The Unstuck Church Podcast

In January, you have permission to slow down enough to be intentional about the rest of your year. The goal isn't perfection; it's progress. And progress starts with planning . In the next part of our series, "How to Not Waste January," we're moving from reflection to talking about what's next. It's time to refocus by creating plans and establishing rhythms for the new year.  In this episode, Amy...

January can feel like a throwaway month. If you didn't get strategic planning scheduled early, it can feel like a few weeks of just drifting. Despite all the "New Year, New You" energy our culture puts out, hibernating is often more appealing. But you're leading a church, and you still have a live event every week. You might be leading your church through a season of fasting and prayer or getting...

What's really going on with Gen Z?  Gen Z is the most engaged generation right now: Research shows that they are going to church more than anyone else. However, their questions, their expectations and how they explore belief are unlike any other generation, leaving church leaders feeling puzzled.  What's resonating with Gen Z? What's falling flat? How should church leaders respond with wisdom, hum...

Our culture is experiencing a massive shift fueled by one piece of technology: artificial intelligence. Yep, we're going there. How might AI impact ministry? How are churches adapting to (or resisting) the AI movement? What does AI even have to do with church? In this episode, Amy and Sean are joined by Paul Alexander, Executive Pastor at Sun Valley Community Church in Arizona and a member of the...

Burnout is something we hear about constantly when we're working with churches. This topic is incredibly timely and personal for a lot of pastors. Burnout is not just about being tired or having a busy season—it's much deeper than that. It affects leaders physically, emotionally and spiritually, and it impacts their team and church in ways they might not even realize. In this episode, Sean and Amy...

December is the busiest season in the church world. Between Christmas services, end-of-year wrap-up and planning for 2026, you probably don't have the time or mental bandwidth to digest a content-heavy podcast series. So this month, we're doing something fun. We're focusing on some "hot topics"—things every church leader is talking about and thinking about right now.  What better way to kick off t...

The success of a new campus hinges on one critical hire: the campus pastor. In this episode, Amy Anderson and Sean Bublitz break down the five essential traits every campus pastor needs to thrive— especially in churches that use video teaching. Whether you're launching your first campus or refining your multisite strategy, this conversation will help you identify the right leader who can carry you...

Growth always brings complexity, and multisite is no exception. As churches grow, it's easy to slip into reactive mode. But with intentional planning, multisite can create a sustainable path forward and ultimately reach more people with the hope of Jesus. We're wrapping up our series on "Growing Church Problems" with a conversation about multisite . In this episode, Sean and Amy talk about the dif...

Systems are one of those things we can be reluctant to change.  Most churches outgrow their systems without even realizing it. What worked then suddenly doesn't work now . And churches get stuck using old systems that are beyond their usefulness, all while hoping for different results. When you're in seasons of growth, you have to get more intentional about scaling up the systems that have started...

As churches grow, one of their biggest challenges is finding the right people to add to their team . On paper, it may look like they have enough staff, but they often find themselves with a shortage of strategic leaders on their team . We're continuing our series on "Growing Church Problems" with an important topic that impacts every expanding ministry: structure and finding the right staff . In t...

Church growth is exciting…until it creates problems you've never had to solve before. This is the tension of leadership: growth always brings complexity. And yet, when you're prepared, growth doesn't have to lead to burnout or stuckness. With the right decisions about space, staff, systems and strategy, you can create a sustainable path forward. We're kicking off a new series called "Growing Churc...

Gen Z's interest in church is rising. Most churches want to reach the next generation, but they often lack the practical tools and strategies to make it happen. Russ Ewell from Bay Area Christian Church is helping young men and women step into leadership and faith, and he has a valuable perspective to share.   In this bonus episode, Amy had the chance to connect with Russ about Gen Z's interest in...

Many of us in ministry are responsible for leading other people. It's hard to lead others well without good management skills . Management is something that, just like any other specialty, needs to be trained and developed. But, historically, churches have not been good developers of managers. Effective manager training is crucial to building a culture of health and high performance on a church st...

When it comes to numbers and metrics, churches sometimes say things like, "Our culture has never talked about numbers; we're not a business," and "Numbers are too impersonal." This topic seems to create anxiety in church staff members. But what if numbers actually weren't the enemy? What if you could use metrics and value people simultaneously? What if you could listen to the Holy Spirit and use d...

Being a part of the Body of Christ means we each have different roles.  If we're going to be a healthy body, we need to talk to one another, communicate with one another, watch one another's back and grow in our abilities to play the role He has placed us in. We ALL need honest feedback on what we are doing well and how we can get better. Teams that do this well are healthier and probably accompli...

People-oriented people are often the ones who end up in ministry. And as people-oriented people, we'll do anything to protect our relationships with our staff (or, rather, we'll avoid anything that would disrupt them). And yet, we are called to lead each person God has placed in our care. And part of leadership is management . We're starting a new series called " Management Is Not a Dirty Word ,"...

"Where did all our momentum go?" We hear this question often from the multisite churches we serve. It is so common for a multisite church to get stuck at three locations. Having three locations is amazing and exciting, but if you are continuing to grow, it can suddenly feel very frustrating if your multisite model becomes the barrier to making room for new people. In this episode, Sean and Amy bre...

Crossing the 2000 barrier isn't just about adding more seats on Sunday. This barrier represents a significant shift in how a church needs to operate. At this size, it's common to see ministry silos develop and a realization that your leadership structure needs to evolve. As the leaders of the church, you have to make some changes to your mindset and to how you lead. In this episode, Amy and Sean d...

"I've never led a church this size before..." If you are a senior pastor, executive pastor or board member, you're not alone in thinking this. We hear church leaders say it all the time, as they wonder how they're going to break through the next growth barrier. We're continuing our series on breaking common growth barriers, specifically helping church leaders in key seats to own their roles in get...

You know the story: the numbers rise then stall. Two steps forward, one step back. Maybe your church has a history of hovering around a number —a familiar attendance line you just can't seem to cross. Or maybe a rapid growth season occurs, but eventually, something—people, systems, culture—plateaus the momentum and drifts you right back to where you started. Sound familiar? In this new series, we...

The newest edition of The Unstuck Church Report is here! Over the past few years, our Unstuck Church Reports have told a pretty encouraging story. On average, churches are seeing double-digit growth. In fact, if you look back at the last 13 quarters, attendance growth has landed somewhere between 13% and 30%. Incredible! But let's be honest: not every church is experiencing that kind of momentum....

As followers of Jesus, we're called to reach people outside of the faith. But doing so requires a strategy—both in the church and in your personal life.  We're wrapping up our series on communication challenges for churches with a conversation about communicating with outsiders—people outside the church and outside the faith.   In this episode, Sean and Amy share some reality checks about outreach...

We're getting into that busy back-to-school and ministry ramp-up season. If you have communication issues as a ministry, they will start showing up big time this time of year.  When it comes to church communication, most leaders just try to reach  everyone. But the truth is, you actually have two distinct audiences: insiders and outsiders.  This week, we're talking about your communication with yo...

When you think August, you think busy. For most churches, the ministry season ramps up as people return to church after the summer. It's back-to-school for families, and people are getting overloaded by communication—from the schools, teachers, doctors, teams and YOU. In this series, we're tackling three areas where we believe churches could take it up a notch and be the best-in-class organization...

This summer, we're changing things up. You're on vacation; we're on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month. But ministry and leadership are still happening! So this month, we are replaying the "hits" from the last six months: the best episodes. We'll be back with fresh content next week , and we kn...