Intentional Churches Podcast

What would happen if every ministry, every leader, and every church became radically aligned around the mission of reaching the one? In this closing main session from IC Conference 2026, Robbie O'Brien, Lead Pastor of Salty Church and founder of the Surf Church Collective, challenges church leaders to embrace the radical nature of Jesus and the radical alignment required to fulfill His mission. Dr...

This powerful opening session from IC Conference 2026 features Dr. Carlos L. Kelly, Senior Pastor of Beulahland Bible Church, sharing how God transformed his church through a renewed commitment to the Great Commission. Drawing from Luke 5, Dr. Kelly challenges church leaders to leave the shallow waters of comfortable ministry and launch into deeper waters where disciple-making becomes the priority...

What happens when churches disconnect discipleship from evangelism? In this episode, Doug, Bart, and Vince unpack why so many believers never share their faith, how churches drift away from personal ownership of the Great Commission, and why relational evangelism may be one of the most overlooked drivers of real discipleship growth. Vince shares his unlikely story of becoming a Christian before ev...

What actually happens when a church fully embraces radical alignment to the Great Commission? In this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, Doug Parks, Bart Rendel, and Erin Johnston unpack the disruption, tension, and transformation that come when churches begin aligning every layer of ministry around reaching “The One.” From staff culture shifts and elder board challenges to personal conv...

In this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, Doug, Bart, and Erin unpack one of the most critical chapters in Radical Alignment —what alignment really means and why so many churches struggle to achieve it. From consensus-driven mediocrity to the hidden forces of individualized preferences and institutional thinking, this conversation gets to the root of why churches drift—and how to lead t...

In this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, we shift from challenges to encouragement—and what we’re seeing right now across the Church is incredibly hopeful. While many narratives suggest decline, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Churches are growing. Young people are showing up. Leaders are leaning in. And something deeper is beginning to take shape. Doug, Bart, and Er...

In this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, Erin Johnston sits down with Doug Parks and Bart Rendel to talk about their newest book, Radical Alignment . After more than a decade of working with over a thousand churches, Doug and Bart share the surprising lessons they’ve learned about why alignment in the church is much harder than they expected—and why it matters more than ever. The conve...

On this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast , Doug and Bart kick off Season 10 with a candid and energizing conversation about what’s happening beneath the surface at Intentional Churches. Yes, there’s a little “Storytime with Bart” (including airline boarding chaos and a mysterious food allergy, but the heart of this episode is much deeper. Doug and Bart unpack why Radical Alignment and p...

On this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast , Doug and Erin sit down with Sean Kelly , Lead Pastor of Mount Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood, Indiana, for a candid conversation about succession, silos, and what it really takes to bring alignment back to a growing church. Sean shares his journey in Ohio to stepping into a historic, multi-generational church, navigating a leadership tr...

On this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast , Doug sits down with longtime broadcaster, ministry leader, and AI researcher Drew Dickens for a timely and thought-provoking conversation on AI, spirituality, and the future of the Church . With more than 30 years of vocational ministry experience—and a front-row seat to the rise of artificial intelligence—Drew helps church leaders move beyond...

On this episode of The Intentional Churches Podcast, Doug talks with Chris Steele about the incredible transformation happening at North Terrace Church in Zanesville, Ohio. Chris shares the honest story of how their team realized they were making church attenders instead of disciples, and how that single insight pushed them to rebuild unity, clarify their mission, and align everything around the G...

On this episode of The Intentional Churches Podcast , Doug and Bart unpack the heart behind Radical Alignment: The Surprising Journey of Becoming an Intentional Church —the brand-new book that takes church leaders inside the “why” behind the IC toolbox. Together, they share the behind-the-scenes story of how the book came to life—from early church interviews and the conference book challenge to th...

On this episode of The Intentional Churches Podcast , Doug and Erin sit down with Pastor Riley Halliday , a former U.S. Air Force special operations leader who’s now leading Manna Church in Newport News, Virginia. Riley shares how his church embraces the constant movement of military life as a disciple-making opportunity. With families rotating every two years, his team trains every believer to li...

