The Saturate Podcast

Jesus never commanded us just to reach people so that our church or group would get bigger. Jesus commanded us to make disciples who make disciples. In order to do that, we need to think through how to lead people from becoming spiritually alive to growing into being a spiritual parent. Jay Pathak and Jeff Vanderstelt had a wonderful conversation about how Jay organically creates disciple-making p...

So many leaders want to see more disciples of Jesus equipped to make disciples in everyday life. However, far too much of our so-called equipping is only informing people. And sadly, we are not equipping with all the gifts. Evan Mawarire has a compelling life story that serves as a remarkable example of one whose life was dramatically changed through Jesus mobilizing His people as gifts to ministe...

Many leaders and churches have given church planting a try but have not always experienced great success. In many cases, it is because they were trying to do it all alone. We all need greater collaboration leading to planting churches in partnership with others. In this episode, Jordan Elder shares the origin story of the Redeemer Network of Churches, the key initiatives that have shaped them, the...

People simply attending events or groups will not lead to disciple-making disciples. People need to engage in genuine loving attachment to God and others in order to experience true transformation into the image of Christ. In this episode, Danielle Strickland shares some incredibly insightful and helpful ways we can lead people to truly attach to God through spiritual practices. If you want to shi...

Have you found yourself regularly giving yourself away to the degree that you wonder if you have any self left? Are you tired, weary, and worn out? God is present with you, lovingly waiting for you to come home to yourself so you can abide with Him there. Chuck DeGroat and Jeff Vanderstelt have an honest and open conversation about their own journeys and ways you can also practice being present yo...

It’s far too common to care for everyone else in need around you and neglect yourself until it's too late. Yet Jesus calls us to take care of and find rest for our souls. Mindy Caliguire shares her own journey toward taking the care of her soul seriously and how she and Soul Care, the organization she started, are helping others slow down and care for their souls as well. Your soul needs to hear w...

As the culture grows more secular and people are less open to the gospel, many struggle to effectively make disciples of Jesus. Victoria, British Columbia, with its affluence and religious skepticism, represents the epitome of this challenge. And yet, thirteen years ago Chris and Kellee Synesael effectively planted a church of missional communities that are finding ways to engage their context and...

What do ice cream and disciple-making have in common? Marc and Alissa Zera. Marc left Wall Street and moved to Charleston, SC to start a craft ice cream shop. They weren’t following Jesus back then, however, Jesus had bigger plans for their lives and business. Marc shares how Jesus stepped into their brokenness and is now redeeming their marriage and business to write a far better story. Are you w...

Have you ever wondered if everyday people could see God do extraordinary things by just being willing and ready for God to work in and through them? Maybe you’ve wanted this to be your story. Matt Roark is an everyday, normal guy through whom God has done some remarkable work. He has seen miracles and abundant provision from God to care for the poor, the weak, the lonely and the lost in his city....

Have you ever wondered how you would go about starting a new church in a hard to reach place? Maybe you find yourself in your present location wondering how to more effectively plant the gospel. Steve Leston, president of To Every Tribe, has devoted his life to training teams to go to some of the hardest places on the planet to establish new followers of Jesus and new expression of His Church. In...

Would you like to see your church intentionally engaged in a process to train and send leaders to start new churches? Are you personally interested in starting a new church? David Thew, along with other leaders from Summit Crossing Community Church in Huntsville, Alabama, have been intentionally engaged in identifying, assessing, training, and sending leaders to start new churches for a while now....

Have you ever wondered if your everyday life of going to work and living in your neighborhood matters? What if the work you do everyday is actually the space where Jesus had always intended to build His Church? This isn’t a new idea. It’s the story of the early Church. And it’s the story of Jesus’ people in places like Alton, Illinois. In this episode, Hugh Halter shares his story of moving to Alt...

