Gregg Farah is the Discipleship Pastor at Shelter Rock Church in New York. On today's show Gregg takes into the trenches of providing discipleship opportunities to connect with people in today's fast paced culture. Listen in as Gregg talks through the work he's been doing at Shelter Rock ... a 50 year old church ... to infuse new discipleship energy into this established church.

Interview Highlights

01:31 // History of Shelter Rock

02:20 // New Role at Shelter Rock: Discipleship Pastor

02:36 // The question every pastor asks

03:50 // Evidence of needed change: Complacency

05:14 // Gregg's explains the three traits of a disciple

05:20 // Shelter Rock's 3 types of faith

06:14 // Gregg explains a private faith

07:55 // Gregg explains a public faith

08:15 // Gregg explains a seeking faith

09:23 // 3 things Shelter Rock is doing to promote spiritual disciplines

10:30 // Shelter Rock's version of the Navigators ministry wheel

11:35 // Tackling the assimilation struggle

14:00 // "Everyone did what was right in his or her own eyes."

18:00 // Group Leader reporting through CCB

19:50 // Randy Frazee: 37 Traits of a follower of Jesus

Andy Tilly has been in the trenches of multisite ministry for over 10 years. During that time period he has spent most of his time leading some of the most innovative student ministries in the country. On today's interview we dive into practical advice on moving your campus from primarily "live" teaching to video teaching. The interview has practical tips for all multisite churches either currently or considering video teaching as a core component of your strategy.

Interview Highlights:

01:03 // Andy's ministry history

01:37 // Andy's involvement at LifeChurch.tv

02:48 // Andy's move from Oklahoma to Texas

03:29 // Transitions that Andy has witnessed regarding video teaching

04:26 // Just because someone is a great live teacher, doesn't mean they are a great video teacher

05:20 // The teaching transition that Cross Timbers church went through

07:08 // How Andy learns by watching himself on video

08:10 // Why 85% of all multisite churches haven't got beyond 3 locations

08:50 // Steps to take if you want to move a ministry to video teaching

09:48 // Successful transitions start with leading through vision

10:45 // Andy experiences that the audience was more engaged when experiencing video teaching

11:30 // Dr. Phil and Oprah video teach millions every day

12:00 // Everyone thinks video teaching won't work in their part of the country

12:59 // Transition to video teaching doesn't have to be expensive

15:50 // Lead with vision and start slow

16:05 // Andy shares a bit about his church's transition to video worship

17:40 // A recent controversial post on UnSeminary

18:45 // Invite people to go to another church if they don't like it

20:50 // Bruxy Cavey's 'Purge Sunday'

Chris Vacher is in the minority when it comes to being a creative leader within a local church ... he's a worship pastor that's stayed longer than 2 years! During today's interview Chris talks about how senior leaders can work with creative leaders within their church. He gives insights into the healthy relationship he has with his senior pastor and provides practical tips for how you can work more closely with the creative folks on your team.

Interview Highlights

02:10 // Chris' church is older than the country in which it was birthed

02:30 // History of Compass Community Church

02:40 // Reason behind the church's name change

03:20 // Chris' role at Compass

04:08 // Average tenure of a worship pastor

04:55 // Everybody likes the new guy, until he's not the new guy anymore.

05:11 // The difference in skill set between a traveling worship leader and a permanent worship pastor

06:12 // Rich recalls how he see's Chris honoring his senior pastor

06:55 // How Chris has fostered a positive relationship with his senior pasto

07:30 // Chris' tip to eliminate resentment between the worship and senior pastors

09:10 // Spiritual enterprise

10:10 // How to build trust: Deliver good work

10:40 // You don't need home runs every Sunday, but you need solid base hits.

11:27 // Chris' encouragement to senior pastors

12:40 // When a worship pastors needs pastoral care

13:50 // Why tension has risen between Chris and Earl

15:16 // Compass Community Church's staff communication

16:58 // 'Thursday Night Gospel Hour'

17:40 // The key to executing constantly great services

18:01 // Chris practices a service pre-brief versus a debrief

19:29 // What senior pastors need to know about what their worship pastors really think

21:25 // A final practical trust building tip for worship leaders

According to Tim Peters, 1,700 Pastors leave the ministry for good every month! A large contributor to that fact is that we've structured our work environments to unhealthy and counter productive. In today's podcast Mark Lesher talks about what he's been doing at Christ Journey to reverse that trend and is doing to make it a healthy environment for his team. Tune in as he gives us practical advice on making your church a healthy place for people to serve.

