The Church Lobby

Karl Vaters and Gary Garcia have worked together at the same church for 29 years. For the first 25 years Karl was the lead pastor. For the last 4 years Gary has been the lead pastor. This is the first of two episodes with them. In the next one they will talk about everything surrounding the pastoral transition, but in this episode they talk about How to stay in ministry long-term How to stay fresh...

Karl Vaters interviews Tom Harris about the important, but underserved topic of Intentional Interim Pastorates. Tom is the co-author of Soaring Between Pastors: 8 Actions to Thrive During a Pastoral Transition . He also serves as the president of IPM: Interim Pastor Ministries . In this conversation, Tom and Karl talk about the importance of interim pastorates, including how an intentional interim...

Karl Vaters interviews Rich Brown on the importance of long-term pastorates. Rich is the author of  Extended Stays: A Closer Look at Longer Pastorates . He has served for decades as a pastor and in Christian higher education. Currently he serves with IPM (Interim Pastor Ministries). In this conversation, Karl and Rich talk about why long-term pastorates are good for the church, the pastor, th...

Karl Vaters interviews Matt Henslee about the importance of having small church representation in denominational leadership. In addition to being a small church pastor and authoring/co-authoring several books, Matt has recently been appointed to leadership in his denomination (the Southern Baptist Conference) on both a regional and national level. Karl and Matt talk about how this came happened an...

Karl interviews Jean Morgan, a small church pastor who wrote a Master’s thesis about the correlation between a pastor’s personality and the size of the church they serve. In this conversation, Jean and Karl talk about The way Jean made this assessment The initial results The possible impact of his results for us as small church pastors   What we discover is that our effectiveness in small chu...

Karl talks with Lori Andrews about trauma, its effect on the brain, and how to use this information as we lead through challenging times. Topics include: How can we help people cope with the constant flow of low-to-moderate-level trauma? The value of consistency in worship services. How to help kids prepare for children’s services. The neurobiological benefits of corporate worship.   Lori has...

Karl interviews Drew Dyck about Writing for Ministry, including The differences between preaching and writing How to get started writing for ministry publications What book publishers are looking for (including from small church pastors) Drew has spent decades as a writer and editor for major church publishers, and is the author of several books, most recently "Your Future Self Will Thank You: Sec...

Greg Atkinson is one the world’s leading voices in First Impressions for churches. He also wrote "Secrets of a Secret Shopper: Reaching and Keeping Church Guests" as a guide for small churches. In this conversation, Karl Vaters interviews Greg about Online presence How everyone in a small church is on the First Impressions "team” Why small churches may need to work harder on First Impressions than...

There’s a lot of talk lately about what it will take to recover from what we've all been through over the past two years. And understandably so. It will take years for us to get a grip on what has happened, what’s still happening and how it’s still changing everything. In this two-part series, Karl Vaters shares several lessons about responding, recovering and thriving through a challenging season...

There’s a lot of talk lately about what it will take to recover from what we've all been through over the past two years. And understandably so. It will take years for us to get a grip on what has happened, what’s still happening and how it’s still changing everything.   In this two-part series, Karl Vaters shares several lessons about responding, recovering and thriving t...

An interview with Craig Forrest, who’s spent decades shooting and editing film and video for ministries and network TV. Craig is passionate about helping people communicate the message of Jesus in a compelling way. In this interview, Karl Vaters talks with him about video ideas and tips that can be used in any size of church on a limited/nonexistent budget. CraigForrest.com ( https://www.craigforr...

Recorded in an RV at the Big Little Church conference in Camas WA, Karl talks with four people who host conferences for small church leaders. The conversation covers: Why they started their small church conferences What big church conferences can do to include the needs and voices of small church leaders First steps if you want to host a small church conference Guests: Carl & Kalani Culley of...

In my conversation with Ira Antoine we talk about Decision Fatigue. You know, that exhaustion you feel when there are just ... too ... many ... decisions to be made and no one else to make them! Ira has pastored of Minnehulla Baptist Church in Goliad, Texas for 14 years and he is also the Director of Texas Baptists Bivocational Pastors Ministry. Ira offers a lot of practical help for an issue that...

A church’s culture is defined as “the unwritten set of rules that governs everything a church does.” In a big church, the pastor and staff set the culture, but in a small church the culture is set by the long-time regular members and attenders - even if they don't know they’re doing it. In this episode, Karl Vaters walks through the three steps that a small church pastor must use to lead the cultu...

Karl Vaters interviews Doug Bursch about his new book, Posting Peace . It's all about how social media is impacting us so much that it even changes how we see ourselves and relate to each other. But Doug also offers hope for how we can be peacemakers and reconcilers in our online behavior. As the first interview of this podcast, Karl introduces the Lightning Round questions, with questions and ans...

Yes, small churches can be strong, healthy and effective. In this opening episode, Karl Vaters looks at the three main issues that must be in place in order for that to happen. 1. Realize you can be effective 2. Discover how small churches function differently from big churches 3. Understand and use the unique DNA of your small church for God’s glory To get Bonus Content every week, click here to...

Why would someone create a podcast called "Can This Work In A Small Church?" Because small churches are different. A lot of what we learn from our big church friends needs to be tweaked for the small church environment. And sometimes they need to be done completely differently. In this episode, Karl Vaters introduces you to what this podcast is about, and what's coming up. To get Bonus Content eve...