The Unstuck Church Podcast

Most churches have lower attendance today than they had three years ago—but they still haven't right-sized their staff team to reflect their current attendance. In this four-week series, we'll walk through a number of early warning signs that it's time to address staffing issues and restructure in your ministry team. In this episode, we'll focus on overstaffing. Free Webinar: How to Restructure Yo...

Churches today are overstaffed. Their org charts don't align with their new post-pandemic ministry strategies. And the Great Resignation has left serious gaps in leadership. This July, we're kicking off a four-part series unpacking the four "Signs You Need to Restructure Your Staff."  We need to right-size our teams and restructure for the future health of our churches today .  Subscribe to make s...

As pastors and leaders, our personal health and wellbeing directly impacts the health of our church.  In the final episode of our "Pastoring Pastors" series,  we're joined by Jimmy and Irene Rollins (founders of TWO = ONE ) to discuss their own journey with marriage and ministry, explain how pastors can seek help for their struggles, and give encouragement for moving toward personal and marital he...

Have you ever questioned your ministry calling? Or have the last few tumultous years made you consider quitting altogether? In part three of our "Pastoring Pastors" series, Pastor David Ashcraft from LCBC Church joins us to discuss how pastors can stay the course, renew their call to ministry, and commit to finishing strong through all the ups and downs of life and leadership. For the full episode...

In a world that praises and elevates those in power, humility is almost unnatural to us. However, pursuing humility is one of the most important keys to sustaining long-term in ministry. In part two of our "Pastoring Pastors" series, Sandra Stanley joins us to discuss the importance of authenticity, humility, and relationships for the health of our leadership and our souls. For the full episode tr...

There's no doubt that the last few years have been incredibly challenging for ministry leaders. In the first part of our "Pastoring Pastors" series, Lance Witt, former Executive and Teaching Pastor at Saddleback Church and founder of Replenish , joins us to discuss establishing healthy ministry rhythms, boundaries, Sabbath, sabbaticals, and more. This Episode is Sponsored by Leadr Leadr is on a mi...

This June, we're setting aside conversations of strategy, growth, and efficiency and dedicating an entire month to focusing on your health. We want this to be a summer of renewal in your heart, in your mind, and in your spirit.  In the new four-part series we're calling "Pastoring Pastors," you can expect to hear from special guest voices on the topics of healthy rhythms, soul care, maintaining a...

Every quarter, The Unstuck Group releases The Unstuck Church Report to help church leaders monitor trends and benchmarks in key areas like ministry reach, connections, staffing, leadership, and finances. In this episode, Tony and Amy are walking through new trends and data from our Q2 2022 report, as well as sharing practical wisdom from real church leaders. You can subscribe to receive the quarte...

How can we more effectively teach and engage the people who are connecting with our churches on a regular basis? Most importantly, how do we help those people take their next steps towards Jesus? In the final episode of our Preaching series, Andy Stanley joins us to discuss teaching that helps people follow, not just believe in, Jesus. This Episode is Sponsored by Overflow Church fundraising is HA...

Rick Warren was just 16 years old when he began preaching. By the age of 18, Billy Graham became his personal mentor, and by age 20, he had preached at more than 120 crusades. In this episode,  Rick joined us to discuss his ministry journey, approach to life-changing preaching, and more. Free Webinar: Preaching Best Practices on May 19 Looking for more innovative approaches to preaching and teachi...

In the second episode of our series on preaching and teaching best practices, Derwin Gray, the Founding and Lead Pastor of Transformation Church and a former NFL player, joins us to discuss his approach to weekly sermon prep, yearly series planning, and more. Free Webinar: Preaching Best Practices on May 19 Looking for more innovative approaches to preaching and teaching? Join Tony Morgan, Clay Sc...

Being the primary preacher and teacher is one of the four main roles that a senior pastor can't delegate. In the first part of our new Preaching series,  Tony sat down with Brian Tome, Founding and Senior Pastor of Crossroads Church , to discuss his perspective on the future of preaching, digital ministry, reaching the next generation, and more. Free Webinar: Preaching Best Practices on May 19 Loo...