Doug and co-host Daniel Goulding sit down with Andy Cook, Executive Director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, to unpack why relational evangelism belongs at the center of discipleship. Together they explore sobering stats (60% of U.S. churches are stagnant or declining), Gen Z’s surprising openness to spiritual conversations, and the practical rhythms leaders can model—from Alpha tables...

David Ashcraft joins Doug and co-host Daniel Goulding on this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, sharing lessons from decades of leadership at LCBC in Pennsylvania. From painful early years where elders walked out, to the explosive growth that brought thousands of people across multiple campuses, David unpacks how radical alignment and a relentless focus on “best vs. good” shaped a disci...

Pastor Ben Ellefritz joins Doug for today’s episode of The Intentional Churches podcast, exploring what church growth, rural revitalization, and alignment around disciple making look like in real life. As Executive Pastor at The Crossing Church, Ben leads in a context where no town has more than 80,000 people—and some have as few as 125. Despite this, The Crossing is thriving across 12 campuses, r...

Kicking off Season 9 of Intentional Churches, Doug is joined by IC co-founder, Bart Rendel, for a behind-the-scenes look at Intentional Churches, their leadership rhythms, and the realities many pastors face today. Bart introduces “the spanking machine”—a vivid and humorous metaphor born out of ministry burnout. Together Bart and Doug explore the constant pressure church leaders face from the unre...

In this final episode of season 8, Doug sits down with Paige Peltier of Leadership Pathway to unpack what it really looks like to develop young leaders for long-term ministry impact. Paige draws on her journey through multiple ministry roles at Chapel Street Church and shares how strategic flexibility in staffing—based on a leader’s growth and God’s prompting—can dramatically impact retention and...

Sherwood Oaks Christian Church has walked through significant change in recent years—from a leadership transition after 40 years and weathering the challenges of COVID to launching a new campus. Maggie Mobley, Executive of Ministries at Sherwood Oaks, joins Erin and Doug on today’s episode of Intentional Churches to talk about how to find clarity and alignment during seasons of disruption. During...

On this week’s episode of the Intentional Churches podcast, pastor Tom Kopp joins Erin and Doug to share the inspiring transformation of Kimball Christian Church in rural Minnesota. Despite being located in a town of just 800, the church has become one of the largest churches in the restoration movement in the state, defying expectations through a strong vision and a deep commitment to The Great C...

Eric Rauch from 2|42 Church joins Doug and Erin for this week’s Intentional Churches conversation—exploring what it means to lead churches through a true disciple-making transformation. Together the three share honest reflections, practical adjustments, and philosophical shifts away from attractional church models and toward multiplying disciples.  The episode explores how both 2|42 and Erin’s chu...

Dr. Carlos Kelly, Senior Pastor of Beulahland Bible Church in Middle Georgia, joins Erin and Doug for a candid conversation on shifting church culture from consumerism to intentional evangelism and discipleship. With over 26 years in ministry and a legacy-rich church behind him, Dr. Kelly explains how Beulahland’s engagement with ChurchOS has reignited his pastoral passion and started that culture...

Today Erin and Doug are joined by Drew Moore of Canyon Ridge Christian Church to talk all about how to unleash—rather than curtail—the dynamic young leaders on your church staff. Following the organizational upheaval of COVID-19, Drew and his team leaned into flexibility, collaboration, and contribution-based leadership—moving away from hierarchical systems and expertise-driven silos. The result?...

From digital congregations to rapidly growing local churches, leaders from across the country gather in this special live panel episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, recorded at the IC Conference. Co-hosted by Erin Johnston and Daniel Goulding, Lead Pastor at Echoes Church in Phoenix, AZ, this engaging conversation digs into the real-world challenges churches are facing—from building space...

Eduardo Rivera, a leader within Mosaic Church in Winter Garden, Florida, joins Erin and Doug to talk about what it really means to lead in a multicultural church environment. With deep roots in Puerto Rico and over two decades in Central Florida, Eduardo shares his first-hand experience of how the region has shifted dramatically in Hispanic population and diversity. Eduardo explains how his callin...