Church Planter Podcast

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones is joined by Andrea Jones and Pamela Nelson for a conversation on ministry burnout, emotional health, and the inner life of a leader. Pamela brings her experience as a pastor, biblical counselor, coach, and spiritual director to help church planters recognize the warning signs they often ignore: anxiety, numbness, overwork, isolation, unp...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell introduce a new “church planter diary” style conversation where they discuss personal updates in the field of disciplemaking. Peyton gives an update on The Abbey, the church plant he is leading in Carlsbad, and shares what God has been doing through house gatherings, a new meeting space, team leadership, Sunday discussio...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Dr. Michael Cooper to talk about his new book, Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement . Building on his work in Ephesiology , Michael explores how archaeology helps us better understand the early church, the spread of the gospel, and the world Paul and the first Christians inhabited. From Ephesus to Laodicea, they...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell put on the tinfoil hats and talk through aliens, AI, faith, science, and why none of it has to shake a biblical view of the world. The conversation moves from UFO files and government disclosures to C.S. Lewis, quantum physics, angels, demons, creation, evolution, and the way people interpret evidence based on the assump...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell talk about why most churches never multiply—and why the issue usually starts long before a church is ready to plant again. Peyton explains that churches can do a lot of things right and still fail to multiply if they are not mobilizing people on mission. Instead of building everything around Sunday gatherings, leaders ne...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell are joined by Luke Mitchell for a special pop-culture episode on The Mandalorian and Grogu . After seven years without a Star Wars movie in theaters, they break down what worked, what didn’t, and whether this film helped bring Star Wars back. From Mando’s upgraded fighting skills to Grogu’s loyalty, puppet effects, deep-...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell talk about Discipology, small groups, AI, and what it takes to activate disciple-makers in the church. Peyton unpacks why mobilization has to come before multiplication, and why churches cannot rely on content, programs, or technology alone to make disciples. From small-group growth to leadership development, he explains...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell tackle two major, yet wildly different conversations shaping the future of ministry: artificial intelligence and the growing interest in Greek Orthodoxy. They begin by talking about how quickly AI is changing the workplace, why leaders need to pay attention, and how churches and businesses may need to adapt as jobs, tool...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell talk about church marketing and how to use big days without losing sight of the mission. Pete talks about the importance of small businesses being involved in their communities, and how churches can apply that idea to holidays like Easter and Christmas. Peyton explains the importance of Easter, Good Friday, and other hig...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Dave Ferguson to talk about what it really means to become a multiplier. Dave brings decades of experience in church planting, leadership development, and movement-building, helping leaders think beyond addition and into multiplication. The conversation explores how disciple-making movements grow, why leaders have to releas...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell tackle one of the biggest challenges leaders face: bottlenecks that slow down movement. As churches grow, leaders often become the very thing holding things back. Instead of mobilizing others, everything funnels through a few people, and disciple-making stalls. Peyton and Pete break down how to recognize leadership bottl...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with members of Sexaholics Anonymous to talk about a struggle many leaders face, but few talk about. Behind the scenes, sexual addiction, lust, and hidden&...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Brian Sanders, founder of The Underground Network, to talk about the relationship between disciple making and microchurch planting. Brian explains why churches aren’t meant to be planted first and disciples made later. Instead, churches should emerge from the soil of mission as disciples are formed in real life and real rel...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with movement researcher, author, and practitioner Steve Addison to talk about his new book Everywhere: How God Multiplies Disciples and Churches . Drawing from stories around the world, from prisons in Texas to underground movements in the Middle East and Asia, Steve shares how ordinary believers are being used by God to spark...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton and Andrea Jones sit down with Tiffany Stein —pastor, church planter’s wife, and author of Mourning God: Grieving Loss, Wrestling with God, and Finding Your Way Back to Life . Tiffany shares her powerful story of faith, loss, and leadership after the death of her infant son, David, who lived for 53 days. As a pastor in a highly visible church c...

In this rich and forward-looking episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with two seasoned practitioners of multiplication: Larry Walkemeyer and John Teter , co-authors of The Making of a Multiplier: Four Seasons to Maximize Your Kingdom Legacy . Between them, Larry and John bring decades of church planting, denominational leadership, mentoring, and movement-building experien...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell explore a foundational idea behind Discipology : before you make disciples, you must first become one. But that doesn’t simply mean being saved, it means allowing the character of Jesus to shape your life. Peyton explains how the New Testament qualifications for leaders ultimately describe a life that reflects Christ’s c...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast , Peyton Jones sits down with pastor, author, and leadership coach Joey Cook to explore a creative and rapidly growing approach to disciple making—right on the golf course. Joey shares his journey of faith, from growing up in a small Ozark Mountains church to discovering the deeper relational love of God that now fuels his ministry and leadership. That...

The topic was supposed to be “Discipling the Next Generation”…and we got there, just not how you’d expect. In this episode, Peyton and Pete unpack an often-overlooked ingredient behind disciple-making movements: mentorship. Peyton shares what it’s been like to have a legend like Ralph Moore personally investing into his church plant and why having a mentor can change the trajectory of your ministr...

In this powerful conversation, Peyton sits down with his longtime mentor and friend, Larry Walkemeyer , to unpack why disciple-making must come before church multiplication, and why so many movements stall when they skip that step. Drawing from themes in Discipology and Larry’s forthcoming book The Making of a Multiplier , this episode explores the deep connection between time, teaching, and tacti...

What do Van Halen, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a boring radio station have in common? For Kris Langham, they were all part of the journey that led him to faith. In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell sit down with Kris Langham, founder of Through the Word, to unpack his remarkable salvation story and the vision behind one of the most accessible Bible engagement...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones pulls back the curtain on the long, surprising, and deeply personal journey behind Discipology . What began as a question while writing Church Plantology turned into a multi-year exploration of how Jesus actually formed disciples who multiplied. Peyton shares how studying Jesus chronologically—not thematically—reshaped his understanding o...

In this episode, Peyton Jones is joined by Elliot Sands, president of Faith First, for a thoughtful and candid conversation about politics, unity, and disciple-making in today’s divided world. From his upbringing as a missionary kid in Nigeria to his work helping Christians navigate cultural and political fractures, Elliot brings a grounded, pastoral perspective to one of the most volatile challen...

What if the real problem in the Church isn’t multiplication… but mobilization? In this episode, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell go deep into Peyton’s new book Discipology: The Art and Science of Making Disciples —and why Jesus’ original training model might be the missing engine behind today’s stalled movements. Fresh off a trip to Wales (and a bucket-list encounter with punk icon Johnny Rotten), P...

In this raw and deeply personal episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell wrestle with heartbreaking news about one of Peyton’s writing heroes, Philip Yancey. What happens when a trusted Christian voice falls? How do leaders reconcile great theology with moral failure? And what does this moment teach church planters about integrity, temptation, confession, and the dange...