New Churches Podcast

Episode 787 Host Tony Merida sits down with longtime friend, pastor, and author David Platt to discuss the Great Commission’s call for missional preaching. Tune in to learn more about how the meditation and internalization of Scripture can impact your own heart for change as you seek to transform the nations with the gospel. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The danger of separating your preaching...

Episode 786 Host Ed Stetzer meets with Emmy award-winning producer and director of Lifeway Kids, Chuck Peters. Tune in as they discuss effective ways to engage children and their families as you further the gospel within your kids ministry context. Learn more about this rising generation’s social and emotional needs as it pertains to their identity in Christ. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What...

Episode 785 Host Tony Merida sits down with longtime friend, pastor, and author David Platt to discuss the fruitfulness of passionately pursuing Jesus amidst the difficulties of church planting today. Tune in discover how you can more effectively cultivate unity, conviction, and reliance on Jesus as you shepherd the people God has entrusted you with. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to catego...

Episode 784 In this second installment of “Transitions and Leaving Well,” host Ed Stetzer meets with returning guest Todd Adkins, the Director of Leadership Development at Lifeway, to discuss best practices in navigating the people and processes related to your current role. Tune in to discover why retaining relational currency is essential as you honor God—and His people—with your next steps. In...

Episode 783 Host Ed Stetzer meets back up with Lifeway’s Director of Leadership Development Todd Adkins to discuss how you can transition out of your church plant with your congregation’s best interests in mind. Tune in to discover your responsibilities in stewarding your plant’s relationships and systems well as you follow God’s guidance for your life. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why your l...

Episode 782 Hosts Tony Merida and Vance Pitman sit back down with returning guest, author and pastor Jamaal Williams, to discuss how neighborhood assessments can help your congregation to better love and serve your community. Here’s how you can more accurately determine the needs of those you’re seeking to reach. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why training up your launch team matters The barrie...

Episode 781 Host Ed Stetzer teams back up with Executive Director of Lifeway Research Scott McConnell to discuss how you can better equip your congregation to live evangelistically. Research shows that the world around you may be more inclined to engage in your gospel conversation than you think. Tune in to discover the best ways to approach your neighbors with the good news of Jesus. In This Epis...

Episode 780 Hosts Tony Merida and Vance Pitman spend time with author and pastor Jamaal Williams to discuss Scripture’s example of the multi-cultural church through the lens of Jamaal’s book, In Church as It is in Heaven. Discover the steps your church can take through prayer, hospitality, and curiosity, that your local expression of the body of Christ would begin to look more like the one in heav...

Episode 779 Host Ed Stetzer meets with Executive Director of Lifeway Research Scott McConnell to discuss their recent findings on evangelism and gospel conversations in the United States. Tune in to discover why your expectations of pushback may be holding you back from the worthwhile, hope-filled message that the world is desperate—and curious—to hear. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The signif...

Episode 778 Host Tony Merida chats with pastor, author, and long-time ministry partner J.D. Greear to discuss the basics of the Christian faith in an age of deconstruction, as gleaned through the New Testament book of Romans. Tune in to discover the power of the gospel alive in the Word—and in the lives of God’s people—still today. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Romans’ framework for relevant e...

Episode 777 Host Ed Stetzer joins his with long-time friend, colleague, professor, and ethics expert Scott Rae to discuss how pastors and planters can better address the week-long needs of their congregations. Tune in to discover the unique vantagepoints of bivocational pastors and how we can empower our people at the intersections of their work and ministry. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why...

Episode 776 Host Tony Merida chats with pastor, author, and long-time ministry partner J.D. Greear to discuss the implications of addressing the heart as we preach the Word of God. Here’s how the gospel reaches beyond moralization and leads to real life transformation. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How gospel-centered preaching moves our congregations from shame to empowerment Why adoration is...

Episode 775 Host Ed Stetzer meets with author, ethics expert, and his own colleague Dr. Scott Rae to chat about the ethical implications of ChatGPT and its impact on preachers, planters, and pastors today. Tune in to discover why AI can’t replace the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s people. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How sermon prep relates to physical fitness Why discipline an...

Episode 774 Hosts Noah Oldham and Vance Pitman sit down with Send Network’s Vice President for Planter Development Tony Merida to discuss why we are called to gather as the body of Christ. From topics like Christ’s incarnation to the COVID-19 pandemic, listen in to discover how your presence impacts the life and culture of the local church. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The pros and cons of on...

Episode 773 Host Ed Stetzer joins with rural pastor and planter Will Basham to discuss God’s faithfulness over a decade of ministry at New Heights Church. Listen as they dive into the fundamental details of purchasing a church building, along with creative ways to engage your community and congregation in each season along the way. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Tips for financial discernment a...

Episode 772 In this episode, hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham talk with pastor, planter, and professor Tony Merida on the significance of an accountability that reaches past moral convictions. Tune in to discover all you have to gain from your sending church and network as you discredit false doctrines and get to the non-negotiables of your gospel-driven mission. In This Episode, You’ll Discover...

Episode 771 Host Ed Stetzer sits down with rural pastor and planter Will Basham to discuss his heart for reaching the lost in rural America. Regardless of our own backdrop, this church-planting mission remains the same for us, too, as we go and make disciples. Here’s how God is reaching the lost in Milton, West Virginia, and how you can join in on His mission. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How...

Episode 770 What exactly are the benefits of engaging with social media? Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham team back up with pastor and planter Josh Howerton to share insight into social media’s role in ministry. Here’s how your online presence can assist you in sharing God’s truth and shepherding His people as you seek to plant new churches. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The three spiritual...

Episode 769 Host Ed Stetzer teams back up with long-time ministry leaders Christine and Kyle Hoover to share their wisdom gained through all their years of marriage and church planting. Tune in to discover the lessons they learned the hard way—from calendars and communication to rest and recreation—and how you can better invest in your marriage as a priority ministry, too. In This Episode, You’ll...

Episode 768 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham spend time with pastor and planter Josh Howerton discussing how networks can help us go further faster. Tune in to discover how this valuable kingdom advancement can be yours for the taking as you lead your people with a missional mindset—financially, relationally, and spiritually. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to identify which church planter...

Episode 767 Host Ed Stetzer chats with ministry leaders Christine and Kyle Hoover about how church pastors and planters can better serve their wives while leading their congregations. Tune in to discover how understanding balance and boundaries, along with calling and communication, will allow your wife to flourish the way God designed her to. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How creativity can h...

Episode 766 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham offer their insights into what it means for a church to truly be a house of prayer. Here’s how your congregation can more intentionally be in tune with the Lord in each new season of church planting, establishing healthy prayer rhythms as you go. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The impact of starting your church well and finding your footing early o...

Episode 765 Host Ed Stetzer teams back up with writer, professor, and missionary Trevin Wax to hone in on the ways theology impacts us as preachers, pastors, and planters. Tune in to discover how you’re already doing the work of a theologian… and why it’s time to lean into that calling upon your life. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why your personal definition of “theologian” may be ready for a...

Episode 764 Hosts Vance Pitman and Noah Oldham spend some time with Strategic Renewal President Daniel Henderson to discuss the role of prayer in the pastor’s life and in the life of the church as a whole. Discover how you can grow your own appetite for prayer and lead your people to do the same. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The transformational nature of prayer within Scripture How the praye...

Episode 763 Host Ed Stetzer teams back up with author, pastor, and leadership expert Eric Geiger to discuss the church’s responsibility to engage hard questions with applicable theological truth. Here’s how you can intentionally shepherd your people as they examine God’s Word and seek His heart for them in the process. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Ways to effectively navigate cultural shifts...