200churches Podcast: Ministry Encouragement for Pastors of Small Churches

Church Planter and now Lead Pastor Matt Hayden joins Jeff to talk about the process of planting a church, in fact one that will thrive! Jeff peppers him with a LOT of questions to tease out the story of Harvest View Alliance Church in Grand Junction CO. If you are considering planting a church and wonder what it really takes to actually do it, or are a current pastor considering what the cost migh...

This episode lives up to the MINISTRY ENCOURAGEMENT billing of this show! John Finkelde from GrowAHealthyChurch.com in Perth, Australia joins Jeff to share wisdom drawn from many decades of ministry and coaching pastors in ministry! He mentioned using a productivity software - Trello.com - that I did not want you to miss, you might like it. If this is something you value, pass it along to other pa...

In this episode my friend Aaron shares his story of pastoral ministry. The 20teens were great, then 2020 hit and things began to unravel. Too many of us will identify with Aaron's story - and maybe it will highlight something in your own life or ministry that you can make a midcourse correction on now, before it's too late!

Jeremy Norton is pastor of the Mountainview Church in Whitehorse, Yukon Canada. He is the founder of LeadBiblically.com, a resource rich site for everyday pastors. And, with his three sons he produces all the content on THE YUKON BOYS YouTube Channel - which you should absolutely check out! As always, this episode of the 200churches Podcast is full of ministry encouragement, and engagement in the...

Jeff jumped on the mic for another episode of the 200churches Podcast - after almost two years! Let's say this is an update episode that might turn into a restart episode - he makes no promises. Jeff shares his heart for pastors, and brings a spotlight back again to the importance and beauty of small church ministry and pastors.

In June of 2018 Jonny and I had a conversation with Brandon Patterson, who was then the Pastor at the church in Plains, GA attended by a well known former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter. Brandon was newly married and 24 years old at the time, and while talk of pastoring a presidential family was interesting, the HEART of this small church pastor was palpable.  With the death of President Carter this...

After more than one year... here is a new episode! So I took a little time off... This is a short one with the intention of more to come!

What a blast to use my podcast to introduce Rick Warren to a church planter who hasn't even launched his first public service yet! Willie Johnson is with REDEFINE CHURCH in St. Louis MO . Rick's project these days is FinishingTheTask.com . I asked Rick to coach Willie, from his perspective as a church planter who has handed off his church to the next guy - with Willie and his team yet to...

Greg Atkinson was on the 200churches Podcast 10 years ago! Way back in July of 2013 he joined us , when we were only six months old as a podcast - and now, ten years later he is back for the fourth or fifth time - with a great episode about something so fundamental to our Christian life, that we almost miss it: KINDNESS. Check out Greg's book: The Secret Power of Kindness - 10 Keys to Unlocki...

Jeff talks with Sam Rainer, Pastor of West Bradenton Baptist Church in Florida, the President of Church Answers , and the author of the new book - The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church . Sam is a great example of a 200church pastor who refuses to imagine a limit on his impact based on the size of his church. This is an encouraging conversation! Sam and his father Thom are co-hosts of th...

Thom Rainer is the co-host with his son Sam of the Rainer On Leadership Podcast , and the founder of ChurchAnswers.com and ChurchAnswers. University . Thom is a research guy and a data guy and has studied the church for many years. He has written many books which you can see listed HERE . Thom and Jeff spoke about Thom's book, Pray and Go, which releases in June 2023, and about ChatGPT and pa...

Robby Angle is the CEO of Trueface.org and joins Jeff today to talk about what he and his team are doing with Trueface, about his life and background, and about how Trueface is resourcing churches with training in best practices for discipleship. As Jeff said on the podcast, Trueface.org is offering some great training for you and your small group leadership, so you should definitely check it out!...

Pastor Tony is the pastor of Nicholasville United Methodist Church in Nicholasville Kentucky. You are in for a real treat with a humble, godly, 200church pastor from Kentucky. Enjoy! Check out Tony' book, Jesus, The Four Gospels in Politics HERE!

