Next Sunday

This is episode 5 of 5 of the Next Sunday Podcast Summer Session: five focused conversations to help pastors and church leaders arrive at fall with a congregation of ready hearts. Download Beyond The Generosity Gap Workbook , a free guide designed to help you put these conversations into action before the season arrives. For God loves a cheerful giver. It is one of the most quoted lines in convers...

This is episode 4 of 5 of the Next Sunday Podcast Summer Session: five focused conversations to help pastors and church leaders arrive at fall with a congregation of ready hearts. Download Beyond The Generosity Gap Workbook , a free guide designed to help you put these conversations into action before the season arrives. The data is encouraging. Gen Z's propensity to give is at or above that of Bo...

This is episode 3 of 5 of the Next Sunday Podcast Summer Session: five focused conversations to help pastors and church leaders arrive at fall with a congregation of ready hearts. Download Beyond The Generosity Gap Workbook , a free guide designed to help you put these conversations into action before the season arrives. Most churches treat their fall giving campaign, year-end giving, and new year...

This is episode 2 of 5 of the Next Sunday Podcast Summer Session: five focused conversations to help pastors and church leaders arrive at fall with a congregation of ready hearts. Download Beyond The Generosity Gap Workbook , a free guide designed to help you put these conversations into action before the season arrives. Most pastors sense it. Generosity feels harder to cultivate than it once did....

This is episode 1 of 5 of the Next Sunday Podcast Summer Session: five focused conversations to help pastors and church leaders arrive at fall with a congregation of ready hearts. Download  Beyond The Generosity Gap Workbook , a free guide designed to help you put these conversations into action before the season arrives. Before you diagnose your congregation's giving culture, there's a harder que...

High-capacity givers and major donors are often approached transactionally—by schools, charities, alma maters, museums, and causes that lead with one question: “How much can you give?” This episode explains why pastors must lead differently, and what your biggest givers wish you knew about shepherding them well. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer contin...

Leadership transition and executive succession are hard, especially in the faith-based sector, where healthy succession stories can feel way too rare. This episode revisits a real transition one year later to unpack what actually makes succession work when the predecessor is still around and the organization keeps moving forward with trust and momentum. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast,...

Leadership problems don’t disappear when you rename them. But many leaders do exactly that—calling a problem a “tension” so they don’t have to deal with it. This episode exposes that pattern and offers a better path: accuracy, courage, and the willingness to turn the light on.  In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack Frank’s Substack post Misdiagnosed...

Church building campaigns and facility projects often get framed with one phrase that creates confusion fast: “We’re spending money on ourselves.” This episode explains why that language is theologically inaccurate, practically unhelpful, and unnecessarily apologetic—especially when the goal of church infrastructure is mission, not self-indulgence. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts...

“If we treat gifts differently, aren’t we treating people differently?” This episode brings clarity to that question with a simple principle that every church leader needs: all givers are the same, but not all gifts are the same. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack why the widow and her two coins is not the only giving story Scripture celebrates—a...

Giving initiatives and generosity campaigns are like an X-ray: they reveal what’s already happening inside your church. Giving initiatives don’t cause fractures, they expose them. And that’s why giving initiatives can become one of the clearest diagnostic tools a church leader will ever experience. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack a simple but...

Tax policy has changed the giving landscape—and this episode explains why churches can’t lean on incentives anymore. If generosity is going to grow, it has to be formed through discipleship, not deductions. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer break down how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act shifted giving by nearly doubling the standard deduction. As a result, fa...

Church giving and generosity culture are often blamed on the economy, but this episode challenges that assumption head-on. Church giving and generosity culture are far more influenced by church leadership, vision, and what happens inside the walls of the church than by what’s happening on Wall Street. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack one of the...

In this episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer take a careful look at the phrase “under compulsion” from 2 Corinthians 9 and why many churches have built entire giving moments around protecting people from pressure instead of equipping people for joyful participation. Jim shares how the text is often reduced to a single warning, which sidelines the larger invitatio...

In this episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer have a powerful discussion on engaging kids and teens in generosity. If you are a church leader, parent, or someone passionate about discipleship, this episode dives deep into how generosity in the church and teaching generosity to kids intersect with discipleship, stewardship, and family life. The conversation unpacks...

In this episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer dive deep into the patterns of church giving and why generosity in churches matters more today than ever before. As they share stories, data, and decades of insight, listeners will discover surprising truths about how financial generosity shapes ministry impact, discipleship, and the future of the local church. If you’...

On this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer dive deep into the new rules of church leadership in a post-COVID world. The conversation explores how pastors and ministry leaders are navigating the realities of church leadership post-COVID while also preparing for the next generation of believers. In today’s post-post-COVID landscape, leaders are being asked to be...

Church fundraising campaigns. Church capital campaigns. These terms carry weight for pastors and leaders everywhere. But what happens when your church capital campaign doesn’t hit the goal?  In this episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack the realities, challenges, and hidden lessons behind a campaign that falls short, and why it’s not the end of the story. C...

You’ve cast the vision. You’ve shared the heart. But the congregation isn’t moving as fast as you are—and that can be frustrating. This episode is for leaders who are running at full speed while their people are still warming up. We explore how to discern between a “no” and a “not yet,” the danger of outrunning your own team, and what spiritual leadership looks like when progress feels delayed. We...

Every church dreams of the “one big gift” that changes everything—but relying on major donors is riskier than it seems. In this episode, we unpack the myth of the Big Donor Fix and explore why building a culture of broad-based generosity creates more stability and spiritual growth. We’ll talk about giving concentration risk, the pressure that often comes with big gifts, and why the healthiest chur...

In this powerful episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Frank Bealer and Jim Sheppard tackle one of the most pressing questions for today’s pastors and church leaders: Is your church building a blessing or is it bleeding you dry? In a ministry environment where church buildings and multi-use facilities are becoming key factors in stewardship, growth, and community engagement, this conversation...

Are you a pastor silently battling financial stress while standing in front of your congregation each week, urging them to live generously? You’re not alone—and in this powerful episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack the real, often hidden struggle of pastor debt and financial stress in ministry. These two key phrases—pastor debt and financial stress in mini...

In today’s episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Frank Bealer and Jim Sheppard dive deep into the Parable of the Talents—not just as a message on financial stewardship, but as a profound call to personal mission and kingdom responsibility. This conversation redefines what it means to multiply what God has entrusted to us, urging listeners to consider how they are stewarding not only their mone...

Welcome to the Next Sunday podcast, where we dive deeper than the surface of leadership clichés and explore the spiritual tools that actually shape our lives. In this episode, host Jim Shepherd turns the tables and interviews our guest—and usually co-host—Frank Bueller, about his passion for discernment. Frank’s personal journey of faith and leadership has led him to write a new 30-day devotional,...

In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Shepherd and Frank dive deep into a critical conversation on church and nonprofit collaboration, exploring why church and nonprofit partnerships often fail and how they can thrive. If you’re a church leader, nonprofit executive, or a passionate donor, this conversation offers actionable strategies to break the cycle of competition and embrace h...