The Plan To Win Podcast

What does it actually feel like to walk through your church doors for the first time? Jonathan Malm — co-founder of Sunday Social and author of Unwelcome: 50 Ways Churches Drive Away First-Time Visitors — joins Dr. Dave Jones to walk through the scene-by-scene guest experience, what COVID revealed about church culture, and why the stranger at your door may be the most important person in the room.

Ken Joslin shares why proximity to the right people changes everything. Learn about vision vs. goals, the Core Five Framework, and Proximity Live Oct 14-16.

Dr. Dave sits down with Thomas Costello, executive pastor in Honolulu and founder of Reach Right, one of the sharpest teaching voices in church marketing today. Their conversation covers what it actually means to grow closer to Jesus one day at a time, why habit stacking beats willpower for spiritual disciplines, the obligatory religious phraseology killing most church communication, and why accountability partners of the same gender are not optional if you want lasting victory over fear, lust, anger, and pride.

Dr. Dave sits down with Scott Shuford, founder of FrontGate Media and one of the original voices in Christian marketing. Scott has spent twenty-five years on the west coast doing the same work Dr. Dave has been doing on the east coast, and this is the first time the two of them have sat down together. Their conversation covers what actually works in Christian marketing right now, why owning your audience matters more than chasing platform followers, the surprising results of a fifteen-tactic launch test with actor Kevin Sorbo, and the diagnostic mindset that separates ministries that grow from ministries that plateau.

Welcome to the launch of the Plan to Win Podcast. Dr. Dave sits down with Mark McDonald, founder of Be Known For Something and a 25-year veteran of church branding. Two grizzled veterans meeting for the first time dig into why churches say too much, why fear makes messaging generic, why pride quietly makes vision too personal, and why the average church is a lot less welcoming than the pastor thinks.