New Churches Podcast

Episode 737 How do you set goals for your church without slipping into pragmatism? Ed Stetzer talks with Ron Edmondson about “faith goals” and how to set them for your church. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What a “faith goal” is How to translate goals into action Balancing internal and external goals How to start the process of determining goals Unique aspects of goal setting in a church plant...

Episode 736 “Pastor Dads” face tremendous challenges in raising children. Clint Clifton talks with Bryan Loritts and Bobby Jamieson about how to navigate the complexities. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Unique challenges Pastor Dads face What Pastor Dads sometimes get wrong The twin dangers of overcorrection   How Pastor Dads can have a positive impact on their children’s relationship with the...

Episode 735 Most, if not all, church planters struggle with feeling inferior. Ed Stetzer, Scotty Smith and Adam Muhtaseb explain how to fight   feelings of inferiority. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The danger of the Imposter Syndrome How common feelings of insecurity are among ministry leaders How to lead in a way that is both confident and humble   How leading from place of weakness can actu...

Episode 734 We know the value of building leaders, but what about when we need to hire? Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jamie Caldwell about best hiring practices for a new church. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The two sides to hiring How to make great use of stipends Indications a full-time ministry role is needed The danger of drifting toward complexity How pastoring relates to poli...

Episode 733 Everything about planting screams, “Emergency!” Host Ed Stetzer talks with Scotty Smith and Adam Muhtaseb about the importance of taking the long view on church planting. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to build at the beginning things that become part of the fabric of the church The twin values of mechanics and organics What “living in the whole story of God” means How to person...

Episode 732 Regardless of a church’s financial situation, every pastor can benefit from having a “No. 2.” Host Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jamie Caldwell about important aspects of adding executive leadership. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why executive leadership isn’t irrelevant in new churches How an executive leader can level up everybody’s church experience The importance of...

Episode 731 Did the 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 The effect on planters’ mental health How evangelism and discipleship fared The “big disappointment” in the research findings Advice for planters in light of in the research He...

Episode 730 Jesus said to make disciples, but how do we make disciples who make disciples? Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about the challenge of discipling new believers. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How evangelism and discipleship rightly relate to one another Basic tools of discipleship Four discipleship “destinations” How long before a new disciple begins disc...

Episode 728 Clint Clifton believed our love of the Lord compels us to evangelize and multiply churches. Host Ed Stetzer, Colby Garman and Trevin Wax honor Clint by talking about what mattered to him. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What wrong questions we ask about church planting The right question to ask about church planting How Clint multiplied himself and his passion What it looks like for...

Episode 727 What does it actually cost to plant a church? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about the fascinating results of a new church planter survey. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: A typical breakdown of church plant funding   Financial paths church plants often take How planters should think about ministry financing When most plants become financially self-sustaining How outside churc...

Episode 726 Looking at this past year, many of us think, “Wow, that could’ve gone better.” Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about planning well to execute your ministry task. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Who to include in your planning   How to plan and also be open to the spiritual work going on around you Practices for creating healthy ministry margins What churc...

Year in Review: Episode 725 One of the most important topics for pastors and church planters is improving their preaching. Host Clint Clifton and Noah Oldham discuss ways to continue to grow as preachers. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Two schools of thought when it comes to preaching Three things young preachers can do improve to their preaching Helpful Resources: John Stott’s Between Two Worl...

Year in Review | Episode 723 Pastors and church planters feel the pinch of not having enough time. Host Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jessica Thompson about the value of – and techniques for – organizing your week. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The difference between delegation and leadership development Why it’s important to set aside less time for doing and more for developing The...

Year in Review: Episode 722 Many church planters set out to reach people with the gospel but often find their new churches full of folks from other churches. Host Ed Stetzer talks with Heiden Ratner and Vance Pitman about the challenge of staying outwardly focused to reach people far from God. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How to get a core team outwardly focused on reaching people who are not...

Episode 721 Many pastors intend for their church to multiply, but very few actually start new churches. Host Clint Clifton talks with John Welborn about what churches that multiply do differently than those that don’t. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The need to set aside time for leadership development, provide clarity around the vision, make your life available to developing leaders, demystify...

Episode 719 Pastors are so overwhelmed with responsibilities that they often move the bar really low to having a maintenance mindset, rather than pursuing a vision of multiplication. Host Clint Clifton talks with John Welborn about how to move from maintenance to multiplication. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What causes pastors and churches to slip into maintenance mode How success should be d...

Episode 717 What happens in churches when pastors don’t properly plan for someone to succeed them? Host: Clint Clifton talks with Jess Thompson and Todd Adkins about the connection between developing leaders and successfully transitioning a plant to next-stage leadership. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The difference between transitional and cultural leadership development The value of having a...

Episode 716 Raising funds for a church plant in the expensive urban core of a city poses many challenges – among them the task of financing the ministry. Host Ed Stetzer talks with James Roberson and Taylor Field about their planting experiences in New York City. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The “three self formula” of planting indigenous churches How starting with a nonprofit can help struct...

Episode 715 Even if we say growth is really not a congregation’s goal, there’s a subtle pressure for our churches to always be numerically larger. Host Clint Clifton talks with Jess Thompson and Todd Adkins about five advantages to staying relatively small. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: The advantage of agility in mission Why relational depth is so important What forced ingenuity means in a sm...

Episode 714 The complex diversity of places like New York City poses challenges and creates opportunities for church planting. Host Ed Stetzer talks with James Roberson and Taylor Field about the missiology of planting in such an environment. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What makes New York City so complex from a missiological perspective How to bridge economic disparities The missiological c...

Episode 713 People talk about calling in such a subjective way that it’s a little hard to pin down, but one of the most invigorating, satisfying things a pastor can do is “tap the shoulder” of someone who demonstrates ministry leadership qualities. Host Clint Clifton talks with Scott Pace and Shane Pruitt about specific ways to “ call out the called.” In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Specific way...

Episode 712 Seasonal community outreach isn’t a topic of widespread discussion but it’s a very practical component to the ministry of a church planter. Host Clint Clifton talks with John Ames leveraging holidays to engage the community for gospel impact. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Two common thoughts about community outreach that need to change Some diagnostic questions we should be asking...

Episode 711 Is a multi-leader organization really a “two-headed snake”? Or is co-pastoring a restoration of a New Testament trend? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Jon Mollohan and Colby Garman about whether and how co-pastoring can work. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: What “plurality health” means in church leadership How scriptural injunctions and culture interact in leadership structures Advantage...

Episode 710 Planters face challenges trying to raise up pastors, but they also have some advantages. Host Clint Clifton talks with Adam Muhtaseb and Greg Gibson about raising pastors from within your plant. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How praying for or giving money to a church planter is different than raising leaders internally Advantages of raising up leaders in a planter context How to i...

Episode 709 As you reach people for Jesus, inevitably they are going to ask what the church believes about a particular point of theology – and a pastor better be prepared to explain. Host Ed Stetzer talks with Trevin Wax and Colby Garman about why theology position papers matter in a practical way for a church planter. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why a pastor should be the church’s resident...