The KC Underground Podcast

In this episode, Brian and Cory explore the paradigm shift of thinking about obedience over knowledge in disciple-making. It’s not that we want to ignore knowledge. We just want to emphasize that transformation does not come from knowledge alone. True maturity in Jesus involves not only knowing about Jesus, but doing as Jesus did. We’ve rooted so much of our disciple-making in the West in classroo...

In this episode, Cory and Brian explore the concept of planting the gospel within existing networks of relationships rather than extracting individuals to “bring them to church.” Jesus gives us the model for this way of making disciples and the rest of the New Testament follows his pattern. We share a few practical strategies for engaging in disciple-making in this way and talk about some of the c...

In this episode Brian and Cory intervew two of the directors of the Serve Hub, Sara Jackaway and Morgan Greer. This is the second interview featuring one of the ten Hubs that currently make up the Kansas City Underground. Sara and Morgan discuss their roles in disciple-making and community-building in Kansas City. They share personal stories, their transition from a predominant model church plant...

In this episode, Brian interviews Alex Sons, one of the leaders of the Rock Island Hub. We’ve done a lot of work around telling individual stories, but we want to include some more storytelling around the equipping teams that support every day disciple-makers in Kansas City. You’ll hear a bit of Alex’s personal journey in ministry, but you’ll also hear the unique mission of the Rock Island Hub as...

In this episode, Brian and Cory explore the significance of shift number one in moving toward a disciple-making culture: extraordinary prayer. We discuss the importance of frequency, focus, and fervor in prayer and how these elements can transform ordinary prayer into extraordinary experiences. We talk about a few of the tools that have helped us and consider some of the barriers that work against...

In this episode, Cory, Cayden, Sam, and Hannah, focus on the disciple-making movements they observed on a recent trip to East Africa. They each share key takeaways, including the importance of going low and slow in ministry, the concept of radical generosity, and how these lessons can be applied in Kansas City. The conversation emphasizes the power of ordinary people in making disciples and the si...

In this episode, Cory and Brian walk through next steps after the Missionary Pathway. We primarily focus on the building teams, but we also mention the importance of reproducing the Pathway with other leaders, joining a network, and engaging ongoing coaching. We also share some real-life stories of what we've seen as leaders take these steps. Ready to facilitate a huddle? Head to missionarypathway...

In this conversation, Brian and Cory talk about microchurches, emphasizing their identity as spiritual families rather than programs or buildings. We want to offer some answers around the question, "What does a microchurch look like?" and "What are their rhythms?" So we'll get into the conversation of our ecclesial minimums of worship, community, and mission. And we'll give you an overview of a co...

In this conversation, Brian and Cory explore the tool of Discovery Bible Studies and talk about the significance of DBS in disciple-making movements. We cannot overemphasize the simplicity and reproducibility of this tool as we think about movement. We also highlight dbsgroups.com as a valuable tool for facilitating DBS. This site is easy to access and can be used to facilitate discovery groups or...

In this episode, Cory Ozbun and Upashaker Gurung explore the significance of extraordinary prayer and fasting in both personal and communal contexts. Upas shares his inspiring journey from Nepal to Kansas City, highlighting the transformative power of prayer in his life and community. Cory and Upas emphasize the need for desperation in prayer, the impact of unified prayer efforts, and the importan...

In this episode, Cory McElvain and Cory Ozbun discuss the significance of gospel conversations and the tools available for effective disciple-making. We emphasize the importance of initiating spiritual discussions and the dynamics of casual, meaningful, and spiritual conversations, and we introduce the 'FROG' acrostic as a practical tool for engaging in deeper dialogues. We also cover the value of...

In this episode, Brian and Cory take a yearly pause to invite you to partner financially with the Kansas City Underground, a network of disciple makers and microchurches dedicated to filling our city with the beauty, justice, and Good News of Jesus. We want to encourage you to visit kcunderground.org/tomorrow and check out the initiatives launching by the Hub Teams across Kansas City so that you c...