David Wentz was a pastor for 38 years, originally an Engineer by vocation, and now an author and equipper of pastors around the world. Lots of kids and grandkids (I've forgotten how many!) David and I speak for a bit about the revival at Asbury, and revivals in general - quite interesting to me. But we talk mostly about the ability of the church to thrive outside of a building - meeting with...

She's still writing the 1 Peter volume of the New International Commentary on the New Testament. She is on the NIV Translation Team. She has written three commentaries on Matthew and one on Philippians, as well as a book called Scripture As Communication, a book on biblical hermeneutics. We talk about 1 Peter's content, but also what happens from the time you get the assignment to write...

On the eve of Saddleback's ouster from the Southern Baptist Convention, Rick Warren marched through a long conversation with me and Jonny. Rick talks about that in this episode. It's obvious he's not happy about it, but as always he remains gracious. Undaunted by rejection, Rick is focused on his new calling, as the leader of FTT, Finishing The Task . He is pushing ahead to see what...

Steve Dewitt is a husband, and father of two daughters, an author, pastor, and Christian leader. This is a conversation about his most recent book, and so much more! You're going to like Steve! Check out a lot (not everything!) of what Steve is up to below... Steve's Radio/Podcast Ministry : The Journey Bethel Church where Steve is Lead Pastor Steve's First Book: Eyes Wide Open: Enj...

Jim Cymbala for 50 years had pastored the Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn - New York City. He joined Jeff to talk about his approach to ministry, his latest book, his experience through COVID, and him opinions on ministry culture, church growth, sermon prep, and so much more! Jim has produced TheCallingSeries.org for pastors and church leaders - a group of 30 YouTube video lessons on the calling t...

Todd Rhoades has been in the "Connecting Staff to Churches" business since the dawn of the New Millennium, the year 2000! He recently spent 10 years on the team at the Leadership Network , and almost four years ago co-founded ChemistryStaffing.com with Matt Steen. Todd has been neck deep in ministry practice, theory, and leadership for a long time. I've seen him on websites and emai...

Roger Parrott is the President of Belhaven University in Jackson Mississippi. He has written a book unlike any book I've ever seen on leadership - it's called Opportunity Leadership - Stop Planning and Start Getting Results . Roger told me "getting rid of planning is the single best leadership decision I ever made!" I spoke with Dr. Parrott about his university, where he has se...

Thanks again to Marc for  what he's doing to help pastors of small churches! Here’s some links for the show notes: Small Church Media Website: https://smallchurch.media/ Link to “Podcasting for Churches” series: https://smallchurch.media/podcasting-for-churches/ Real Talk Christian Podcast Website: https://realtalkchristianpodcast.com/ If you want to hear more about Marc's story, you can...

This is a supremely practical episode as Dave Jacobs, from SmallChurchPastor.com , and I talk about leadership team meetings, and how to make them both enjoyable and productive. We cover a ton of ground in this episode! You will hear a number of things that connect with your experience and give you some ways to improve how you are planning and leading meetings in your ministry. Dave is offering at...

Kurt Trempert from HarvestDowntown.org in Colorado Springs joins Jeff today for Episode 409. Kurt's book, Kaleidoscope - Keeping the Church from becoming a Museum, was released in 2017, and while they talk about the message of the book, they also talk all things church ministry. Kind of a part one to this episode would be Weekend Edition 34 of the Coaching For Pastor's podcast, Jeff&apos...

Bruce and Toni Hebel join Jeff to talk about their teaching on Forgiving Forward. They counsel, consult, and coach with individuals, leaders, pastoral couples, and many more every week of the year. What does it look like to actually forgive? What does forgiveness mean? How about repentance? Reconciliation? Healing? The impact on mental health? Bruce and Toni talk through the full monty! You'l...

Jeff talks with Doug Parks, CEO of IntentionalChurches.com .  Doug tells a little of his own story, and how God led him to what he is currently doing, and how he helped start Intentional Churches. ChurchOS is a theologically and biblically based Operational Plan for your church. Doug and his team helps churches every week and whether you retain them or not for your church, their links below will p...