Breaking Barriers

"How does one go from the crowd to the family at my church?" This is one question can be the catalyst for growth at your church. If you don't have this clearly defined for yourself, your leadership, staff, volunteer, etc; how do you expect that it will just happen naturally? Pastor Steven Wade, Lead Pastor at Faith Baptist Church, Youngsville, NC, and Professor of Pastoral Theology at Southeastern...

In this Episode we talk about Easter/Big Day planning, preparations, projections and much more. If you're looking for ways to prepare the jars for Easter, then this is the episode for you. If you're listening to this as it is released.. then Easter is right around the corner! If you're catching this at a later date, then another Big Day is coming up (listen to Episode 15 and 16 for more on that!)...

If you Haven't listened to Episode 47, go check that out as it sets the groundwork for this episode! We take a look at our recent Executive planning meeting and how to take you 10-year vision and boil it all the way down to 90-day rocks. This is a super practical episode and we think you're really going to get alot out of it!

When planning the year ahead, looking back at the previous year is essential to see how it went. It's also so important to look at the next 10 years and what the future could look like. Vision casting is both long-term and short-term; the long-term vision informs the short-term vision. This episode focuses on the 10-year vision, and the next episode will be about reverse engineering that 10-ye...

In the church culture, we use the phrase, "Church Merger" but that is actually not a very accurate phrase. The idea is more like an adoption than a merging of two things, and this can be tough to navigate. Two visions = division. In this episode, we try to help you navigate and understand what that process can actually look like. Website: ⁠ https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com ⁠ Facebook Group: http...

Failure is something that we all experience. It is something that you kinda never get used to [Edit: hopefully], but it is a reality—especially if you are chasing big goals and big prayers. In this episode we dive into 3 frameworks for mistakes and 3 positive things we can do to grow from them. Website https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com ⁠ Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrow...

Have you ever been sitting back and waiting for God to move in a situation so that you can step into it? Maybe God is waiting for you to take a step out in faith so that he can move in that situation. Maybe 2025 is going to be really hard for you, or maybe it will be the greatest year of your life; either way, we see from Joshua 3 that most of the time... God wants us to take a step of faith to se...

Pastor Andrew got the chance to sit down with Pastor Bryant Wright: Pastor, Author, Founder of Right From The Heart Ministries, and President of international relief organization, Send Relief. They dive into his story and a ton of other topics, we know you'll love this conversation! Website : ⁠ https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com ⁠ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarri...

What does the actual process of building worship teams look like at Mercy Hill? We cover everything from auditions, to Essentials (how to go from auditioning to playing on a Sunday), and continued development once someone is on the team; Jon also dives into how writing music for your church can be a huge mover for musicians in your church! Lastly, one of the biggest levers for building a strong wo...

Rich Birch from Unseminary joins Pastor Bobby to talk about increasing the inviter culture at your church. Rich talks about 5 gears that move the needle on inviter culture from his new book called, " Unlocking Your Church’s Invite Culture: Strategies for Church Growth That Work Today ." Rich's Book: https://a.co/d/flbwdLJ Unseminary: https://unseminary.com/ Rich's Links: https://helpchurchleaders....

Pastor Jon Azzarello joins Pastor Andrew Hopper to discuss the Worship Culture at Mercy Hill Church. Jon has developed a pipeline for worship development at Mercy Hill called "Essentials" that every band member and singer goes through. They cover everything from auditions to continued development after someone is on the team. Don't let worship teams be a limited mindset for you and your church! We...

Pastor Andrew Hopper interviews Pastor JD Greear from the Summit Church in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Andrew and JD discuss the importance of bringing the conversation of growth and discipleship back together live from the NC Baptist State Convention. JD Greear Ministries: https://jdgreear.com/ Summit Church: https://summitchurch.com/ Website: ⁠ https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com ⁠ Faceb...

Culture eats strategy for lunch. This is a pithy saying.. but it really is true, you can have the best strategy, but if your culture isn't any good, nothing else will be either. We dive into staff culture, and the importance of both values and behaviors. Website: ⁠ https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com ⁠ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.face...

One of the most common questions we get are around the topic of church mergers. Navigating church mergers is a huge undertaking, and they can be such a huge Kingdom opportunity for the future. However, they can also be detrimental if they aren't navigated correctly. That's exactly what we want to discuss in this conversation! Rich Birch 1-Day Event - Increase Inviter Culture at Your Church: ⁠https...

We explore the role of church planting in fulfilling the Great Commission. We believe that church planting is God’s plan for reaching the world and that every believer should be a part of a local church. We dive into how cultivating a “sending culture” within your church can propel gospel impact, and why the mission to plant churches that plant churches is vital for spreading the Gospel to the end...

In this episode, we dive into the reality that every church—whether intentionally or not—creates an impression on its community. We explore what it means to embrace and shape your church’s brand effectively. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakinggrowthbarriers Instagram: https://...

Pastor Jonathan Yarboro and Pastor Andrew Hopper continue a conversation (from Episode 32) about what we call the "leadership vacuum." The tension to be managed: development vs opportunity and why you need both, but one shapes leaders more quickly. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/b...

5 Takeaways from the Breaking Barriers Conference from Pastor Andrew and Pastor Bobby. Many of these things are 'back stage' conversations' that we are trying to bring to the 'front stage' in the conference circuit. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakinggrowthbarriers Instagram:...

There is a delicate balance between development and opportunity. In this episode, Pastor Bobby and Pastor Jonathan examine the concept of stressing the organization. We understand this concept in almost every area of our lives: If you work out hard (i.e., stress), that leads to growth! It is often the opportunity for people to step up that leads to growth. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.c...

Live from the 2024 Breaking Barriers Conference, we took questions from conference attendees who had questions about the talks. In this episode, Pastor Andrew, Pastor Bobby, and Pastor Jonathan fielded questions about pragmatism, preaching, starting multiple services, serving engagement, and many more! This episode gives you a taste of what the Breaking Barriers Conference and ministry is all abou...

Pastor Bobby and Pastor Jonathan discuss some limiting beliefs that prevent churches and leaders from growing and ultimately multiplying.

The term vision is thrown around alot both in the church world, and in leadership in general, but how exactly do you use it? We've talked about what vision is and how to craft it, but this episode is all about how you use vision: the power of it, what paradigm we use at Mercy Hill, and in practice - how do you actually implement a vision? Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Gr...

Todd Unzicker, the Executive Director-Treasurer of NC Baptist, joins Pastor Andrew to discuss Breaking Barriers, church growth, and going on mission. Conference: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakinggrowthbarriers Instagram: https://...

In Episode 26, we talked about the weekly meeting that we have each week at Mercy Hill called "Sermon Planning" where that community helps to make the sermon better. In this episode, we're talking about the flip side of that coin and how Sermon Planning helps to develop pastors in your church! Conference: ⁠https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference⁠ Website: ⁠https://breakinggrowt...

Apart from good theology, this one thing will make your sermons better. Pastor Andrew and Pastor Jonathan dive into this critical meeting called "Sermon Planning," which we have each week at Mercy Hill. Consider adding this meeting to your sermon-prep arsenal each week. Conference: ⁠https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference⁠ Website: ⁠https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com⁠ Facebook Grou...