Rallies feel outdated to some, but Dave Jensen thinks the problem was never the rally itself. With Gen Z more open than expected, he’s convinced large, clear gospel events might be overdue for a rethink.

• Why rallies may be working again, and why bad execution killed them last time
• Targeting people closest to belief, not starting with the hardest cases
• How the Alive rallies are structured, music, preaching, response, follow-up
• The role of local churches before and after the event
• What preparation actually matters if you want conversions, not just crowds

Toolbox:

Alive Movement Connections:

• ⁠Made Alive Website⁠
• ⁠Alive Movement Youtube Channel⁠
• ⁠Alivemvment Instagram⁠
• ⁠Fire Up! Podcast⁠

Recommended Books:

• ⁠Mission ebook ⁠by Dave Jensen
• ⁠Discover⁠ by Dave Jensen 
• ⁠What is a Christian?⁠ By Dave Jensen

Credits:

This episode was brought to you by ⁠Safe Ministry Check⁠

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠⁠

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

Church members leave for all sorts of reasons, and how you respond can shape both their next steps and your church community. This episode explores what a thoughtful exit process looks like, even when departures are hard or messy.

Key

• Why churches often don’t track why members leave and how to start doing it
• Handling departures that feel personal or painful without taking it on yourself
• Conducting exit interviews that care for people while gathering useful insights
• Supporting those who stay behind and preventing gossip or resentment
• Celebrating departures when people leave for positive reasons, like mission or relocation
• Building a church culture where sending people out is expected, celebrated, and healthy

TOOLBOX:

Gaining by Losing by J.D. Greear

The Leader’s Journey by Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor, and R. Robert Creech

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Lending Hands Mortgage Brokers

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Support Reach Australia's online library

Every church has a pathway.
It might not be written down or planned, but it’s shaping how people move through our churches.

Derek Hanna and Scott Sanders talk about how to identify the weak spots in your church’s pathway — where people are getting stuck, and how leaders can bring clarity without turning ministry into mechanics.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What we mean by a “pathway” in church life

• Common blockages: front door, conversion, membership, and serving

• Why pathways are about people before they’re about programs

• How to decide where to start — and what not to fix first

• Who should own pathway thinking in your church

A short listen for teams who want fewer people falling through the cracks, so more people grow to know and follow Jesus.

TOOLBOX:

Framework ebook

Reach Australia Podcast 5.2 Re-Work Your Discipleship Pathway with Scott Sanders

Greg Lee talk: Mission driving the ecosystem

Reach Australia’s National Conference 2026

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Exdia

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Support Reach Australia's online library

This is a replay of one of your favourite episodes: one you have to get right as we begin the new year.

First impressions matter, and churches often underestimate how much. Peter Blanch and Scott Sanders discuss how small changes can make a big impact in helping people feel seen, valued, and truly at home.

• The theological foundation for welcoming
• Mistakes from not even thinking about it to overvaluing the newcomer
• Mistakes of not thinking about what a new person needs to connect to church
• Mistakes of not thinking about the whole experience of welcoming
• Welcoming has an important two-way relationship with the rest of the church ecosystem, especially with the mission team
• Thinking through the building and how it works
• Thinking through the team and what you need

0:00 – Introduction
1:23 – Where churches get it wrong
2:04 – Why Welcome People to Church
4:18 – Where Do Churches Get Welcoming Wrong?
6:01 – The danger of satisfactory
15:05 – Not having a big enough team
17:21 – Fixing the problem
20:11 – Tool Box

Secret shopper checklist

Gospel Growth and Christian Community ebook

Reach Australia Digital (Helping you with branding and website)

Community and Integration Workshop Part 1

Community and Integration Workshop Part 2

This episode was brought to you by Kidswise

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

What We DiscussTool BoxCredits

A replay from one of your favourite episodes. One you need to think about as we head into the new year.

Data is just a tool, but it’s an important tool. Its real purpose? Loving and serving your people better. A snapshot of data can give you an idea of your church health. 

What we discuss

1. Average Attendance: Are people showing up consistently?
2. Growth Rate: Are you growing each year? What’s a healthy growth rate?
3. Conversion Growth: How many new believers are you seeing? What’s a good target?
4. Community Reflection: Does your congregation reflect the diversity of your local area?
5. Secondary Giving: Beyond general giving, how generous are people with time, talent, and resources?
6. Newcomer System: Are first-time guests sticking around? If not, what’s falling through the cracks?
7. Staff-to-Attendee Ratio: Do you have enough leaders? What’s a good ratio?