Interview Highlights

01:23 // History of Christ Journey Church

01:34 // A few of the changes this church transitioned through

03:07 // Mark's pre-work priorities

04:15 // The motivating factor in making wellness a priority for Mark's staff

04:40 // Christ Journey Church's desire for staff wellness

05:20 // Ideas for bringing wellness issues into staff community time.

06:30 // Focus on preventable issues to keep insurance costs down

07:15 // Encouraging life balance in staff through weekend scheduling

08:00 // "Generous Work Leave Policy"

09:18 // Transitioning to canceling services one Sunday a year

09:55 // Remove the temptation at staff gatherings…see ya later donuts

10:54 // Marks final tip for promoting staff wellness

Every church thinks it's reaching people far from God ... Bob Franquiz came to the stark reality that his church wasn't. On today's podcast Bob talks about his journey from transforming his church from just reaching "insiders" to becoming a magnetic church that attracts unchurched people. The episode is full of practical insights to help your church reach people who currently aren't attending any church.

Interview Highlights

01:54 // Bob's first job out of Bible College.

02:30 // How Calvary Fellowship's church plant got started.

02:48 // From living room, to hotel, to theater, to high school.

03:55 // An accidental consolidation.

06:05 // How God used a painful experience to grow Calvary Fellowship.

06:50 // The single stat that motivated Bob to want to change his church's culture.

09:08 // Bob explains that getting a lot of people in the church doors is not a problem.

09:34 // Who is the most important group to 'win over'?

09:55 // The hard question a pastor needs to ask.

10:58 // The key to making your church magnetic.

11:45 // Bob gives a practical way to develop a heart for the unchurched in your volunteers.

12:23 // An old school tactic for showing your church evangelism on a weekly basis.

14:06 // Rich encouraged checking out the local Bingo hall.

15:10 // A practical and revealing post-grad assignment.

18:04 // Bob's simple first step to take if you want your church to improve it's 'front end experience'.

19:32 // You only have half of the adequate amount of signage for a guest.

20:20 // Dripping versus Dumping church vision.

Today's podcast is packed full of insights from two of most innovative student ministry leaders in the country! Kenny & Elle Campbell serve together in Middle School Ministry at The Chapel at Crosspoint in Buffalo, New York. During today's episode they give practical insights into ministering to students today. They also give some great insights for senior leaders working with emerging leaders in their church. Elle & Kenny are great unSeminarians ... full of lots of practical insight for your ministry.

Interview Highlights

01:35 // Hear about Kenny's responsibilities at The Chapel at Crosspoint

02:16 // Learn how Elle's role moved her into middle school ministry

03:00 // Kenny shares how listening senior leaders can develop a healthy relationship with student ministry pastors

04:17 // What Kenny and Elle have done to foster trust with their senior leaders

05:15 // Rich speaks to the benefits of various ministries in the church are on mission together

06:00 // What a senior leader could do this week to build a stronger relationship with student ministry staff

07:03 // Two things middle schoolers need out of the ministry they are involved with

08:15 // The role Elle plays that has been pivotal in making this middle school ministry more effective.

09:45 // Kenny explains how investing in volunteers has helped implement a dynamic small group ministry

10:55 // A critical lesson to learn for churches of any size

11:50 // Kenny and Elle's heart to learn from and share with other churches

12:30 // A great resource shared with you by Kenny and Elle

Jenni Catron is the executive director at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN, a 10-year old multi-site church. She leads the staff of Cross Point and oversees the ministry of its multiple campuses. Prior to joining the staff of Cross Point, she worked as Artist Development Director in the Christian music industry for 9 years. In this episode she's talking about what she's learned about finding confidence in your role as a leader in an every changing and growing environment. She also talks about her upcoming book "Clout: Discover and Unleash Your God-Given Influence".

Interview Highlights

01:38 // History of Crosspoint Church, Nashville, TN

02:38 // Jenni explains her role at Crosspoint.

03:40 // Jenni's heart for equipping leaders.

04:21// Why Jenni wrote her new book called 'Clout'.

05:00 // The surprising thing that gives us clout in our leadership.

05:37 // The danger of 'clout killers'.

06:04 // The seven 'clout killers'.

07:00 // One of Jenni's 'ah-ha' moments. Pride as the ugly form of leadership.

09:04 // Jenni's hope for readers of 'Clout'.

