Watermark's Church Leadership Podcast

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Could you be wasting your most valuable resource? On this week’s episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, special guest Jonathan “JP” Pokluda of Harris Creek Baptist Church shares how to maximize your ministry’s potential by building a healthy tea...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. In our last Church Leadership Podcast, Watermark teaching pastors Timothy Ateek and John Elmore walked us through the ways they prepare messages. This week, we’re behind the curtain again to see how they continue to improve their actual sermon deli...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. In this episode of the Church Leader's Podcast, John McGee sits down with Watermark's teaching pastors Timothy "TA" Ateek and John Elmore to discuss their methods of planning when it comes to sermon preparation.

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Before he led at Watermark’s Young Adult Ministry or preached at Harris Creek in Waco, Jonathan “JP” Pokluda was money-driven and success-obsessed. In this week’s Church Leadership Podcast, JP shares how he found himself in vocational ministry with...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Last week, John McGee and Caitlin Van Wagoner shared some qualities that make people stand out on a team. Now they’re back with more habits of exceptional employees—like following through, challenging the status quo, and soliciting feedback—and how...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Certain people stand out as exemplary teammates, and it can be hard to put your finger on why. In this week's Church Leadership Podcast, John McGee and Caitlin Van Wagoner examine the qualities that make these people so exceptional, how to use them...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. In many ways, the way you bring an employee or volunteer on board sets the tone for their experience going forward. It goes beyond just setting them up with a key card or a lanyard with a name tag; it’s a chance to introduce them to the culture the...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Responding to failure gets a lot of attention– but what about success? What’s the right response of a Christ-follower when things go well? What’s the difference between confidence and arrogance? In this week’s podcast, John McGee shares the six thi...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. The last few episodes of the Church Leadership Podcast talked about physical health and growth, but internal health is just as important. Leadership can be lonely, and the constant pressure to produce and perform can push “inside health” to the bot...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Most of us hope to continue growing and developing throughout our lives. However, without taking conscious steps, it's easy to become complacent in our daily routines and habitual ways of thinking. In this week's podcast, John McGee shares ten acti...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Most of us acknowledge our bodies as temples to be stewarded for God’s glory, but it’s easier said than put into practice. In today’s episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, Luke Friesen and Bobby Rodriguez explain some of the spiritual implicati...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. When is the last time you thought about strategic plans? For many of us, it's probably been a little while. On this episode, we're joined by Harvard MBA and Executive Pastor of Watermark Community Church, John Cox as we dive into the key elements o...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Even competent employees won’t last long if they can’t manage their own emotions. Unfortunately, most of us can't even identify our emotions, much less realize when we’re allowing them to drive our decisions. On this week’s podcast, Jeff Ward, Wate...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. In a time of growth and transformation for Watermark, leaders invested extraordinary amounts of time and prayer into identifying, articulating, and reinforcing the church’s four strategic priorities. Elder and senior pastor Blake Holmes shares his...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. The job isn’t done just because you’re moving on. How you leave is how you will be remembered; it starts long before you leave and doesn’t end the day you resign. John Cox draws from his own experience to share insight about building an environment...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. There’s no shortcut around spending time with God. Theology, visions, and strategies don't matter if you aren’t leading yourself well and personally abiding with Christ. This week, T.A. and John McGee share why our defining characteristic must be t...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. How can you develop your own God-given communication style? It's natural to mimic the voices of the leaders who inspire you. In today’s episode, Timothy "T.A." Ateek explains how to go a step farther and develop your own communication style that ut...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. The cultural attitude toward work has shifted—and no, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Join John McGee and Adam Tarnow for a look at how church leaders can help next-generation leaders navigate this season and continue to strive for and inspire...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. By the end of his story, Joseph testified to the incredible way God had worked through all his trials. But had you caught Joseph at any other point in his life—say, in the pit, in slavery, or in prison—would he have known that things were going to...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. National Director of re|engage, Robert Green, knows a thing or two about running a team. This week’s Church Leaders podcast covers his personal management best practices, how to align your team’s goals with your church’s broader vision, and why it’...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Every leader wants to help their team be productive—but what is productivity? How can we be good stewards of the time and energy God gives us? How does a Vespa scooter help John Cox keep things moving? All of this and more on today’s Church Leaders...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Ask any church leader to summarize how they have felt over the past few years, and they will more than likely say “Tired.” Weariness decreases effectiveness and leads to burnout. On this episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, John McGee shares w...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. Interested in how church cultures shift over time? Want to see your own culture change or improve? On this episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, Jonathan Pokluda (Lead Pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church) shares from first-hand experience how...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. On this episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, enjoy this special talk by Blake Holmes (Lead Pastor of Watermark) from the 2022 Church Leadership Conference. For resources and more, visit https://www.watermarkresources.com/clp/9242-discouragemen...

Young Leader Cohort: Go to Watermark Community Church - Young Church Leaders Cohort to apply for 2026-2027 cohort.  Registration closes August 3, 2026. On this episode of the Church Leadership Podcast John McGee sits down with Timothy "TA" Ateek (Teaching Pastor at Watermark Community Church) to talk about how to measure success. For show notes and more, visit https://www.watermarkresources.com/cl...