Breaking Barriers

Culture eats strategy for lunch. This is a pithy saying.. but it really is true, you can have the best strategy, but if your culture isn't any good, nothing else will be either. We dive into staff culture, and the importance of both values and behaviors. Website: ⁠ https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com ⁠ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.face...

One of the most common questions we get are around the topic of church mergers. Navigating church mergers is a huge undertaking, and they can be such a huge Kingdom opportunity for the future. However, they can also be detrimental if they aren't navigated correctly. That's exactly what we want to discuss in this conversation! Rich Birch 1-Day Event - Increase Inviter Culture at Your Church: ⁠https...

We explore the role of church planting in fulfilling the Great Commission. We believe that church planting is God’s plan for reaching the world and that every believer should be a part of a local church. We dive into how cultivating a “sending culture” within your church can propel gospel impact, and why the mission to plant churches that plant churches is vital for spreading the Gospel to the end...

In this episode, we dive into the reality that every church—whether intentionally or not—creates an impression on its community. We explore what it means to embrace and shape your church’s brand effectively. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakinggrowthbarriers Instagram: https://...

Pastor Jonathan Yarboro and Pastor Andrew Hopper continue a conversation (from Episode 32) about what we call the "leadership vacuum." The tension to be managed: development vs opportunity and why you need both, but one shapes leaders more quickly. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/b...

5 Takeaways from the Breaking Barriers Conference from Pastor Andrew and Pastor Bobby. Many of these things are 'back stage' conversations' that we are trying to bring to the 'front stage' in the conference circuit. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakinggrowthbarriers Instagram:...

There is a delicate balance between development and opportunity. In this episode, Pastor Bobby and Pastor Jonathan examine the concept of stressing the organization. We understand this concept in almost every area of our lives: If you work out hard (i.e., stress), that leads to growth! It is often the opportunity for people to step up that leads to growth. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.c...

Live from the 2024 Breaking Barriers Conference, we took questions from conference attendees who had questions about the talks. In this episode, Pastor Andrew, Pastor Bobby, and Pastor Jonathan fielded questions about pragmatism, preaching, starting multiple services, serving engagement, and many more! This episode gives you a taste of what the Breaking Barriers Conference and ministry is all abou...

Pastor Bobby and Pastor Jonathan discuss some limiting beliefs that prevent churches and leaders from growing and ultimately multiplying.

The term vision is thrown around alot both in the church world, and in leadership in general, but how exactly do you use it? We've talked about what vision is and how to craft it, but this episode is all about how you use vision: the power of it, what paradigm we use at Mercy Hill, and in practice - how do you actually implement a vision? Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Gr...

Todd Unzicker, the Executive Director-Treasurer of NC Baptist, joins Pastor Andrew to discuss Breaking Barriers, church growth, and going on mission. Conference: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakinggrowthbarriers Instagram: https://...

In Episode 26, we talked about the weekly meeting that we have each week at Mercy Hill called "Sermon Planning" where that community helps to make the sermon better. In this episode, we're talking about the flip side of that coin and how Sermon Planning helps to develop pastors in your church! Conference: ⁠https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference⁠ Website: ⁠https://breakinggrowt...

Apart from good theology, this one thing will make your sermons better. Pastor Andrew and Pastor Jonathan dive into this critical meeting called "Sermon Planning," which we have each week at Mercy Hill. Consider adding this meeting to your sermon-prep arsenal each week. Conference: ⁠https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference⁠ Website: ⁠https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com⁠ Facebook Grou...

We did a Zoom seminar a while back where we discussed first-time guests and how to turn them into second-time guests and, eventually, disciples. People often get confused around the lead and lag measures when it comes to first-time guests because they feel like it is 'icky'. We want to see baptisms, people sent out, people hearing the gospel for the first time, and lives being changed. The...

If you haven't listened to Part 1 (Are "Spontaneous" Baptisms Biblical?), give that a listen, where Andrew lays out the Biblical lineage of people getting saved in the book of Acts. This episode is all about the practical side. The nuts and bolts on how to pull off same-day baptisms. Join us at the Breaking Barriers Conference on September 17+18 , where we'll be diving into the p...

Should you require a 6 month waiting period for someone to get Baptized? A Baptism class? Is Baptism a proof of commitment or a promise of commitment? Well, what does the Biblical record say? What does the book of Acts look like in terms of people getting baptized? In this episode, Pastor Andrew looks at all of the accounts of baptism in the book of Acts for what the Scriptural record looks like....

Some churches may be great at execution but not so great at vision, while others are super visionary, but they struggle with the day-to-day execution of that vision. We will all probably lean one way or the other, but we should always be striving to be both! Conference: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.co...

People might not be getting connected to your church because they might be confused. Making this one shift could help you see more people that come to your church... stick. Join us for our 2024 Breaking Barriers Conference: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com/conference/ Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthbarriers Facebook: http...

Most people think that generosity in the life of a Christian is a product of discipleship. This is not necessarily untrue, but we believe that generosity is not just a product of discipleship , but it is also a pathway to discipleship . Just look at the life and ministry of Jesus! Why is it that Jesus talked more about money than any other spiritual discipline in his parables, and in his general d...

Sometimes it feels weird to talk about money... we get it. The problem is that Jesus talked about money—a lot. Generosity is such an important topic for the discipleship of the people in our churches. In 1 Timothy, it says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, so for the Christian discipleship journey–how can we just not talk about such an important topic in the Bible? In this e...

We believe that short-term trips are valuable, but maybe not for the reasons you'd think. Short-term missions is a long-term strategy; not the other way around. In this episode, we dive into the nitty gritty of mission trips and why they are so effective at cultivating a heart for missions. Website: https://breakinggrowthbarriers.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/breakinggrowthba...

Are short-term mission trips still effective? Are short-term trips even helpful to the people on the field? Where do you find short-term mission trips in the Bible? There are a lot of opinions swirling around about short-term trips and whether or not they are helpful. In this episode, we want to peel back the layers of short-term trip effectiveness and give some perspective to their value. - Websi...

Churches grow on big days. We see this in Scripture, and it still true today. There is *some* contextual differences based on where you are, but not as much as you might think. Think about it - New Year, Easter, back-to-school, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Christmas... All of those things are culturally relevant 'Big Days'. The only one that we include that isn't a cultural...

Churches grow on big days. We see this in Scripture, and it still true today. There is *some* contextual differences based on where you are, but not as much as you might think. Think about it - New Year, Easter, back-to-school, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Christmas... All of those things are culturally relevant 'Big Days'. The only one that we include that isn't a cultural...

We've probably experienced burnt out, or at least have touched that line a time or two. While that's true.. it doesn't necessarily have to be the case. The key to not burning out is the buzzword 'balance' but what does that actually mean? Today's episode with Pastor Bobby and Pastor Jonathan is all about burnout and practical tips to avoid it. Want to learn more about our Breaking Barriers Confere...