09:33 // "Lead yourself well, to lead other better."

10:50 // Jenni talks about how to nurture her own personal leadership health.

13:09 // Leaders need to always access the health of their relationship with God.

Bobby Williams is the pastor of Ridge Community Church in Oak Ridge, TN. In this episode Bobby gives us insight into a new way of following up with First Time Guests at his church. He talks us through how he's strategically using email to make sure guests at this church continue to feel welcome and keeps them coming back! This episode is über practical and is packed full is practical tips for churches of any size! Listen in for ideas you can put into action this week!

Interview Highlights

01:35 // Bobby gives a history of Ridge Church. How the last game of Chubby Bunny lead to the birth of a church.

02:50 // A recent problem Bobby faced in his ministry.

03:49 // A response to the problem of church shoppers.

04:40 // How the first time guest connection has changed at Ridge Church in the recent months.

05:39 // Ridge Church's most personal step in the process of connecting with first time guests.

07:00 // How 'InfusionSoft' can help churches.

07:20 // Bobby explains email sequencing.

07:40 // Ridge Church uses a 30 day email sequence to stay in front of first time guest.

08:30 // Another email tool recommended by Bobby.

08:59 // What to say in the emails you send to first time guests (beside begging them to return.)

09:33 // The first point of contact email come directly from Bobby.

10:20 // A link to a short survey is included in the second email from Ridge Church.

10:51 // Bobby explains their goal of adding value to any email sent to a first time guest.

11:05 // Learn connection between Ridge Church and the atomic bomb

12:07 // The final emails in the sequence are designed to be valuable to people who have returned to church, or may have not yet returned.

12:50 // Rich recaps and reminds to be helpful in emails, not just spam people.

13:28 // What links get the most clicks….about ministries or meet the pastor?

13:52 // Best days to send emails.

14:30 // Other areas to apply email sequencing.

Carey Nieuwhof has led more change in his church in the last 10 years than most pastors will lead in 10 carey_smalllifetimes! Carey is a "must listen to" leader for church leaders wanting to understand how to lead your church through change. This episode is packed full of helpful insights and critical reflections for pastors or really anyone looking to move their organization in a new direction.

Interview Highlights

01:35 // Learn what has been the once constant over Carey's 18 years of ministry.

02:22 // Hear a quick history of how Carey lead three churches to unite, sell their buildings and unite.

03.39 // Carey explains that navigating change is actually a skill to be learned.

04:20 // It is the job of a leader to give a picture of a preferred future.

04:44 // Find out why Carey moved his congregation out of a 2 million dollar facility and into movie theaters.

05:28 // The number one question Carey was asked as he lead his church through change was "Did anyone leave?"

06:24 // What leaders must not confuse about loud opposition.

09:36 // Listening to opposition to change requires humility and the wisdom to discern if there is a Biblical argument worth considering.

10:00 // Another question to consider when listening to opposition.

11:06 // Carey gives insight as to why we are so disturbed by opposition from key leaders. Here a personal story of maintained relationship through disagreement about change.

12:37 // Disagreements about change can be related to Strategy, Vision or Mission. Find out which ones to consider?

14:50 // What to focus on when begging to communicate about upcoming change.

17:19 // Find out what Carey refers to as the big goal when communicating change.

19:55 // Is Carey more or less open to change now that he has been in ministry for 18 years?

Corrin Bauer is the social media guru behind everything at Mars Hills Church. Today's episode is packed full of practical insights on leveraging social media channels for ministry outcomes. Corrin manages social media channels that currently reach over 500,000 people daily and in this interview she gives you a behind scenes look at how she generates content that engages! Don't miss this episode!

Interview Highlights:

01:40 // History about a church birthed in the most unchurched part of the country.

05:10 // Volunteer blogger gets recruited as a social media expert.

07:04 // Corrin's answers why social media is so important in the church.

09:25 // Next steps in church social media after getting a Facebook page.

10:14 // Crash course in Social Media for Churches. Post content you already have. Practical ideas of where to start.

12:15 // Corrin's goal is to be genuine with followers in social media, and to make Jesus' name famous.

14:50 // Plan or systemize the content you share between weekend services.

16:55 // Create a rabbit trail of posts and lead to larger pieces of content.

17:35 // Corrin explains how often she posts and through what channels.

18:55 // Using graphics in social media. Making the most of #throwbackthursday.

22:14 // Balancing humor with caring for others in social media.