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In episode 30, we talk with Kaleb Eisele as he shares his journey of faith within the Adventist Church. Kaleb is a 27-year-old millennial who started the web site, Humans of Adventism.

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• Orangeburg Church on Facebook: facebook.com/OrangeburgAdventists
• Humans of Adventism Web Site: adventisthumans.com
• Humans of Adventism on Facebook: facebook.com/humansofadventism
• Humans of Adventism on Instagram: instagram.com/humansofadventism
• Kaleb on Twitter: twitter.com/KalebEisele

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In episode 29, we talk with Pastors Walter Castro and José Cortez Jr. about Volunteer Lay Pastors.

Florida Conference has been at the forefront of this endeavor for many years. Here are some statistics regarding the VLP program in Florida:

• 89 mission groups/companies/churches led by VLPs
• VLP program started about 15 years ago
• Around $4.5 million in tithe comes from these churches
• We have VLPs from 18 nationalities
• The largest VLP-led church has 387 members
• We have three female VLPs
• Hundreds of baptisms come from VLP-led churches every year

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• North American Division Article about Volunteer Lay Pastors written by José Cortes Jr.
• North American Division Volunteer Lay Pastor Guidelines
• Walter Castro, Florida Conference Pastoral Ministries Field Associate for Volunteer Lay Pastors: [email protected]

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In episode 28, we have a fascinating conversation with the authors of The Discipleship Gospel, Bill Hull and Ben Sobels. In the book, Bill and Ben expand on several points, particularly, (1) you cannot make disciples for a non-discipleship gospel, and (2) the gospel you preach determines the disciples you make.

Purchasing a copy of the book is strongly recommended. We've arranged a 20% discount with the publisher for the paperback version. Just click to HIM Publications, and apply the coupon code RESTORE before finalizing your purchase.

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• The Discipleship Gospel: Use RESTORE coupon code to purchase at 20% discount.
• Bill Hull: billhull.net
• Ben Sobels: cypresschurch.org
• The Bonhoeffer Project: thebonhoefferproject.com

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While attending the North American church planters boot camp, I had the pleasure of conversing with Pastor Edwin Vargas and his wife, Lisanette. Church planting is one of the most beautiful and challenging endeavors any follower of Jesus can undertake. This couple is on their third church plant. Listen to their story, and I know you will be blessed, challenged, and inspired—perhaps even to go and plant a church!

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• Edwin Vargas on Twitter: @predwingabriel
• Edwin Vargas on Facebook: Edwin Gabriel Vargas
• Newday Christian Church: newdaysda.com

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Welcome to the Restore Podcast episode 26. I am Javier, your host. Wherever you may be and however you listen we always thank you for joining us on the journey to helping Restore the vision, Restore mission, Restore the church.

I'm really excited to have you listen to my conversation on this episode with Pastor Karl Vaters. He is the teaching pastor at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Vally, California, where he's been a pastor for more than 20 years.

Karl has been a small church pastor all of his life, and he's written two books about it. The first book he wrote, The Grasshopper Myth, we briefly mention as we focus on his most recent book which I recently finished reading, Small Church Essentials: Field-tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of Under 250. In the book's introduction Karl mentions:

"This book is not about how to get your small church to become a big church. It's also not about how small churches are better than big churches. They're not. And it's definitely not about settling for less. It's not about wanting churches to be small; it's about wanting small churches to be great."

The fact is, most churches in North America have fewer than 200 in attendance and are considered a small church. The question is:What does a healthy small church look like? This book fleshes that out.

An offer for you if you're quick: the first three people to e-mail me at [email protected] and ask about Small Church Essentials will receive a FREE copy.

Two final notes: First, I encourage you to look into attending EC3, the Southern Union's Evangelism Conference, coming this fall. More info is at southernunion.com/ec3. Second, we usually take a break of a month or two in the summer, so stay tuned for the next episode of the Restore podcast a couple months from now.

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• Karl Vaters on Twitter: @karlvaters
• Karl Vaters on Facebook: Karl Vaters
• Karl Vaters Web Site: newsmallchurch.com
• Cornerstone Christian Fellowship: cornerstonefv.com

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Welcome to the Restore Podcast where it is our goal to help Restore the vision, Restore the mission, Restore the church. I am Javier, your host for episode 25, and I am joined by my friend and colleague Rudy Alvir as co-host

My guest on todays episode is Ty Gibson. He's co-director of Light Bearers ministry and lead pastor of Storyline Adventist Church, both located in Eugene, Oregon. Ty is a highly sought-after speaker and has written several books.

In this conversation, we talk about how Light Bearers started, we talk about Storyline Church, and much more. You will definitely want to listen to that "much more" part as well.

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• Ty Gibson on Twitter: @tyfgibson
• Storyline Adventist Mission Group: storyline.church
• Light Bearers Ministry: lightbearers.org

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Welcome to the Restore Podcast episode 24. My name is Javier and I'm your host, along with my friend and colleague Rudy Alvir joining this episode as co-host. I hope that wherever or whatever you may be doing as you are listen that this podcast will be a catalyst to help you Restore the vision, Restore the mission, Restore the church. I always like to start by thanking everyone who is listening, has subscribed to this podcast, and and has shared it. I hope you continue to do so.

