Thanks for being a faithful listener to the podcast. It truly means a lot to me. As we near the holidays, I am going to take a break from the weekly show. I will post a few updates along the way over the next couple of months to stay connected, but the weekly show is going to catch its breath.

That said, I am lining up some great stuff for 2018. I am working on new seasons with great content that will bring value to you, your leadership and your ministry. One of the ways I am doing that is through a short survey. My goal is to hear from you and a little of your ministry story. I also want to know what ministry questions you might have that we haven't addressed on the show. One of the ways I can add value to your ministry is by talking about the things that mean something to each of you. I want to build your questions and topics into the 2018 season of the show.

The survey will only take about 2 minutes to complete. It's short and sweet. I'm really hoping to hear from as many of you as possible. If you want to be a part of making the podcast even better in the coming year, I hope you'll take a moment of your time to fill out the survey.

I look forward to hearing your Thanksgiving and Christmas stories. May God grant you hope and peace in this season. And may God's name receive glory as you point people toward Him.

Peace.

Survey link - http://bit.ly/2yTjmAe

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

Don't let the onslaught of digital changes in the world be the things that prevents your church or ministry from moving forward. While everything in our world is changing at a very fast pace, there are opportunities out there to learn and grow with it.

In this episode, Tom Pounder shares about Digital Bootcamp, an online group that is helping pastors, church leaders and volunteers to grow in their knowledge and application of the digital world. You don't want to miss this episode or what's going on at Digital Bootcamp.

Some of our conversation boils down to:

1. Learning the digital and online world is a constant learning experience. You never arrive.
2. There is no shortage of resources available online to learn.
3. Digital Bootcamp is for anyone with a desire to learn digital tools to expand their reach and to help people come to know Christ.
4. Digital ministry is an opportunity to disciple someone to serve in this area.
5. Digital Bootcamp is FREE training for a digital and online world.

Links |
Digital Bootcamp
Tom Pounder
YM Sidekick
Church Marketing Sucks
Social Media Examiner
ProChurch Tools
Jay Kranda
Social Media Church Podcast
Church Communications Group

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

It isn't just a cultural idea that the church has to be great at first impressions or guest services. It's more than that. It's biblical. We are called to be great hosts and to love people as strangers. When someone walks into our churches for the very first time, they are likely a stranger. What are you doing to welcome them and help them feel at ease? 

In this episode, listen in on my conversation with Dave Hileman of Waypoint Church Partners. Dave shares great insight and wisdom when it comes to creating a great first impression. Churches can and must do better in this area. With so few people returning after a first visit for a second visit, we need to remove every barrier we can so that they can come and hear from God. This conversation is a great starting point for you and your team.

Our conversation boils down to...

1. Only 22% of first-time guests will become second-time guests.
2. Hospitality is a sacred responsibility in the Old and New Testaments.
3. There's no excuse to not have great signage for people to know where to go next.
4. A first rate first impression will require training and accountability.
5. Gather your first impressions team 30 minutes before church to regroup, pray for newcomers and to get pumped up for the day.
6. Don't lead to not lose volunteers. Lead to find the right volunteers for the role.

Waypoint Church Partners - http://www.waypointchurchpartners.com

Dave Hileman - [email protected]

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

I love the Exponential Conference. It's one of the greatest weeks of my year. The networking and friendships that develop are life-changing. The focus of Exponential is simply multiplication. How does the church have an "Exponential" impact on the world? We do that through disciples making disciples who plant churches that will plant churches. Think of a guy like Ralph Moore who has planted more than 2500 churches. That's the kind of multiplication that Exponential is all about. If you have ever thought or dreamed of planting a church, you simply can't miss Exponential. You can find out more on their website at exponential.org.

Follow Exponential on...

Twitter - https://twitter.com/churchplanting

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/churchplanting

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/church_planting/

In this episode I spend time talking to some of the sponsors who help make Exponential happen. They share what it is that they do and where you can learn more. They also share what they love about Exponential. You are not going to want to miss all the great and FREE resources that are linked in this episode. You can see them all below. 

Exponential Sponsors & Resources |

Portable Church - https://www.portablechurch.com

Passion 4 Planting - http://church-planting.net

Gospel Project - https://www.gospelproject.com

Acts 29 - http://www.acts29.com

Disciples Path - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/Disciples-Path

Disciple Xchange - http://www.disciplexchange.com

Living as One - https://resi.io

Regal Theater Church - https://corporateboxoffice.com/theatre-church

Discipleship.org - http://discipleship.org

Radiant Printing - http://www.radiantprinting.com

Church on Wheels - http://churchonwheels.com

Right Now Media - https://www.rightnowmedia.org

CDF Capital - https://www.cdfcapital.org

Send Network - https://www.namb.net/send-network

New Thing Network - http://www.newthing.org

Wave - http://wave.us

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

Pastors and church leaders are all in on conversations about leadership, vision casting, discipleship, multiplication and church growth. But for some reason the rooms go silent and the conversation dies down when the topic of physical fitness is brought up. If the body is the temple of the living God and we are called to be stewards of all things, pastors need to take a fresh look at taking care of themselves physically.

In this episode of the podcast my friend, Greg Oraham, from Pastor Fit comes on the show to share his story. A journey that included a scare with four blocked valves in his heart that lead him to take better care of his body. Now his passion has boiled over for other pastors as he seeks to help them get healthy also. If you are going to lead a healthy church from a healthy place, you need to be healthy yourself. Don't miss this episode. It could, quite literally, save your life.

Some of our conversation boils down to:

1. Physical fitness should be viewed as a part of your spiritual disciplines.
2. You need to be healthy to be the best church leader you can be.
3. Go on an evening walk after dinner. If you're married, walk with your spouse.
4. Give up sugar. It's probably the worst thing you put in your body.