TOOLBOX:

Church Health Consults

Knowing What to Measure and Why Seminar

Measure What Matters Book

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Church Suite

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

A replay from your favourite episodes and coming at a timely part of the year:

Derek and Scott look at the work of Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith on different types of rest.

1. Physical Rest

Giving your body a rest.

2. Mental Rest

It could be that you need to give your mind a rest.

3. Emotional Rest

We can get emotionally tired when we are not paying attention to our emotions.

4. Spiritual Rest

Reconnecting with God

5. Social Rest

Different relationships can ones that build us up or drain us.

6. Sensory Rest

Especially with screens.

7. Creative Rest

Creative rest is not about putting a demand on your creative ability; that’s not rest, that’s work. It is the opposite. It’s allowing white space in your life and giving room for your creativity to show up. Creative rest lets you focus on your basic need for wonder. You can enjoy fulfilling that basic need in ways that don’t put any pressure on your being creative. Yes, creativity may bloom from the seeds planted, but creativity is not the objective, only rest.

Summary

• Don’t have to do all of these every day, or every week. But it is helpful to be aware that there are different ways to rest and different people will rest in different ways

TOOLBOX:

⁠⁠Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity⁠⁠⁠ by Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith ⁠

TED Notes from Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith ⁠

TED Talk from Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith ⁠

Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less⁠ Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

⁠Atomic Habits⁠ by James Clear.

CREDITS:

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

TOOL BOX:

Reach Australia National Conference

Ep 391 10 Denominations, 60 Churches, 1 Report: Key Takeaways

Slides

Leadership Development Program

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Trellis

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Support Reach Australia's online library

Choosing a Church Management System (CMS) is a ministry decision, not just a technical one.

In this episode, Toby Neal (Lead Pastor of Vine Church, Sydney) shares what he learned while evaluating and changing CMS platforms in a real church context. We talk about how systems shape workflows, staff capacity, and follow-up — and how to tell whether a platform actually supports disciple-making or just stores information.

In this conversation:

• How Toby tested whether a system supported ministry rather than just data

• The features that became deal-breakers

• What to expect in the first three months after switching platforms

• Why usability and design matter much more than we often assume

A practical conversation for church leaders wanting tools that serve people and support the work of the gospel.

TOOLBOX:

Ep 405 Church database nightmares and how to avoid them

Rejoice and Tremble by Michael Reeves

Church Management Systems mentioned:

• Planning Centre
• Fluro
• Tithe.ly
• ChurchSuite

Toby's list of checks:

• Name tags and checkin process
• Automated workflows (care, connect, explore, serve) from forms, from attendance, from tag
• All in one
• Robust registrations for events
• Groups that remind leaders to mark attendance
• Metrics and dashboards
• Workflows
• Automations
• Giving integrated with database rather than tithely and xero. tax statements that can be sent and can integrate bank info from xero.
• Robust system, apps work, online, speed, bugs
• Calendar for managing room bookings, venue hire
• Forms
• Clean easy to use aesthetic
• Big company, unlikely to be sold or close down.
• Manages duplicates well
• Secure

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by EA Insurance

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Support Reach Australia's online library

Nobody signs up for ministry to get excited about governance, but ignore it and you'll end up running in circles. In this episode we dive into the practical side of governance in ministry, why it matters for healthy churches, and how to navigate common roadblocks.

• How governance and ecclesiology interact, and why your church DNA matters from the start
• When decision-making structures hinder ministry rather than support it
• Litmus tests for spotting governance issues, including meetings, budget allocation, and leadership capacity
• How to decentralise responsibility effectively while staying faithful to your theological convictions
• Practical strategies for legal compliance, staffing, and resource management to support growth

TOOLBOX:

The Elder-Led Church by Murray Capill

A Church Consult -> (Reach Australia's Church Consult)

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Lending Hands Mortgage Brokers

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Support Reach Australia's online library

If the emotional side of ministry keeps catching you off guard, it’s worth paying attention to what that might reveal about your own emotional intelligence. Scott Sanders and Jo Gibbs look at the practical side of emotional intelligence, why it matters for everyday ministry, and what gets in the way of developing it.

• What low EQ looks like in normal, everyday interactions
• How a leader’s reactions influence the tone of a team
• Why some ministry cultures downplay emotions and how that limits growth
• Ways to spot your own physical and behavioural cues under pressure
• A simple framework for restoring a relationship after you’ve handled something poorly

TOOLBOX:

Ep 330 Why EQ is the Edge Every Leader Needs (Part 1) by Pete Stedman

Ep 331 Why EQ is the Edge Every Leader Needs (Part 2) by Pete Stedman

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Dr. Travis Bradberry and Dr. Jean Greaves

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Quizworx

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Support Reach Australia's online library