The Small Church Ministry Podcast

What if the future of your church isn't determined by how many people attend on Sunday, but by the difference you make the rest of the week?  In this episode, Pastor Raymond Cabello shares how his church shifted from focusing inward to becoming a trusted, active presence in its community.  You'll hear practical ideas for building partnerships, serving with limited resources, and helping...

I've been told more than once that the real leverage point in a church is the pastor. Get the pastor healthy, and everything else will follow. I don't buy it.  In this episode, we're talking about why pastors matter, why ordinary people matter too, and why healthy churches are usually built by lots of people growing, participating, and taking ownership together. In this episode, we&...

Great volunteers aren't just gifted. They keep growing.  In this episode, we're talking about why practical ministry skills matter more than many churches realize and how growing yourself may be one of the greatest gifts you can give your church. In this episode, we're talking about: Why some volunteers create more impact than others The difference between caring and effectiveness W...

"I'm just a volunteer." That one phrase - one we've all heard and many of us have said - reveals a bigger problem than we realize.  In this episode, we're talking about what happens when churches concentrate growth, development, and learning into a handful of people while everyone else is expected to simply help. We'll explore why healthy churches aren't built by...

We spend a lot of time talking about pastors, church leaders, and people with titles. But what if I told you some of the most influential people in your church will never stand on a stage, lead a meeting, or sit on a board?  In this episode, we're talking about the people shaping church culture every single week - and why the future of many small churches isn't sitting in the pastor&apos...

Burnout recovery goes deeper than just taking a break.  In this episode, we’re talking about why surface-level burnout advice often isn’t enough, the deeper patterns underneath emotional exhaustion, and why so many people in ministry still feel depleted even after trying to rest, set boundaries, or “do less.” Listen in for: Why quick burnout fixes often don’t create lasting change Deeper patterns...

A lot of people in ministry feel like they’re constantly choosing who to disappoint. The church needs something. The team needs something. People want access to you. Your family needs you too.  And eventually, it starts feeling impossible to hold it all together without losing yourself somewhere in the process.  In this episode, we’re talking about: The pressure to always be available in ministry...

Burnout is real … but a lot of the time, we’re not as stuck as we think we are. We say we’re overwhelmed, but we’re still saying yes, still filling gaps, still stepping in “just this once.”  At some point, we have to get honest about where we actually have a choice. Because if we don’t use it, we slowly build a version of ministry we don’t even like being part of.  Where we still have more choice...

At some point, we have to admit that recruiting isn’t fixing our volunteer problem. We keep planning … and then trying to get people to care about it afterward. And that’s where things break down. But what if the real shift happens before anything is planned? When people are part of the process early, something changes. They don’t just hear the plan- they help shape it. And when that happens, owne...

Most people don’t say no to serving - they say no to how it feels. And often, that feeling comes from how ministry is built in the first place.  When a few key shifts happen, things become more relational, more sustainable, and something people actually want to be part of. In this episode: Why people step back from serving (even when they care) The 4 shifts that change how ministry feels from the...

Most churches assume they have a numbers problem. They’re trying to get more volunteers, when what really needs attention is the experience people walk into.  It’s rarely a recruiting problem. It’s a culture issue that started long before the ask - shaped by what people have seen, heard, and come to expect from “volunteering.” In this episode: Why “we need more volunteers” is often the wrong start...

When everything gets inconsistent, connection matters more - not more programming.  Summer might actually be the easiest time to bring people together in simpler, more natural ways. Not perfect, not polished. Just real moments across ages that help your church feel like a community again.  If you try one or two of these, you might be surprised what happens. Why mixing ages can actually make summer...

Every summer, we quietly start competing—with travel, sports, family time—and it gets exhausting.  But what if the problem isn’t where people are going … It’s how we’re responding to it? People having full, busy lives isn’t a threat to the church.  It might actually be the starting point for better ministry. The tension between church and real life in the summer Why we feel frustrated (even when w...

What if the thing we keep trying to push through… is actually the thing we need?  Summer changes the rhythm of everything - attendance, energy, schedules - and instead of fighting it, we might be invited to work with it.  Not as a setback, but as a shift. This isn’t about lowering the bar; it’s about leading differently.  Why summer always feels “off” (and why that’s not failure) The pressure to k...

We close Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making with one of the most uncomfortable conversations of all — quitting. When there’s no clear exit, service slowly turns into obligation.  In this episode, we talk about why healthy ministries build off-ramps on purpose — and how giving people freedom actually builds more trust, not less. In this episode, we cover: Why every...

In Mistake #6 of Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making , we rethink recruitment altogether. Instead of building programs and then scrambling to fill roles, what if our people shaped our ministry?  This episode explores the difference between recruiting and developing - and why unique churches grow when we build around the gifts already in the room. In this episode, we...

This episode in Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making looks at how we unintentionally sideline volunteers before they even begin.  We’ve been taught in leadership to make plans first and ask for help later. Turns out, that’s a great way to make people feel unnecessary, unimportant, and often unseen. In this episode, we cover: How early planning decisions limit partici...

In Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making , we’re talking about meetings - and how they often do more harm than good.  We say we value people’s time, but when we gather by default instead of by necessity, purpose, or engagement, we teach people that showing up doesn’t actually matter. In this episode, we cover: Why meetings are often more about leader comfort than team...

In this episode of Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making , we talk about something subtle but powerful: the way our language and posture shape culture.  When we treat people like “just volunteers,” we reinforce hierarchy instead of partnership, and “helping” instead of ownership. In this episode, we cover: How subtle language changes send powerful messages How hierarc...

In Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making , this episode looks at a mistake that feels kind - but ends up weakening people and teams over time.  When we over-simplify roles in the name of “helping,” we don’t just remove responsibility - we remove meaning. People don’t stay because a job is easy. They stay because it matters. In this episode, we cover: How doing too muc...

This episode kicks off our Stop Doing This to Volunteers series by naming a simple but overlooked leadership habit: never revisiting where someone serves once they’ve said yes.  We talk about the fear that keeps churches from inviting movement, and the belief many people carry that enjoying their role — or wanting something different — is somehow selfish instead of faithful. In this episode, we co...

Your small church already has a digital ministry - whether you’ve planned for it or not. Through your website, social media, and emails, you’re constantly communicating who you are and what people can expect, sometimes clearly and sometimes unintentionally sending the wrong message.  In this episode, we talk about why that matters more than we think and how small, thoughtful shifts can help your d...

We’re sharing something special this week. Right after our Women’s Ministry for Small Churches Conference, we’re bringing you the opening mainstage session - a conversation that pushes back on the pressure-filled, program-heavy version of outreach many of us were handed. In this episode, we explore: Why traditional outreach models often don’t work in small churches How Jesus-centered outreach star...

So much of what forms our faith doesn’t happen in programs, events, or official roles. It happens through real women who show up, listen, love, and stay.  In this episode, Traci Mason and I share personal stories of women in our church lives who shaped us in lasting ways without ever being “in charge.”  This is an honest, grateful conversation about influence that’s relational, faithful, and far m...

So much women’s ministry is built on calendars, themes, and events - and yet many women still feel unseen, overwhelmed, or disconnected.  In this episode, Jessica Francavilla and I talk about what it looks like to actually discern what women need in a given season, and why programs alone often miss the deeper spiritual and emotional realities women are carrying.  We share how a small, multi-genera...