I’ve been so excited to release this episode and, to be honest, the next ones we have coming are episodes you will definitely want to hear. But let me tell you a little bit about how I encountered my guest today on this episode. I had come across Justin Khoe's videos online and, as I did some checking and watched his YouTube videos, I felt impressed to try and get him on the podcast.

Recently, I was in Michigan on the campus of Andrews University and, as I was walking and talking with a good friend, I ended up being introduced to Justin who was there to make a presentation at a conference happening that weekend. I don’t normally do this, but I immediately asked him if he would be interested in recording an episode. He said "yes," and we actually did it a few hours later that same day.

Justin has a very unique and interesting story of why he started That Christian Vlogger as an outreach to spread the gospel. If you've heard of Justin, you will love this episode as he really opens up his heart. If you've never heard of him before, you will blessed immensely as you listen, and I highly encourage you to check out his YouTube channel. Just search for "That Christian Vlogger."

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• Justin Khoe on YouTube: That Christian Vlogger
• Justin Khoe on Facebook: Justin Khoe
• Justin Khoe on Twitter: @jkhoe
• Justin Khoe on Instagram: @jkhoe
• Justin Khoe's Web Site: ThatChristianVlogger.com

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Welcome to the Restore Podcast episode 23. My name is Javier and I'm your host. It is our goal to help Restore the vision, Restore the mission, Restore the church. Regardless of when or how you listen, thank you for listening, and please continue to share the podcast far and wide.

Though a majority of our listeners are from the U.S., of whom we are thankful, I want to say a special HELLO to all those listening from outside of the U.S. such as Australia, Canada, U.K. South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, Barbados, Sweden, and I’m sure there are others as well.

I know that you will be blessed by the conversation I had with Pastor Jennifer Deans of Living Faith Seventh-day Adventist Church. In this episode, we talk about her journey to becoming pastor of Living Faith. We also dig into her journey toward making disciples along with creating a culture of discipleship at Living Faith.

I encourage you to listen carefully as she fleshes out her discipleship process, and I’m sure you’ll find it interesting when we spend a few moments talking about some of the practical ways Living Faith has set funds aside for people to use.

Be sure to check out the show notes for the books Jennifer mentions, the discipleship group web site she talks about, and the three points she states shows a person is open to being discipled.

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• Living Faith Seventh-day Adventist Church: livingfaithsda.org
• Living Faith Church on Facebook: Living Faith Church
• Living Faith Church on Twitter: @LivingFaith_SDA
• Ignite Discipleship Web Site: IgnitedDiscipleship.com
• Books:
  • Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels
  • Whisper by Mark Batterson
  • End of Me by Kyle Idleman
  • Starfish Movement by Dan Grider
• Three Ways You Can Tell People Are Open to Discipleship
  1. Open to the Holy Spirit
  2. Teachable
  3. Teachable by Me (the one doing the discipling)

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Welcome to the Restore Podcast episode 22. My name is Javier and I'm your host. I hope that wherever and whatever you may be doing as you listen that this podcast will help you in your journey to help Restore the vision, Restore the mission, Restore the church.

With the release of this month's episode, we celebrate our two-year anniversary of the Restore Podcast! It's hard to believe how quickly time flies. For those who may be wondering why we are on episode 22 instead of 24, we take off a couple of months in the summer to regroup and assess the podcast. Just as we will do this summer.

With that said, I again thank all of you who listen, share, and have let me know how you've been blessed by the podcast and have encouraged me to continue. Thank you so much!

Since it is our two-year anniversary, I thought it would be good to interview one of the two guests who was on the very first episode. That first episode's topic was essentially what the podcast would be about.

This month, I interview Mike Cauley, Florida Conference president, and we get to hear and dig a little deeper into his personal story and journey in ministry.

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Welcome to the Restore Podcast episode 21. My name is Javier and I'm your host.

Our desire is that this podcast can be a tool for you to be inspired, challenged, and informed in ways to help Restore the vision, Restore the mission, Restore the church.

By the time this episode is released, the first month of 2018 will almost be in the rearview mirror of history. I hope and pray that you are off to a good start, especially when it comes to moving forward with the mission that God has given His church.

Last month, we released my conversation with Pastor David Asscherick, and I want to thank you all of you for the great responses from that interview and the many lessons and thoughts that came from it. Of course I again thank David for his time and openness. If you haven't had the chance to listen to it I highly advise that you do.

I'm very excited to bring to you my interview with Matt Stockdale. Last month in early December, I had the opportunity to speak at the Triad Adventist Fellowship, the church Matt Stockdale leads in the Triad area of North Carolina. For those who may not be acquainted with the Triad area, it consists of the region surrounding the three major cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. Matt is not a pastor, per se. He's actually a District Attorney in North Carolina, yet also leads the church. In this conversation, I cover his journey that lead him to not only continue to practice law, but also lead this new church that was launched in 2014.

Show Notes/Links/Resources

• Triad Adventist Fellowship web site: triadadventistfellowship.com
• Triad Adventist Fellowship on Facebook: Triad Adventist Fellowship
• Triad Adventist Fellowship on Twitter: @TriadAdventist
• Matt Stockdale on Facebook: Matt Stockdale