New Churches Podcast

Host Ed Stetzer returns with writer, speaker, and professor Kyle Strobel to dive more deeply into the leadership challenges of church planting today. Tune in to discover the profound paradox of leading from weakness as you make much of Christ and abide in His strength. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How our church context impacts our views of congregational health Christ’s purpose in rebuking P...

Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham meet with pastor’s wife, mom, and National Director of Women’s Evangelism, Catherine Renfro, to discuss the significance of women’s evangelism in the life of the church. Tune in to discover how you can mobilize the women of your congregation to join in the activity of God, one gospel conversation at a time. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The biblical precedent...

Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham team back up with pastor’s wife, mom, and National Director of Women’s Evangelism, Catherine Renfro, to dive into the impact of investing in the ladies of your congregation. Tune in to discover why God is calling each and every member of your church to live on mission—and why it’s an opportunity you don’t want to miss. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Three focu...

Host Tony Merida teams back up with Matt Carter, Send Network’s Vice President of Mobilization, to discuss the rhythms and patterns that have helped them thrive in ministry, as well as in their personal health and families. Tune in to discover why your earliest days in ministry are so significant and how you can reclaim your days for the sake of God-honoring endurance. In This Episode, You’ll Disc...

Host Noah Oldham teams back up with pastor and planter Adam Muhtaseb to discuss their relationships with constructive criticism throughout their journeys as church planters. Tune in as they discuss what Scripture has to say about your life, ministry, and righteousness in Christ and how God intends to form you in His image as you shepherd your flock for His glory. In This Episode, You’ll Discover:...

Host Ed Stetzer meets with writer, speaker, and professor Kyle Strobel to discuss the impact of spiritual practices—both personally and corporately—in the life of the church planter. Discover what it means to find your strength in the Lord and how to lead your people to do the same. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The stark contrast between spiritual formation and self-help How to better dissect...

Host Noah Oldham sits down with Adam Muhtaseb, the pastor, planter, and recipient of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Joe B. Brown Preaching Award. Listen in as they discuss the impact of your church’s Sunday morning preaching culture and how you can take strides to engage the assembled nonbelievers as you strengthen your flock from the platform. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What e...

Episode 805 Host Tony Merida meets with Matt Carter, Send Network’s Vice President of Mobilization, to discuss their journeys through preaching the Word within their respective church-planting contexts. Tune in to discover their wisdom gained and lessons learned throughout their years of preaching and planting. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to contextualize your message to your mission Why...

Episode 804 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham return for another episode with pastor, planter, and leadership expert Dr. Crawford Loritts. Tune in to discover what you can gain through the guidance of those who have gone before you on this church planting journey. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The wisdom to be found in healthy biblical community What to look for in your next mentoring relatio...

Episode 803 Host Ed Stetzer teams back up with colleague Craig Hazen to take a deep dive into John 15:7—Christ’s own words about fearless, expectant prayer. Discover the role of prayer in the life of the church planter as you petition the Lord on behalf of your people and wait to see how He will provide. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What John 15:7 doesn’t say about the prosperity gospel How l...

Episode 802 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham spend some time with pastor, planter, and leadership expert Dr. Crawford Loritts to examine the impact of aligning today’s current events with Scripture’s eternal truth. Here’s how you can honor God from the pulpit as you leverage your platform for the sake of the gospel made known. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The key difference between reacting...

Episode 801 Host Tony Merida spends time with Jeff Medders to discuss the life and legacy of Charles Spurgeon not only as a pastor and preacher, but as a dedicated church planter, too. From his intentionality as a leader to his vision casting as a church revitalizer, Spurgeon has much to teach planters today about faithfully living on mission, no matter the context in which you lead. In This Episo...

Episode 800 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham team back up with pastor and planter Ray Ortlund to share the internal and external measures you can take as a church planter to keep your leadership and ministry healthy and guarded from harm. Discover the personal and theological safeguards you can set in place to protect the calling God has placed upon you and your church. In This Episode, You’ll D...

Episode 799 Host Ed Stetzer chats with his colleague Craig Hazen, the Founder and Director of Christian Apologetics at the Talbot School of Theology. Together, they discuss the impact of apologetics within the church-planting sphere and how this study and practice grants us confidence to move forward in our missional calling to share the peace of Christ’s truth with the world. In This Episode, You...

Episode 798 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham share an encouraging word with Ray Ortlund, the author, pastor, and founder of Immanuel Nashville. Together, they discuss the significance of forming Christ-exalting personal habits within the earliest days of ministry. Tune in to discover how you can create safeguards for the long-term health of your ministry as well as your own personal spiritual wa...

Episode 797 Host Tony Merida meets with Jeff Medders, the Director of Theology and Content at SEND Network, to discuss the significance of the resurrection in our daily lives as believers, as well its power in the weekly rhythms of our churches. Tune in to discover how emphasizing the resurrection empowers us to live boldly on mission for the gospel. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How the resur...

Episode 796 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham share insight into one of the most difficult aspects of planting a church in North America today: establishing sustainable patterns of rest. Here’s what you can add and subtract to your life in ministry in order to live in the rest Christ has prepared for you. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How a reboot and reset could revive you in your ministry c...

Episode 795 Host Ed Stetzer meets with church planters Adam Muhtaseb and Richard Pope to discuss their best practices when it comes to facing hardship while leading a new church plant. Here’s why rest, repentance, and reliance on God and His people are essential for planters as they seek to lead others to Christ’s truth amidst life’s greatest difficulties. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Ways to...

Episode 794 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham kick off the new year by discussing the significance of casting a church-wide vision as leaders within your congregation. Discover how biblical leadership surpasses the ordinary markers of goal setting and why you’re called to simply take the next step forward in faithfulness as you wait expectantly upon the Lord. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How...

Episode 793 What does it look like to connect with your community? Noah Oldham and Vance Pitman talk with Mark Lee about best practices for engaging your community as a new church planter. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The best place to start connecting with your community How to be seen as a partner, rather than a parasite What foreign missions can teach us about being a missionary The princi...

Episode 792 As our society tips toward majority non-Christian, the need for clearer calls to the gospel becomes paramount. Ed Stetzer, Shane Pruitt, and Catherine Renfro talk about how to give an effective gospel presentation. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Different ways to invite people to Jesus without manipulating Four kinds of people hearing every sermon Important theological elements of a...

Episode 791 Hosts Noah Oldham and Vance Pitman sit down with Pastor Matt Carter to discuss the significance of creating a culture of sending through preaching. Here’s what it means to “live sent” and to empower your people to do the same. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The biblical basis for “Sending Church” How a pastor can cultivate a culture of sending through his preaching How to help your...

Episode 790 Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your church differently than others? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about fascinating new research. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How church launches and funding were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic The effect on planters’ mental health How evangelism and discipleship fared The “big disappointment” in the research findings Advice for plant...

Episode 789 Host Ed Stetzer returns with pastor and planter Mark Lee to discuss the impact of creating and maintaining a positive staff culture within the life of your church. Here’s how you can lead your team to multiply leaders within their ministry spaces while cultivating a spiritual and professional environment where your people can thrive. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The marks of an un...

Episode 788 Host Ed Stetzer chats with pastor and planter Mark Lee to discuss why we need to hold onto biblical endurance as modern-day ministry leaders. Tune in to discover how you can find longevity in ministry through healthier perspectives, sustainable rhythms of rest, and perseverance. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why returning to your calling is essential for ministry How people pleasin...