New Churches Podcast | Season 5 | Episode 3

The Priority of Prayer and Fasting

Noah Oldham, Vance Pitman, Bryan Loritts & J.D. Greear

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2N6Wp2dfb1g

In this episode of the New Churches Podcast, Noah Oldham is joined by Vance Pitman, Bryan Loritts, and J.D. Greear to explore the vital role of prayer and fasting in church planting. Drawing from Acts, they emphasize that prayer isn’t just preparation for ministry—it is the ministry, shaping church culture and fueling God’s work. They share practical insights for cultivating a prayer-driven church that depends on God’s Spirit rather than strategy alone.

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Published on September 16, 2025

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

Noah Oldham

Executive Director Send Network

Noah Oldham is the Executive Director of Send Network. He served as the founding and lead pastor of August Gate Church for 15 years and the Send City Missionary to St. Louis for almost 10. In both these roles, he led his church and dozens of others to plant churches throughout the St. Louis region and beyond. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Studies and Christian Leadership and is a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. He writes, speaks, and trains in the areas of two of his greatest passions: the local church and physical fitness. Noah and Heather have been married since 2005 and have 5 children.

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Vance Pitman

President Send Network

Vance Pitman is president of Send Network, founding pastor of Hope Church, and author of UNBURDENED: Stop Living for Jesus So Jesus Can Live Through You and The Stressless Life: Experiencing the Unshakable Presence of God’s Indescribable Peace. As a seasoned church planter and now leader of the largest church planting organization in North America, Vance seeks to inspire people to join in God’s eternal, redemptive mission of making disciples, by multiplying the Church all over North America, that the nations may come to know Him.  Vance and his wife Kristie have four children and four grandchildren, and live in Georgia.

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Bryan Loritts

Vice President, Regions Send Network

Bryan Loritts (D.Min., Liberty University) is the Teaching Pastor at The Summit Church. An award-winning author of seven books, Dr. Loritts has spent the bulk of his ministry serving and resourcing the multiethnic church. He co-founded Fellowship Memphis in 2003 and serves as the President of The Kainos Movement, an organization committed to seeing the multiethnic church become the new normal. His ministry takes him across the globe annually, as he speaks at conferences, churches, and retreats. Bryan has been a featured speaker for Catalyst and the Global Leadership Summit. Currently, he serves on the board of Biola University and is a regular visiting professor at Grimke Seminary. He is also the Vice President of Regions for the Send Network. He is the husband of Korie, and the father of Quentin, Myles, and Jaden.

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J.D. Greear

J. D. Greear is the pastor of The Summit Church, in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Under Pastor J. D.’s leadership, the Summit has grown from a plateaued church of 300 to one of over 10,000, making it one of Outreach magazine’s “top 25 fastest-growing churches in America” for many years running. He has authored several books, including Essential Christianity: The Heart of the Gospel in Ten Words (2023), Just Ask: The Joy of Confident, Bold, Patient, Relentless, Shameless, Dependent, Grateful, Powerful, Expectant Prayer (2021), and What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? (2020).

More Resources from J.D.