The Five Gifts Podcast

Two weeks before Easter marks a decisive moment in evangelism.

In this episode, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell equip leaders and believers to move from preparation to action by mastering discernment-based invitations. Building on weeks of prayer, fasting, and relational investment, they introduce a clear framework for recognizing spiritual readiness through three stages: internal, external, and convicted seekers.

Listeners will learn how to extend invitations naturally, remove barriers, and operate in the Divine Urgency of the Evangelistic Gift—reaching people not as projects, but as sons and daughters being drawn home.

This episode provides both theological clarity and practical tools to help individuals and churches maximize their impact this Easter season through Spirit-led, relational evangelism.

Season 3, Episode 10: Conversations and Compassion

Four weeks before Easter is when evangelism becomes relational.

In this episode, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore how pastors can equip evangelistic leaders to move from prayer into intentional conversations and compassionate action. Drawing from the CLMM strategic framework, they outline practical steps churches can take to prepare the relational ground before inviting people to Easter services.

The discussion highlights how meaningful conversations, acts of kindness, and Spirit-led discernment open doors for the gospel long before Easter Sunday arrives.

You’ll also hear a powerful real-world example of churches that shifted their evangelistic approach and saw significant spiritual breakthrough.

In Season 3, Episode 9 of The Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell continue the 5-part Easter planning series by focusing on Week Five before Easter: Releasing Kingdom Blessing.

This episode trains pastors and leaders to move from general intercession to targeted, Spirit-led prayer. Using the Six Receptive Gates framework, leaders learn how to discern where God is already working in a prospect’s life and how to align intercession strategically.

Topics include:

• The Six Receptive Gates of receptivity

• Why evangelism must begin in prayer before conversation

• The role of fasting in sharpening spiritual focus

• How CLMM strategic planning integrates prophetic discernment

• Why Heaven prepares hearts before invitations are extended

Easter harvest is spiritual before it is numerical. This episode provides the system to cultivate breakthrough intentionally.

For leadership consulting and spiritual life coaching:

charlesrusselltraining.com

charlesrussellministries.com

coachingcardia.com

In Season 3, Episode 8 of The Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell launch a five-episode series on planning Easter through strategic evangelistic mobilization and Spirit-led systems.

Six weeks before Easter, the focus is not invitations — it is identification and intercession.

This episode walks pastors and leaders through:

• Mobilizing an evangelistically wired core

• Training believers to identify four spiritually disconnected people within their relational network

• Beginning disciplined weekly fasting for spiritual breakthrough

• Praying six Kingdom realities over specific individuals

• Understanding why salvation is a process of Holy Spirit drawing, not merely an event

Through the lens of the CLMM framework, this episode integrates apostolic strategy, prophetic intercession, and evangelistic precision to create measurable, scalable Kingdom impact.

If you want breakthrough this Easter, start with names. Start with fasting. Start six weeks early.

For coaching and consulting, visit:

charlesrusselltraining.com

charlesrussellministries.com

coachingcardia.com

In Season 3, Episode 7 of the Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore how to steward prophetic ministry responsibly in the local church.

Grounded in Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 14, this episode addresses the tension every Pentecostal-Charismatic leader faces: how to cultivate prophetic vitality without inviting disorder or theological confusion.

Key themes include:

• The biblical priority of edification

• Why delivery matters as much as content

• Building safe small-group “greenhouses” for prophetic growth

• Corporate vetting processes for public worship

• Establishing red lines and avoiding life-direction prophecy

• Separating identity from gifting in prophetic individuals

The conversation offers practical frameworks, pastoral insight, and leadership diagnostics to help churches pursue prophetic ministry with both courage and clarity.

Prophecy must not be silenced—but it must be stewarded.

In Season 3, Episode 6 of The Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Dr. Charles Russell explore 1 Corinthians 12:12–31and challenge the Solo Hero leadership model that dominates many churches today.

Beyond Ignorance: A Fresh Look at 1 Corinthians 12

In Season 3, Episode 5 of The Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Dr. Charles Russell explore 1 Corinthians 12:1–11through a Pentecostal–Charismatic lens focused on practical theology for local church leaders.

Paul’s concern in Corinth wasn’t a lack of spiritual activity—it was spiritual ignorance. Many believers carried assumptions from pagan worship into Christian gatherings, confusing intensity with maturity and manifestations with formation.

This episode reframes spiritual gifts as Spirit-enabled service under the lordship of Christ, not ecstatic experiences detached from character, community, and discernment. The conversation clarifies how gifts function incarnationally, why the Trinity is the source of all ministry, and how leaders can cultivate healthy environments where gifts are exercised for the common good.

If you lead a Spirit-filled church and want both power and order, this episode will challenge, equip, and refocus your ministry.

In Season 3, Episode 4 of The Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell examine why worship stands at the center of Christian life, leadership, and mission. Rooted in the theology of Ephesians, this episode traces God’s redemptive purpose from Genesis to the early church, showing how worship shapes identity, fuels evangelism, and forms resilient, Spirit-empowered communities.

Listeners will gain clarity on the relationship between worship, sanctification, and empowerment, and discover why worship is not merely an expression—but the formative engine that prepares the church to live faithfully, love sacrificially, and engage spiritual warfare with confidence in Christ.

In Season 3, Episode 3 of The Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell examine what it truly means to begin to minister the gifts of the Spirit. Moving beyond personality-driven spirituality and spiritual excess, this episode presents a biblically grounded framework for prophetic ministry that is incarnational, communal, and mission-oriented.

Listeners will gain clarity on how prophecy functions in the New Testament, why discernment and evaluation are essential, and how every believer is invited to participate as part of God’s prophetic people. This conversation equips leaders and congregations to cultivate healthy, Spirit-led environments that build up the body of Christ and engage a broken world.

In this episode, hosts Charles Russell and Bruce Ritter tackle one of the biggest gaps in modern Christianity: the disconnect between Sunday worship and Monday reality.

Most believers think spiritual gifts are primarily for church services, but what if that perspective misses 95% of your life? This episode unpacks seven transformative principles from Romans 12 that turn spiritual gifts from occasional church incidents into a supernatural lifestyle.

Charles and Bruce explore how to overcome the twin obstacles of pride and low self-esteem, why diversity in the Body is God's design (not a problem to fix), and how personal inadequacy actually positions you for greater effectiveness. You'll discover practical steps for beginning to minister prophetic gifts, including the principles of incarnation, process, preparation, interdependence, and clear communication.

Whether you're a seasoned minister or just curious about what God might do through you, this episode will challenge you to see your everyday life—at work, in your neighborhood, with your family—as sacred ground where the Spirit can move powerfully.

Episode Length: 50 minutes

Featured Topics: Spiritual gifts, Romans 12, prophetic ministry, gift development, Holy Spirit empowerment, church culture, spiritual formation

Resources: Visit charlesrusselltraining.com, charlesrussellministries.com, or coachingcardia.com for training, resources, and spiritual life coaching.