New Churches Podcast | Season 3 | Episode 1

The Heart: Cultivating a Strong Walk with Christ as a Church Planter

J.A. Medders, Tony Merida, Vance Pitman & Jared C. Wilson

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y6eerFaVqok

Please note that the 9 Essentials mentioned in this episode have been revised. You can find the most recent updates at sendnetwork.com/9.

Host Jeff Medders welcomes Tony Merida, Jared C. Wilson, and Vance Pitman for a new season of the New Churches podcast to discuss the nine essentials of a faithful and effective church planter! They explore the origins and necessity of these essentials, emphasizing the importance of both faithfulness and effectiveness in church planting. The conversation begins with the first essential—Heart—highlighting the spiritual life, holiness, and personal relationship with Jesus that a church planter must cultivate.

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Published on February 04, 2025

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About the Podcast

New Churches Podcast

The New Churches podcast delivers biblical and practical insights to help you be a faithful and effective church planter. Learn from trusted pastors, theologians, missiologists, and faithful leaders who can help you pursue the mission God has given you. 

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Meet the Authors

J.A. Medders

General Editor New Churches

J. A. Medders (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the director of theology and content for Send Network, and the general editor for New Churches. He is the author of Gospel Formed, Humble Calvinism, and co-author of The Soul-Winning Church. You can follow Jeff on X, Instagram, and his newsletter.

More Resources from J.A.

Tony Merida

Vice President, Planter Development Send Network

Tony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C, and is the vice president of Planter Development for Send Network. Tony has written several books, including The Christ-Centered Expositor, Love Your Church, and multiple volumes in the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series.

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Vance Pitman

Vance Pitman is the Founder & President of Vance Pitman Ministries and National Mobilizer with the North American Mission Board. He is the founding pastor of Hope Church Las Vegas, which he led from a living-room gathering of 18 people in 2001 into a thriving, multi-ethnic church of more than 4,000 members representing over 54 languages twenty years later. Following his retirement from Hope, Vance served as President of Send Network, the largest church-planting organization in North America, where he helped accelerate the multiplication of churches across the continent. Today, he coaches pastors and church planters in leadership, church multiplication, and spiritual health while traveling as an ambassador for the North American Mission Board. Vance is the author of UNBURDENED and The Stressless Life.
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Jared C. Wilson

Jared C. Wilson is pastor for preaching and director of the pastoral training center at Liberty Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri, and an assistant professor of pastoral ministry and author in residence at Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the author of over 25 books and the co-host of the For The Church Podcast and The Heart of Pastoring Podcast. Jared and his wife, Becky, have been married for 29 years.

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