Podcast

New Churches Podcast

The New Churches podcast offers practical answers to your real ministry questions. We aren’t going to provide lofty pie-in-the-sky theories. Instead, we are going to help you in your real ministry context, with your real thoughts, questions, and issues.

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Building A Church Planting Family

Episode 661 27:55

Episode 661: When the Lord casts a vision of planting a network of multiplying churches, the planter finds himself sorting through all sorts of unexpected developments. Host Clint Clifton discusses some of the unique aspects of building a church planting...

Organizing Your Week

Episode 660 22:52

Episode 660: Pastors and church planters feel the pinch of not having enough time. Host Clint Clifton discusses the value of – and techniques for – organizing your week with Todd Adkins, director of leadership development at LifeWay Christian Resources...

Naming Your New Church

Episode 659 27:49

Episode 659: Choosing a church name is like picking an outfit you’re going to wear for the rest of your life. Host Clint Clifton discusses the pro and con arguments for six categories of church names with Todd Adkins, director...

Leveraging Your Limitations

Episode 658 23:43

Episode 658: Each individual planter and every church context has a unique set of limitations and constraints. Host Clint Clifton discusses how those limitations can become strengths with Jessica Thompson, director of operations for the New City church planting network,...

Sabbaticals for Church Planting Pastors

Episode 657 27:50

Episode 657: As pastoral work has in recent years grown more difficult, sabbaticals seem to be a growing trend. Host Clint Clifton discusses the need for, value of and different approaches to sabbaticals with Jessica Thompson, director of operations for...

The Forgotten Office: Deacons

Episode 656 25:05

Episode 656: With most churches now starting with multiple-pastor, multiple-elders models, a de-emphasis on the role of deacons has occurred. Host Clint Clifton interviews Matt Smethurst, author of Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church, about the value of...

The ‘Zero Year’

Episode 655 26:59

Episode 655: The “Zero Year” is the time of preparation that leads up to the church plant. Host Clint Clifton interviews Matt Smethurst, planter of a brand-new church in Richmond, Virginia, about the various “Zero Year” factors that moved him...

Reaching People Far from God

Episode 654 24:47

Episode 654: Many church planters set out to reach people with the gospel but often find their new churches full of folks from other churches. Host Ed Stetzer discusses the challenge of staying outwardly focused to reach people far from...

Church Multiplication in ‘Sin City’

Episode 653 28:10

Episode 653: Planting a church is challenging enough, but when your city is almost-completely unchurched, the task is truly daunting. Vance Pitman, founding pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas, and Heiden Ratner, senior pastor of Walk Church in the...

Symptoms of Burnout

Episode 652 25:53

Episode 652: What should a church planter do who’s at the soul level of tired? Host Ed Stetzer discusses the symptoms of ministry burnout with Jessica Thompson, director of operations for the New City church planting network, and James Hobson,...

Loving Your Family While Planting a Church

Episode 651 23:13

Episode 651: Planting a church inevitably creates enormous pressures on the planter’s family. Host Ed Stetzer discusses guardrails against those stresses with Jessica Thompson, director of operations for the New City church planting network, and James Hobson, lead pastor of...

Leading and Loving Difficult Team Members

Episode 650 18:29

Episode 650: Church leaders, at some point, will have a difficult time with a team member, which can lead to frustration, stress, anxiety or worry. Host Ed Stetzer discusses the challenges of leading difficult team members with Adam Muhtaseb of...

Friendship With Team Members

Episode 649 22:50

Episode 649: Some people think pastors shouldn’t be friends with members of the congregation. Others think that’s a horrendous statement. Host Ed Stetzer discusses the challenges of having close friendships in church with Adam Muhtaseb of Redemption City Church in...

The Downside of Professional Christianity

Episode 648 20:42

Episode 648: Full-time paid ministry is fraught with perils. Host Trevin Wax and Ed Welch, a Christian counselor with more than 30 years of experience, sort out the various challenges and offer valuable insight into how to meet them. In...

Ministry Betrayal

Episode 647 19:33

Episode 647: At some point in church ministry, practically all pastors will experience betrayal or hurt from those near them. Host Trevin Wax talks with Ed Welch, a Christian counselor with more than 30 years of experience, about preparing for...

3 Ways to Improve Your Preaching

Episode 646 20:11

Episode 646: One of the most important topics for pastors and church planters is improving their preaching. Host Clint Clifton and Noah Oldham, lead pastor of August Gate church in St. Louis and NAMB’s senior director of deployment, discuss ways...

Preaching to Small Crowds

Episode 645 21:47

Episode 645: Preaching to a small crowd offers both unique opportunities and particular challenges. Host Clint Clifton discusses them with Noah Oldham, planter and pastor of August Gate Church in St. Louis. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: How whether you...

When Crisis Strikes Your Ministry

Episode 644 38:47

Episode 644: An explosive crisis in a church can destroy both the congregation and Christ’s reputation in the community. Clint Clifton discusses crisis communication strategy with Christian Pinkston, founder of Pinkston, a public relations firm in Washington, D.C., that often...