ryan Burge’s article on this subject for more information.

Launch or Grow Your Sports Ministry Today

Does your church already offer a sports ministry? Or are you ready to start one? Upward Sports not only helps churches launch a sports ministry, but they also support churches that are already running one – helping you reach and impact even more families in your community. Upward Sports provides support every step of the way, from administration and ministry resources to online registration, league management tools, branded apparel, and more.

Whether you’re growing an existing ministry or starting fresh, Upward Sports equips your church to create meaningful experiences that connect with families, build relationships, and make your church the neighborhood hub. 

Schedule a call with the Upward team today and see how your sports ministry can make a lasting impact or how Upward can partner with your sports ministry. Learn more at Upward.org/ChurchAnswers

Facilities shouldn’t slow ministry down—but for many churches, they do.

Facility decisions can feel overwhelming, expensive, and risky… Too often, buildings end up working against the ministry instead of for it.

That’s where Brown Church Development Group comes in… They are the Church Facility Experts.

They’ve helped hundreds of churches across the United States find facility solutions that actually fit their ministry style, budget, and long-term plans. From feasibility studies and master planning to architecture and construction, they’re a true one-stop shop for all your church facility needs.

Brown Church Development Group helps churches avoid costly mistakes, gain clarity, and move forward with confidence—without the guesswork.

Whether you’re improving an existing facility or building something new, Brown Church Development Group can help you know exactly what to do next.

The post The Burge Report: Boomers Can’t Save Us Forever: The Hard Truth About Church Demographics appeared first on Church Answers.