The Unstuck Church Podcast

It is possible to integrate serving into your spiritual formation strategy in a practical and effective way. We're seeing churches all across the country do it. In recent years, churches we serve have been telling us they love  The Rooted Experience . So, in part four of this series on Serving as Spiritual Formation, Tony interviews Pastor John Thomas from Mariners Church in California about The R...

Spiritual formation is less about what we ask people to do and more about who we're equipping people to become . In this episode, Tony interviews Pastor Daniel Im, author of The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World, about the role serving has in helping people grow closer to Jesus. This episode is brought to you by  Planning Center : An all-in-one...

Before the pandemic, we typically saw 45% to 50% of all adults and students serving on a volunteer team at least monthly. Our most recent data shows churches reporting only 35% are serving today. In the first episode of this series on "Serving as Spiritual Formation," we talked about some of the most common mistakes churches make with their volunteer engagement strategy that are contributing to th...

Most churches say they need more volunteers. But answer this honestly: What is your theology of serving ? How well is your church discipling people to offer their spiritual gifts as part of the Great Commission? Many churches have gotten further away from viewing serving as an integral part of spiritual formation than they'd likely admit. In this series, Tony and Amy and special guests will share...

We know from our research and conversations with clients that finding great people for the ministry staff team is very challenging right now.  As an addedumn to our series on "Staffing Wisdom for Church Leaders," we bring you this bonus interview with Tim Foot of Slingshot Group for some timely insights into church staffing in 2024. In this conversation, Tony and Tim discuss topics like: The posit...

Leaders know it's true: Not having the right people on the team hinders the impact of your church. So w hat do you do when it's clear you need to remove someone from the team—when it's clear they are not a fit? In the last episode of our series on "Staffing Wisdom for Church Leaders," Tony and Amy discuss the very real reasons why letting someone go is so hard for ministry leaders, the ways you ne...

This part makes a leader's stomach drop. We've laid the groundwork, and we've taught you the wisest order for processing restructure decisions. But now, we're going to dive into wisdom that has more to do with how you make decisions about specific people. In the third episode of our series on "Staffing Wisdom for Church Leaders," Tony and Amy focus on people who really are the right people for the...

Do you believe your current senior leadership team offers you your best chance to achieve the vision and mission God designed for your church to accomplish right now?  Before you start restructuring departments of your ministry, you need to clarify the role of the SLT and get the right people leading on it. In the second episode of our series on "Staffing Wisdom for Church Leaders," Tony and Amy t...

We help teams solve complicated staffing challenges with wisdom and grace all the time. We've helped more than 650 churches do it. So, we're going to share some of that wisdom related to structure, leadership, getting the right people in the right roles, and handling "misfits" in this new series we're calling "Staffing Wisdom for Church Leaders." In the first episode, Tony and Amy unpack the core...

Every quarter, The Unstuck Group releases The Unstuck Church Report to help church leaders monitor trends and benchmarks in key ministry areas.  In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss key findings from the Q2 2024 special edition of the report focused on staffing and structure trends.  You can  subscribe to receive the quarterly report for free , or, if you're subscribed to the  podcast show notes...

Constant crises, lack of training, inadequate systems for project management —there's a long list of reasons why the process of "assess, plan, and execute" may be simple but not easy.  In the final episode of our series on "How Healthy Churches Grow," Tony and Amy share some practical, proven ways to carve out time to follow through on the priority initiatives you've identified to grow the church...

You can make better decisions today regarding people, money, current priorities, etc. when you have clarity on what the future looks like.  In this episode of our series on "How Healthy Churches Grow," Tony and Amy focus on the importance of making it part of your culture to have a regular rhythm of planning that involves the right voices. FREE WEBINAR:  What's Working in Large Churches Now In thi...

Attendance growth isn't always a sign of health. After all, both healthy and unhealthy things can grow. In the first episode of our new series on "How Healthy Churches Grow," Tony and Amy unpack the first principle of healthy growth based on our work with 650+ churches: objective assessment. FREE WEBINAR: What's Working in Large Churches Now In this webinar, Tony Morgan is sitting down with lead p...