"Whether we want to admit it or not, the WAY we do church often becomes more important than WHY we do church. We choose tradition over mission." In this final episode of our Simple Shifts series, Tony and Amy are discussing shifts related to our strategies, including our Sunday services, sermons, and multi-generational ministries. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, a...

Your team is the most valuable asset you have to move your vision forward. So how should we structure our church staff teams to be effective for the new normal? In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss three simple shifts to consider related to your church staffing and structure. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit thi...

In the first episode of our new series, we discussed what does not need to change in the new normal. But the series is called Simple Shifts for a reason–we do believe there are some things you need to consider changing. In this week's episode, Tony and Amy are unpacking the first three simple shifts regarding your church's mission field and vision. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned...

Major disruptions over the last few years have left many pastors wondering if how they do ministry needs a dramatic overhaul. But what if rather than a total transformation, there were smaller changes we could make that will lead to greater impact? Before we jump into our series on the simple shifts church leaders may need to consider,  let's first try to understand how we got to where we are toda...

"Do we really need to become a completely different church for the new normal?" In our work with churches and pastors across the country, we're hearing this question again and again. And the answer is a partial yes—some change is required to effectively engage our culture in this new normal.  However, a lot of the "new" that is needed for this new normal involves simple shifts that don't require f...

Launching too quickly, or without the right systems and structures in place, can quickly get your multisite church multi-stuck. In this week's episode, Tony and Amy walk through the 12 key questions for launching a new campus and offer best practices for decision-making, selecting a new location, and structuring your multisite staff team. Free Webinar: "To Multisite or Un-Multisite: Clarify a Path...

There is a right way and a wrong way to approach multisite. In other words, not all multisite strategies produce the same results. Tune in as Tony and Amy walk through some of the core issues in popular multisite models that lead to dysfunction and disunity among campuses. Free Webinar: "To Multisite or Un-Multisite: Clarify a Path Forward" Multisite can easily get churches multi-stuck. Whether yo...

Recent public multisite collapses have many church leaders questioning the viability and health of the multisite church model. Is multisite still an effective strategy—or is the model itself broken? This week, Tony and Amy are answering these questions and addressing more commons truths and lies about multisite. Free Webinar: "To Multisite or Un-Multisite: Clarify a Path Forward" Multisite can eas...

To give practical advice and encouragement to church leaders ready to reach outward and engage their community, I recently invited Dave Ferguson (Community Christian Church), Chris Hodges (Church of the Highlands), and Jerry Sen (OneChurch.to) to join me for a conversation around three strategies for reaching new people. Tune in as we discuss evangelism, digital ministry, and more. For the full ep...

Every quarter, The Unstuck Group releases The Unstuck Church Report to help church leaders monitor trends and benchmarks in key areas like ministry reach, connections, staffing, leadership, and finances. In this episode, Tony and Amy are walking through a special bonus section from the Q1 2022 report that highlights the key differences between churches that are growing and declining on this side o...

There are several factors beyond just your sermon and worship that contribute to a relevant and engaging weekend experience. In part two of this episode, Tony, Amy, and Sean explore more key differentiators in services that are reaching new people and those that aren't, and give practical recommendations for enhancing key parts of your weekend experience.   For the full episode transcript, links m...

We've heard many people try to make the case that Sunday services don't work when it comes to connecting new people to faith. But our data speaks to quite the opposite. In part one of this two-part episode all about reaching new people through your weekend services, Sean, Amy, and Tony share data, personal insights, and practical tips for enhancing your Sunday experience with outsiders in mind. Fo...

Many churches have taken huge steps forward with their online service experience in the last few years—and that's a great start. But most churches are still missing the huge opportunity to reach new people through digital and online methods.  To hear from an expert in this area, Amy recently sat down with Katie Allred, Co-Founder of Church Communications , to discuss how church leaders can begin r...