In this episode, Brian and Cory discusses the BLESS Rhythms as a practical approach to living out one's faith in everyday life. This acrostic is a helpful tool to remind of the five incarnational rhythms of Jesus: Begin in Prayer, Listen and Engage, Eat, Serve and Story. We'll give you a biblical foundation for the BLESS Rhythms, an overview of how we integrate them into every day life and encoura...

In this episode, Brian and Cory explore the concept of the 'Person of Peace' within the context of the Missionary Pathway. We emphasize the importance of finding individuals who are spiritually open and relationally connected to facilitate the spread of the gospel. We talk about practical steps for identifying and engaging with these individuals, the role of miracles in this process, and how to ef...

In this episode, Brian and Cory explore the themes of collaboration and community building in our city, drawing parallels to NASA's successful model of teamwork and goal-oriented projects as documented in the monograph "The Flat Org Chart" by Dan Pallotta. This is part tow of the conversation we started last week, talking about the importance of restoring the spiritual soil of cities, overcoming b...

In this episode, Brian and Cory explore the idea of cultivating kingdom ecosystems. The truth is, this is a random one-off episode that we felt pressed to record after discussing the film  The Biggest Little Farm,  a documentary about sustainable farming. This film, that was all about the significance of biodiversity in restoration, provided so many affirmations that pursuing the smaller way throu...

In this episode, Cory and Brian will walk through the tool of prayer walking. This is another important tool in Phase 1 of the Missionary Pathway of prayer and fasting. We use prayer walking as a tool for community engagement and spiritual authority. We'll explore the concept of intercession, the significance of understanding one's mission field, and the balance between spiritual warfare a...

In this episode, Brian and Cory discuss the importance of effective prayer tools in disciple-making movements by highlighting a tool we've found very helpful in our training in Kansas City. We call it the Bless Five tool. Most of us have been taught intercessory prayer and that's primarily the way we pray. We haven't been taught declarative prayer, emphasizing the authority believers h...

In this episode, Cory and Brian walk through a tool called "Moving from a Discovery Group to a Microchurch." This has been a helpful tool for groups of people as they identify and affirm themselves as a church based on the activities and characteristics described in Acts 2:36-47. We want to emphasize that church is not a program, but an identity, and that this tool helps groups understan...

In this episode, Brian and Cory reflect on the podcast series we've been in for the last year where we've explored the 15 observations in urban disciple-making movements, a study conducted by TwoFourEight. This episode is a look back over the last year and highlighting some key-learnings from the interviews. It's been incredible to see how many of these are such a high value for us as...

In this episode, Brian and Cory discuss the importance of creating intentional and consistent rhythms of connection in disciple making movements. This is observation #15 from TwoFourEight's document on the 15 Observations found in urban disciple-making movements. TwoFourEight discovered in their interviews the need for consistency at every level of engagement, from individual disciples to micr...

In this episode, Cory Ozbun interviews Mark Thrash, president of NOVO, a band of creative missionaries sent to multiply movements of the gospel and mobilize the church for that mission around the world. Cory and Mark discuss the concept of team in the context of disciple-making and highlight the need for shared goals, accountability, and celebration of both big and small wins. Most helpful in this...

In this episode, Cory and Brian interview Jessica Harris as she shares her journey of discovering her identity in the Kingdom and how it transformed her approach to ministry. Jessica emphasizes the importance of being filled with God's love and allowing it to flow through us to others. Jessica and her husband have created a space in their home where they host community groups, Bible studies, a...

In this episode, Brian and Cory walk through the nine paradigm shifts that are necessary if we want to see a disciple-making movement. We have included these shifts in our Missionary Pathway Primer as well. These paradigm shifts challenge traditional approaches to evangelism, discipleship, and many of our western church forms and encourage a more holistic and movement-oriented perspective. We aim...

In this episode, Cory and Brian walk through the relational circles of Jesus and how it can be applied to disciple-making. Jesus was a master at relationships and he didn't try to move between multiple contexts like we often do in our daily life. He aligned his relational context to maximize the time with those He was discipling. There are five primary spaces in which Jesus lived his life: the...