"Discussing the non-essentials ought to help you make disciples, not hinder you from making disciples." In this episode, Pastor Dave Dummitt from Willow Creek Community Church joins us to discuss exploring tough topics as a church and navigating non-essentials in our faith. This Episode is Sponsored by PATH As your church grows, it becomes difficult to see individuals through the crowd. It's time...

"My responsibility as a pastor isn't to convince you that my view on things is correct. My responsibility is to disciple you to be a better follower of Jesus." In this episode, Tony sits down with Andy Stanley to discuss how pastors can navigate controversial topics regarding politics—especially as we enter an election season in the US.  > Registration closes TOMORROW for our 2024 Executive Pastor...

"I have sensed a need from God to be courageous in these moments and recognize that not everyone's going to be happy with what I'm saying." In this episode, Rich Villodas , Pastor of New Life Fellowship (a large, multi-racial church in Queens, NY), offers wisdom for discipling our diverse churches on tough topics like sexuality. Learn more about our Executive Pastor Cohort . This Episode is Sponso...

We're kicking off a special new series packed with practical wisdom from senior pastors to senior/teaching pastors to challenge and encourage them to equip their congregations to talk about tough topics in our world today. In this episode, Pastor Rick Atchley shares how The Hills Church developed a sermon series around mental health and provides encouragement for other pastors looking to address t...

Closed campuses were 40% more likely to have launched as a result of a merger with another church. That's why we believe you need a clear multisite strategy before you can make good decisions about merger opportunities. To wrap up our series on "Multisite Madness?," Tony and Amy unpack the nine predictable outcomes of multisite through the lens of going multisite by a merger.  Learn more about our...

What are the bare minimum leadership roles when you first launch a campus? How do you define central and campus roles? And what does a matrix structure really look like? In this episode, Tony and Amy unpack the final three "predictable outcomes" of multisite related to defining your multisite structure and roles. Learn more about our process for helping monosite churches go multisite for the very...

What's the key to launching at the right size, in the right space, and with the right launch team to build and sustain a new multisite campus? In this episode, Tony and Amy unpack these questions and explain three "predictable outcomes" of multisite related to preparing for launch.  Learn more about our process for helping monosite churches go multisite for the very first time. Going Multisite: Ho...

All of the competing strategies and opinions around multisite can feel like madness: What really works? Is multisite right for every church? Is multisite right for ANY church? In this new series, Tony and Amy walk through nine "predictable outcomes" of multisite to help monosite churches make the critical decisions that lead to more predictable multisite success. Learn more about our process for h...

Every quarter, The Unstuck Group releases The Unstuck Church Report to help church leaders monitor trends and benchmarks in key ministry areas.  In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss key findings from the Q1 2024 report and unpack what's distinctive about "Jesus-centric" churches. You can subscribe to receive the quarterly report for free , or, if you're subscribed to the podcast show notes , we'l...

The way we staff and structure our team is revealing of what we really prioritize as a ministry. In this episode, Tony and Amy walk through the journey of a new person and explain the staff structure and roles needed to be a church that reaches and connects new people well. Upcoming Events: In a free webinar on February 29, ministry voices from North Point, Sun Valley Community Church, and Victory...

Our role as leaders is to empower our church to do the work of ministry and to make the mission their own. In this episode, we're joined by Jon and Dave Ferguson to discuss the B.L.E.S.S. model for mobilizing our congregations to reach our communities.  Free Webinar: Reaching & Connecting New People in 2024 In this free webinar, ministry voices from North Point, Sun Valley Community Church, and Vi...

We're hearing from churches in this season that although lots of new people are walking through their doors each week, they're having trouble connecting with them and helping them "become known." In this episode, Tony and Amy are joined by Nate Siemon, Lead Pastor of Lifepointe Church , and Tyler Smith, co-founder of Text in Church , to explore some of their tried and true ideas for connecting new...