The Unstuck Church Podcast

When it comes to numbers and metrics, churches sometimes say things like, "Our culture has never talked about numbers; we're not a business," and "Numbers are too impersonal." This topic seems to create anxiety in church staff members. But what if numbers actually weren't the enemy? What if you could use metrics and value people simultaneously? What if you could listen to the Holy Spirit and use d...

Being a part of the Body of Christ means we each have different roles.  If we're going to be a healthy body, we need to talk to one another, communicate with one another, watch one another's back and grow in our abilities to play the role He has placed us in. We ALL need honest feedback on what we are doing well and how we can get better. Teams that do this well are healthier and probably accompli...

People-oriented people are often the ones who end up in ministry. And as people-oriented people, we'll do anything to protect our relationships with our staff (or, rather, we'll avoid anything that would disrupt them). And yet, we are called to lead each person God has placed in our care. And part of leadership is management . We're starting a new series called " Management Is Not a Dirty Word ,"...

"Where did all our momentum go?" We hear this question often from the multisite churches we serve. It is so common for a multisite church to get stuck at three locations. Having three locations is amazing and exciting, but if you are continuing to grow, it can suddenly feel very frustrating if your multisite model becomes the barrier to making room for new people. In this episode, Sean and Amy bre...

Crossing the 2000 barrier isn't just about adding more seats on Sunday. This barrier represents a significant shift in how a church needs to operate. At this size, it's common to see ministry silos develop and a realization that your leadership structure needs to evolve. As the leaders of the church, you have to make some changes to your mindset and to how you lead. In this episode, Amy and Sean d...

"I've never led a church this size before..." If you are a senior pastor, executive pastor or board member, you're not alone in thinking this. We hear church leaders say it all the time, as they wonder how they're going to break through the next growth barrier. We're continuing our series on breaking common growth barriers, specifically helping church leaders in key seats to own their roles in get...

You know the story: the numbers rise then stall. Two steps forward, one step back. Maybe your church has a history of hovering around a number —a familiar attendance line you just can't seem to cross. Or maybe a rapid growth season occurs, but eventually, something—people, systems, culture—plateaus the momentum and drifts you right back to where you started. Sound familiar? In this new series, we...

The newest edition of The Unstuck Church Report is here! Over the past few years, our Unstuck Church Reports have told a pretty encouraging story. On average, churches are seeing double-digit growth. In fact, if you look back at the last 13 quarters, attendance growth has landed somewhere between 13% and 30%. Incredible! But let's be honest: not every church is experiencing that kind of momentum....

As followers of Jesus, we're called to reach people outside of the faith. But doing so requires a strategy—both in the church and in your personal life.  We're wrapping up our series on communication challenges for churches with a conversation about communicating with outsiders—people outside the church and outside the faith.   In this episode, Sean and Amy share some reality checks about outreach...

We're getting into that busy back-to-school and ministry ramp-up season. If you have communication issues as a ministry, they will start showing up big time this time of year.  When it comes to church communication, most leaders just try to reach  everyone. But the truth is, you actually have two distinct audiences: insiders and outsiders.  This week, we're talking about your communication with yo...

When you think August, you think busy. For most churches, the ministry season ramps up as people return to church after the summer. It's back-to-school for families, and people are getting overloaded by communication—from the schools, teachers, doctors, teams and YOU. In this series, we're tackling three areas where we believe churches could take it up a notch and be the best-in-class organization...

This summer, we're changing things up. You're on vacation; we're on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month. But ministry and leadership are still happening! So this month, we are replaying the "hits" from the last six months: the best episodes. We'll be back with fresh content next week , and we kn...

This summer, we're changing things up. You're on vacation; we're on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month. But ministry and leadership are still happening! So this month, we are replaying the "hits" from the last six months: the best episodes. We'll be back with fresh content in August, and we kno...

This summer, we're changing things up. You're on vacation; we're on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month. But ministry and leadership are still happening! So this month, we are replaying the "hits" from the last six months: the best episodes. We'll be back with fresh content in August, and we kno...

This summer, we're changing things up. You're on vacation; we're on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month. But ministry and leadership are still happening! So this month, we are replaying the "hits" from the last six months: the best episodes. We'll be back with fresh content in August, and we kno...

This summer we're changing things up. You're on vacation; we're on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month. But ministry and leadership are still happening! So this month, we are replaying the "hits" from the last six months: the best episodes. We'll be back with fresh content in August, and we know...

When a church slips into the maintenance phase, pastors often wrestle with all kinds of  fears —worrying about rocking the boat, messing up, dealing with conflict or just burning out. But what if those very fears are the thing standing between your church and its next season of growth and impact? In the final episode of our "Just Maintaining" series, Sean and Amy dive into one of the most simple,...

It's easy to focus on what the church needs to change when growth slows—programs, strategies, systems. But often, the real breakthrough starts with the leader . A particularly challenging part of leading through the maintenance phase? Adjusting your leadership approach. In Part 3 of our "Just Maintaining" series, Sean and Amy discuss what churches need to be thinking about when it comes to their l...

Your church isn't declining … but it's not growing either. You might be stuck in " maintenance mode ." Many aspects of ministry look healthy, but growth has slowed. You're not really reaching new guests, and fewer people are crossing the line of faith. What now?  In Part 2 of our "Just Maintaining" series, Sean and Amy talk about what you actually need to do to change course. They'll cover what it...

Has your church's growth slowed down or hit a plateau? Maybe you're financially stable, and everything seems fine on the surface, but something feels off from your perspective as the leader. There are telltale signs your church is drifting away from sustained health. In this candid series, we'll explore why churches unconsciously slip into "maintenance mode," what it costs them and, most important...

The newest edition of The Unstuck Church Report is here! Every quarter, The Unstuck Group compiles all the data we've collected to monitor trends in churches in the United States. Our Q2 report focuses on current  staffing data and trends in North American churches. For this quarter's report, we received survey responses from 251 churches, giving us valuable insights into current church trends. Th...

Live teaching or video teaching? It's one of the most debated questions in any multisite conversation. Everyone seems to have a strong opinion, but the best choice isn't always the most obvious. In this episode, Sean and Amy answer this age-old question with proven data and real stories. They also outline what to consider when making this decision (including technology) and offer practical strateg...

If you've ever tried to launch a second campus, you know the struggle is real. Turns out, most churches get their staffing and structure wrong from day one, but we're here to save you from those painful missteps. In this episode, Amy and Sean dive into the math behind multisite staffing (hint: your ratios probably need to change), why rushing to build a massive central team is a recipe for disaste...

If you've got multiple locations and your team feels divided, this episode is for you. The dreaded "us vs. them" mentality can creep into any multisite church, creating unhealthy competition and fractured relationships between campus and central teams. Amy, Sean and special guest Carlos Cardenas, from Christ Fellowship Church in Miami, share their battle-tested wisdom on preventing and addressing...

In this episode, Amy sits down with Doug Turner, President of GenerosityOS, to talk about how church giving strategies have evolved (spoiler alert: episodic capital campaigns are so 2004). Doug brings decades of experience from helping churches like Willow Creek and Redeemer Presbyterian fund their vision, and he's got some fresh insights on why year-round generosity and vision clarity are the new...