Take a listen here to episode 044 of the podcast.

Pastor Fit on Twitter. 

Pastor Fit website.

Pastor Fit on Instagram.

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

Welcome to BONUS Episode 001. In this episode, I simply want to share in a few minutes with all of you a couple of changes in my life recently that have increased my productivity and outlook. But before we get there, the Stan Rodda Podcast is growing!!! Woo hoo! Thanks to all of you for being an amazing community of listeners. We are up around 243 listeners every week on the show. I want to ask you to help me continue spreading the word about the podcast. You can do that in two ways: 1. Simply share the podcast with one friend in ministry who you think might benefit from the content. 2. Leave a 5-star review on iTunes. Helps make it more visible for others as they search ministry podcasts.

And again, "Thank you," to everyone who is joining me on this journey. It has been a lot of fun. Looking forward to the next 50 episodes of the show with you. Now, on to the content.

The two things I have changed boil down to this...

1) Beat The Sun!

I'm waking up at 5:00am every day. My previous schedule has been centered around working late, even until midnight. My work got very sloppy, I wasn't on top of my game, that decreases productivity and was increasing my anxiety as a result. Waking up at 5:00am has allowed me to prepare my day with God, to focus on my relationship with Him and to ask what He wants me to accomplish that day. I'm more prepared, productive and actually leading my day not the other way around.

2) Lose The Weight!

I am down 20lbs thanks to some great coaching from Greg Oraham. You will hear him in episode 044 of the podcast as he shares about fitness and the life of the pastor. I have more energy than I have in years. My outlook on life is way more positive. I feel more in control and honestly, I just feel better. 

I want to encourage you in those two things. Give them a try and see if they don't help you transform your productivity levels and your outlook on life.

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

The world of church communications is a quickly changing world. Everything from email to social media, video and apps like SnapChat. How do you as a pastor or ministry leader make sense of it all? Not only do you have to navigate what feels like overwhelming information and learning new tools, you also have to consider everyone around you. How am I reaching the student population with this communication, but how is it also relevant to some of the older generation who are leading and guiding the church?

On episode 043 of the podcast, I have a great conversation with Jeanette Yates. She is going to help us make sense of it all. There are some simple opportunities for you out there to share stories of great things happening at your church, while also bridging each generation gap you may have at your church. In fact, it is the story that speaks to all generations equally. We are wired for stories. So don't miss this episode and how you can more effectively use storytelling in your context to share the great stuff that God is doing in the lives of people at your church.

Some of our conversation boils down to:

1. Listen with your eyes and ears to find stories in your church.
2. Look for opportunities to connect the younger generations with the older generations.
3. Be intentional about asking your team, staff, life group leaders or volunteers about stories going on around you.
4. Start. Simple step is video on Facebook to tell a story or post a live video. Not aiming for perfection, just starting.

Take a listen here to episode 043 of the podcast.

Follow Jeanette Yates on Twitter.

Coffee with Pastors - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-with-pastors-podcast/id1252818301?mt=2

Pro Church Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pro-church-podcast-with-brady-shearer/id848673237?mt=2

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

If you are a portable church, this is an episode you don't want to miss. My guest is my assistant, Barbara Martinez. She is an amazing servant and volunteer at our campus. In this episode I talk with her about how to honor our host location. In our case, it's an elementary school. For you it might be a theater, bowling alley, town hall, community center or other place.

If you aren't careful, it can be easy to have a "get in and get out" mentality. We have the building a certain number of hours. We're just going to do our thing and leave. But the opportunity to be a great guest in someone else's building, can lead to great things. Listen in for some great content on ideas for how to honor your host location. 

Some of our conversation boils down to:

1. Look for opportunities to praise, celebrate and give gifts to those who serve for you.
2. Build the culture of leaving it better than you found it.
3. The custodian can make or break your relationship. You better love them.
4. God will open great doors if you genuinely love your host and care for them well.

Take a listen here to episode 042 of the podcast.

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

What does it look like to make baptism a celebration for your entire church or campus? Why not "go big or go home" when it comes to baptism? Recently I had Eric Metcalf on the podcast to talk about this very topic. He is a campus pastor at Community Christian Church in Chicago. They recently celebrated a huge Baptism Sunday called, "Beach, BBQ & Baptisms." I invited him onto the show to talk more about celebrating these great decisions in the lives of people.

Some of our conversation boils down to:

1. Celebrate big because a prodigal is coming home and the father is running to them.
2. Celebrate because if heaven is, then we should be.
3. Make baptism accessible and simple for people to take that step.
4. Share stories of life transformation.

Eric Metcalf - https://twitter.com/ericmetcalf

NewThing Network - http://www.newthing.org

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."

Recently it seems the topic of volunteers has been coming up a lot in my area. I decided to sit down and discuss the topic of caring for volunteers a little bit more with New Life's Online Campus Pastor, Tom Pounder. He shares some of his insight into leading volunteers for more than just an outcome, but also because we care for them as image bearers of God. Leaders want the best for their volunteers, not because it's good for the leader, but because by it we help volunteers live out the passions God has hard-wired into them.

Much of our conversation came down to these things:

1. We are stewards of volunteers, not owners!
2. Get to know volunteers outside of the "work environment!"
3. Take time to train and disciple your volunteers!
4. Celebrate the wins with them!
5. Take responsibility when they don't win!

Take a listen here to episode 040 of the podcast.

Learn more and follow Tom Pounder here.

Weekly Email

I send a weekly email out on Friday mornings full of great content from around the web. I include a ministry leader you should be following on social media. And I throw in some other fun stuff along the way like Starbucks gift cards so you can get a cup of coffee in the morning. You can subscribe at stanrodda.com and I'll throw in my eBook for FREE as my way of saying, "Thanks."