The Unstuck Church Podcast

This week marks 300 episodes of The Unstuck Church Podcast, and we're grateful for the opportunity to continue the conversation about growing healthy churches every single week!  In this episode, Tony and Amy continue our series answering some of the most pressing questions we hear from church leaders by discussing digital strategy and volunteer engagement. This Episode is Sponsored by  PlainJoe S...

Our goal for The Unstuck Church Podcast is always to answer the most pressing and relevant questions that pastors are asking.  In this episode, Tony and Amy kick off our new series answering some of the most pressing questions we hear from church leaders in this season with a conversation on succession planning and making bold moves. This Episode is Sponsored by  PlainJoe Studios PlainJoe: A Story...

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 walk through the data and trends from our Q2 2023 staffing-focused report, including staffing insights by ministry type, generation, and more. You can subscribe to receive the quarterly report for free, or, if you're subscribe...

On the surface, it might seem like churches with several thousands of people in attendance don't face any new barriers to growth— however, even very large churches can get stuck and hit a plateau.  In this final episode of our series, we'll discuss breaking the 10,000 barrier by exploring common growth barriers that affect churches with thousands in attendance. This Episode is Sponsored by Plannin...

Some common issues hold true for churches of all denominations and expressions as they grow beyond 1,000 and face an entirely new set of challenges as they near 2-3,000 mark. In this episode, we'll discuss breaking the 2-3,000 barrier by exploring the common challenges that hold large churches back from future growth with some practical ideas on how to approach them. This Episode is Sponsored by ...

Different churches wrestle with different issues, but many times those challenges are a reflection of the church's size. In this episode, we discuss breaking the 1,000 barrier by exploring what challenges get many mid-size churches stuck and providing practical wisdom for moving forward. This Episode is Sponsored by BELAY If you're overwhelmed trying to do it all, BELAY can help. BELAY, a modern c...

We want all churches, regardless of their size today, to be healthy and to experience growth. That's why in this new series, we're going to discuss how to break common growth barriers for churches of four different sizes: small, mid-size, large, and very large. In this episode, Tony and Amy will walk through seven common reasons that small churches get stuck and offer practical ideas for breaking...

As we conclude our series on the Challenges of the Church Lifecycle, we wanted to share the story of a real church that overcame the challenges of decline and got back to sustained health.  In this bonus interview, Tony sits down with David Emery, the lead pastor of Harvard Avenue Christian Church (Tulsa, OK), to discuss how they overcame decline, leadership change, and even the pandemic to find a...

The majority of churches today self-assess that their church is currently in decline and on the right side of the lifecycle in maintenance, preservation, or life support. In this episode, Tony and Amy wrap up our series by walking through the key challenges of the declining side of the lifecycle and offering next steps for moving back to health. Unsure where your church sits on the church lifecycl...

Rather than focusing on maintaining the status quo, the priority focus of churches in sustained health should be multiplying and reproducing at all levels. In this episode, Tony and Amy will break down the four key challenges of churches in sustained health and how to address them. Unsure where your church sits on the church lifecycle?  Take the free Unstuck Church Assessment . This Episode is Spo...

Regardless of their uniqueness, every church has the potential to go through a very similar lifecycle: Most churches start, grow, thrive, decline, and eventually end. But God's plan for our churches is to mature to a place of sustained health. In this episode, Tony and Amy are unpacking the challenges that come with the lifecycle phases of launch, momentum growth, and strategic growth, and how to...

When thinking about multisite expansion, most churches are not short of people to reach, new locations to open, or even money to expand. The biggest challenge impacting future multisite expansion is the lack of leaders to launch a new location—while still having leaders to serve existing locations. In this episode, Tony and Amy are wrapping up our multisite series with a conversation explaining th...

As churches consider adding new campuses, they need to establish a process for identifying new locations, hiring staff and building teams, and launching at the right time.  In this episode, Tony and Amy will identify several common mistakes and best practices for churches who are considering launching a new campus in the coming months. Free Webinar: "Multisite Better" on March 30 Want to avoid mul...

How do churches considering multisite find alignment around their strategies before launching new locations? And how do they maintain that alignment after the fact?  In this episode, Tony and Amy continue our series on multisite strategy with a conversation on the importance of strategic alignment for multisite churches. Free Webinar: "Multisite Better" on March 30 Want to avoid multisite misery?...

Whether you're preparing to expand through multisite or you're an existing multisite church, this new podcast series will walk you through the process to help you prepare now for future multisite expansion—whether that's launching your first or your fifth campus. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss the key indicators that you are ready to expand through multisite—and one key indicator that you a...

Does it feel unclear what "works" in ministry on this side of the pandemic? This week, we're sharing the replay of a recent webinar conversation where Tony Morgan and Amy Anderson sat down with lead pastors Chris Hodges (Church of the Highlands), Miles McPherson (Rock Church), and Omar Giritli (Christ Fellowship in Miami) to discuss what's actually working in their large now churches to reach new...

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 and structure, and finances. In this episode, Tony and Amy walk through some of the newest trends and benchmarks from our Q1 2023 report, including insights on the differences between growing and declining/plateaued churche...

Healthy churches are clear on the type of culture they want to create in their ministry. Their leadership intentionally hires, evaluates, and celebrates based on this culture.  In this episode, Tony and Amy are wrapping up our series on what's working in large churches with a conversation on how these churches are shaping a strong culture on their team—and how that culture leads to a healthy cultu...

Our research has found that churches engaging a multisite strategy tend to be healthier in many key areas than other churches, and it's clear that more large churches are using the strategy to increase health and growth. In this episode, Tony and Amy unpack multisite insights and best practices from Transformation Church , Sun Valley Community Church , and North Point Community Church . Free Webin...

While it's true that many churches are seeing new faces on the weekend, churches often struggle to then engage those new people beyond Sunday morning. In this episode, Tony and Amy continue our series on what's working in large churches by sharing stories and strategies for helping people take a next step beyond Sunday. Free Webinar: What's Working in Large Churches Now on February 23 Register now...

This week, we're kicking off a series focused on what's working in large churches across the U.S., sharing insights from Christ Fellowship in Miami, Transformation Church near Charlotte, Sun Valley Community Church in Phoenix, and North Point Community Church in Atlanta.   In this episode, Tony and Amy unpack the strategies these four churches are using to widen their front door and invite more pe...

Once you've built consensus on your team and gained clarity about what to prune, how should pastors and church leaders appropriately "bury a ministry" and communicate the change?  In this episode, Tony & Amy talk through proven strategies to move forward in the pruning process with consideration and courage.   This Episode is Sponsored by BELAY Poorly managed church finances can hurt a pastor's ab...

The research is clear: encouraging people to engage in more programs and church activity doesn't produce spiritual growth. If we're truly in the disciple-making business, then adding more programs and events is actually working against church health. In this episode, Tony and Amy are getting practical on the steps churches must take in order to identify the programs and events they need to stop or...

The beginning of a new year means new goals, dreams, and resolutions.  This year, The Unstuck Group wants to help you get your church as healthy as it's ever been, too! This week, Tony and Amy are kicking off a new series on Pruning and introducing the "2023 Unstuck Church Get Healthy Again Challenge." In this episode, they'll start by explaining  why pruning matters and start to identify things t...

As 2022 comes to a close, we're revisiting some of the most downloaded episodes of The Unstuck Church Podcast this year! Many churches tried to ignore digital ministry for as long as we could and, even now, many of us are still trying to avoid it. In this popular episode, Tiffany Deluccia joins us to discuss whether digital ministry still matters and how churches can get started (or get better) at...