What's it like being in a Pastor's family? What are some of the fun parts and some of the unique or challenging parts? How can we - as the Body of Christ - get more familiar with our Pastors and their families as actual people, and not just the roles they play or ministries they lead?

Today, Gary heads to Ohio Roasting Company and meets up with LovePastors Leadership Board member, Jada Yoder. A "pastor's kid" from a large family in the little town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jada has remained strong in her faith in Jesus. She currently serves as a Leadership Coach with GiANT Worldwide and HR Director at 3rd Street Community Church.

Jada's perspective and heart have connected her with many church friends, pastors, and leaders. She brings a compassionate wisdom and fresh ideas to LovePastors as not only a new organization, but a way of truly seeing and serving people who might otherwise go unnoticed.

Jada Yoder shares how Love Pastors exists to provide holistic care and support for pastors and their families, ensuring they feel seen, understood, and not overlooked. Whether it’s connecting them to local ministry leaders, adjusting staff expectations, or simply offering encouragement, the goal is to meet real needs in meaningful ways. Jada emphasizes the power of paying attention—listening for God’s promptings to reach out with a voice message, a prayer, or a small act of kindness. She encourages people to support their pastors without expecting anything in return, trusting that God cares deeply for those in ministry. Ultimately, the mission is to reflect God’s heart by seeing pastors and their families as whole people and serving them with compassion and intention.

In 1996, Jim and Anne Brown moved to Goshen, Indiana to pastor a church with 67 people and chase their dream to reach thousands for Christ.

It happened.

Grace Community Church has seen thousands come to faith and have their life destinies changed in Northwest Indiana and all over the world. Pastor Jim’s ministry adventures have taken him to some of the darkest and scariest countries, cultures, and circumstances. After 30 years at the helm, Jim loves his wife, pours in to his church, and continues to raise up followers of Jesus on the regular. Their Fight Club Men’s ministry has impacted men in more than 700 churches around the country, as Jim’s personal passion to challenge men to live out their faith continues to spread.

Gary Underwood has been a pastor-friend and admirer of Jim’s heart and leadership since the early 2000’s. On several pastor trips and conferences, the two forged a soul-level connection that this episode follows up on.

For the pastors and families who need a passionate and adventurous call back to the joy and urgency of ministry, this episode with Jim Brown will fire you up!

Like every human being, Pastors and their families have stories of pain, longing, and loneliness. Author Tricia Lott Williford has written and published nearly twenty books already, and many of them contain her raw emotions, faith journey, and roads to healing.

Tricia also shares a personal and behind the scenes view of and love for ministry leaders and pastors. She and her mom (Polly Lott) served on staff at a large megachurch for many years. Her speaking and writing ministry has helped countless leaders learn to find God in and through some of the most devastating tragedies in life.

In today's episode, Tricia and Gary talk about how and when to let people know what's actually going on inside a leader's emotional, spiritual, and relational journey. Tricia shares two important "guardrails" she uses personally and encourages other leaders to consider as they must guard their private lives while also learning to build trusting relationships with others.

Tricia and Gary team up for their first episode full of relational realities for leaders, stories, laughs, and (we hope) some encouragement for our listeners right here and now.

Some pastors move from another town or state to land in their leadership role at your church. Just two years ago, Rusty Richards and his family of five moved from a small town in Illinois to become Lead Pastor at RiverTree Lake in Northeast Ohio. What's it like to be the new pastor? How will that move impact your family, relationships, and ability to pastor? Of course you're also trying to bring your hopes and heart to a church and community that already has it's history and it's own desires for the church's future.

Gary and Rusty sit down with an extra side of waffle fries and invite us to listen in on their re-cap of Rusty's first two years at the helm. New friendships, staff transitions, local connections, and so much more! Like many pastors and their families, Rusty brought fresh energy and a passion to love this new community they call "home."

In the last two years alone, his family relocated, he completed his Doctoral degree with an outstanding project on small group discipleship, and he's launched a booming men's faith and fitness ministry that's grown from four dudes to nearly 200 men connecting on a regular basis every week!

So, get yourself a side of waffle fries, and join Pastor Rusty and our host, Gary Underwood, as they recap a story and "backstage" thoughts from two pastors who are here to encourage and support you however we can!

LovePastors founder Gary Underwood is thrilled to sit down with Pastor Britton Smith, who was a part of Gary's youth ministry in southwest Michigan all the way back in 1996! Britton's adventures as a pastor moved him from Taylor University to Holland, Michigan and a Lead Pastor role in his early 30's at Moran Park Church.

As a young, gifted, "successful" pastor of a fast-growing church, everything Britton thought he wanted was starting to happen. But God gently and gradually revealed the church's desperate lack of discipleship and all-too-common reliance on performance, programs, and systems.