What if every man, woman and child in your region had regular opportunities to meet Jesus? What if every follower of Jesus were envisioned and equipped to be the means by which Jesus accomplishes that vision? In this episode, Jeff Vanderstelt lays out a biblical vision for gospel saturation and clarifies the elements necessary to see it realized where you live, work, learn, and play. Listen in and...

Have you ever wondered why so much of our experience in discipleship and mission seems to lack the power of the Spirit? Have you read the accounts of Jesus’ ministry and the early Church and wondered why we don’t see the same supernatural works that seem very normative for the early followers of Jesus? Alex and Hannah Absalom are a wonderful gift to the church. They have given their lives to equip...

How do we address the struggles of leading in a post-pandemic context? Consider how challenging this has become in an urban context. Dhati Lewis, founder and director of MyBLVD ministries and founding pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta is serving leaders in the urban context as they navigate these present challenges. In this episode he shares how he and others help leaders pursue personal healt...

Have you noticed how your journey of prayer has changed as the seasons of your life have changed? Jeff Vanderstelt shares some of his personal journey of growing in prayer through five different seasons in his own life…seasons of learning, discovery, remembrance, suffering, and healing. Listen in for your own encouragement and growth in prayer.

Have you ever wondered how to move from prayer as ritual to prayer as relational? Jayne Vanderstelt has a very fluid, highly relational, life-giving prayer life. She shares her heart very openly with God and regularly hears from God. In this episode, Jayne describes her relational journey with God and how this shapes her prayer life. Her words will encourage and inspire you in your own prayer jour...

How do we navigate seasons of winter surrounded by darkness and longing? Lent invites us to step into the wilderness space in order to develop a hunger for the promise of resurrection life. Michael Sullivan shares with Jeff Vanderstelt how the practices of fasting and prayer, silence and solitude help us to be more fully human, practicing an embodied faith in the presence of God. This episode will...

Have you found that you hold to beliefs that you struggle to put into practice leading to what feels like empty religion? Aaron Niequist, author of The Eternal Current, encourages us to shift from only spoken beliefs to transforming practices. In this episode, Aaron shares with Jeff Vanderstelt some practical ways we can practice transforming prayer. If you are looking for some simple, practical w...

Have you ever wondered what might happen if a bunch of churches decided to collaborate their resources, collective gifts, and people toward planting many churches together? The churches in Buffalo, New York have been doing this for many years and have witnessed discernible change in the overall region as a result. Jerry Gillis joins Jeff Vanderstelt on this episode to share this inspiring story. T...

Raising a family in our present context is no easy task. Leading them to become missionary disciples of Jesus might feel impossible. Hugh Halter talks with Jeff Vanderstelt and shares about his new book which tells the story of how their family has together made the mission of God their family story. If you would like to rethink and discover how to be a family on mission together in everyday life,...

Ever wonder what it might look like for churches to work together to strengthen and start churches? Bruce Wesley and Chad Clarkson were empowered and freed up by Clear Creek Community Church to give some of their time away to start the Houston Church Planting Network with several other leaders in the greater Houston area. Chad shares his personal story and the story of HCPN and what is required to...

Tokyo has almost 40 million people and less than a quarter of a percent know Jesus. Sadly, 95% will likely never know a follower of Jesus their entire life. The need for the gospel to be planted is huge! Yoshito Noguchi moved his family from a comfortable existence and a very steady job as a youth pastor into the heart of Tokyo to start a new church. In this episode, Yoshi shares his journey with...

Leaving a steady career and moving a family to another country to start a church is no easy task. Atanasio Segovia did just that. In this episode, Atanasio shares his story and the story of Familia Soma with Jeff Vanderstelt. Atanasio shares the real struggles and how he has navigated through them, as well as the joy-filled breakthroughs. If you’re looking to be inspired and encouraged about how G...

Craig Tuck and Clay Jernigan join Jeff Vanderstelt in this episode of the Saturate podcast. Craig and Clay are part of Mission Charleston, which exists to see churches and leaders collaborating together to love and serve Greater Charleston with the good news of Jesus.