This was Britton Smith's reality as a Lead Pastor in Holland, Michigan, when God's Spirit and Britton's deepest longings to impact people started to push back.

Was God moving Britton to lead the church in a different direction? Would the church leaders and staff jump on board and seize the opportunity to redefine church from services to relationships?

As a pastor, husband, father, and friend, would Britton actually embrace a radically-different definition of "church" and a more eternally-minded set of priorites?

Britton's internal struggle led to a firm "yes, Lord," as he stepped away from his traditional pastor job to pursue a completely different "career path" in ministry. With Pastor to Pioneer, Britton and many others are helping pastors move from "managing the institution" to a more life-giving form of ministry, where your home is the hub for worship, discipleship, and mission.

If you're a pastor or know a ministry leader who is wrestling with trying to fit their pastoral heart and calling into a dying or outdated role in the church, please visit Pastor to Pioneer and know that there are others asking the same questions.

Bishop "Joey" Johnson pastored House of the Lord Church in Akron, Ohio for 50 years. During that time, he became known for his passionate preaching, faithful leadership during many difficult challenges in the city, and inviting people to see the relational heart of God in their lives. He recently handed over the leadership of the church to a younger pastor (Daren Brake), but Bishop is NOT what you'd call "retired."

He still gets up VERY early in the morning, spends a lot of personal time reading, writing, praying, and investing in younger leaders and their needs. Bishop challenges pastors to view themselves and their identities as rooted in Christ and ongoing communion with the Holy Spirit as they lead. A tremendously-relational and loving presence in Akron and in many church networks, Bishop has encouraged LovePastors to embrace our calling and focus on the spiritual, emotional, and relational health of pastors in need - and that's all of them!

We hope you'll enjoy - and learn a LOT from - this episode where Gary Underwood and Bishop Johnson talk about the need and power of relationships. First and foremost, we need to view God as a relational, loving, interactive force that pastors are often afraid or unable to deeply experience. Bishop shares some of the historical breakdowns of the church's ability to see and receive from God in relationship, and the church's ensuing bias toward trying to explain, quantify, and even control the way others understand the "essence" of God.

This episode will push and challenge pastors to make space for the mystery, the Spirit, the voice, the relational experiences of God that are meant to be shared with us - instead of merely "explained" by us.

If you struggle to develop deep, authentic, honest connections with other leaders, then this episode is for you. Tom Bennardo isn’t just a four-decade veteran pastor, leader, and author… he’s real. He’s more real than most pastors choose to be. Tom's newly-released book, entitled Open-Hearted People, Soul-Connected Church is a terrific tool to help Pastors develop life-giving friendships for themselves and others in their churches.

Tom and Marcia live in Southern California and he serves to train and coach pastors and church planters all over the country for the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches. His “Honest Guide to Church Planting” and adventures at Life Community Church (Hilliard, OH) offer a bevy of insights and helps for other pastors and leaders.

Bennardo also served as Gary Underwood’s youth pastor and left a permanent mark on Gary’s approach to God, leadership, and pastoral ministry. For Gary and so many others, Tom’s life and words and heart continue to have life-changing impact on their faith and leadership. No regrets, Tom!

Mark Artrip felt God’s leading to plant a church for a long time. In 2012, he and his family launched out of a suburban megachurch to plant a church that would last churches. Movement Church (just West of Columbus, Ohio) is now a church-planting parent to three congregations around the city with plans for more.

Gary and Mark not only share a love for the church and pastoring, but a love of the NBA, road trips, and talking.

If you’re a church planting pastor, you’ll love hearing Mark talk about the different seasons of church planting and how to build healthy friendships and habits and family time from the very start. Pastor life is challenging enough, but planting a brand new church almost from scratch is quite a lift, even for the Artrips. Check out Mark’s conversation with Gary as Mark was in the midst of a six-hour road trip to another pastor conference….

Football Coach. Pastor. Community Leader. Dad. Husband. Executive Director.

Like many leaders, Akron’s Kemp Boyd wears some visibly important hats.

But Kemp’s identity as a child of God first has helped set him free from unhealthy mindsets, false masculinity, and the lonely-leader syndrome.

In the city, Kemp invites others in to Love Akron and collaborate across some historic divides, blind spots, and cultures. He shares about his personal life, the struggle to be real with God, himself, and others. His pursuit of Pastors has given him life and been an encouragement to churches around Akron and beyond.

He also got to meet one of his family’s favorites recently, as he shares with our listeners how it felt to meet Lecrae. Coach Kemp is a brother and a friend we love, and it’s great to have him on the show!!