Advance

It's time for the episode that must happen. It is the episode of episodes. It's the topic that all pastors recognize is important for church health, but cringe at the thought of talking about, let alone sharing with their congregations. It's time to talk about money! We all know the Bible talks about money A LOT! There are more than 2300 verses that deal with topic of money. 16 of Jesus' 38 parables talk about money or possessions. Why then, do we struggle so mightily to talk to our churches about the issues of money and generosity?  Today's guest is going to help us answer that question. Gary Rohrmayer has a lengthy resume. He is a former church planting pastor, author of several books, church planting coach and consultant, and I could go on and on. He is currently the president of Converge MidAmerica, serving in that role for the last 12 years. And yes, that makes Gary my boss. I have learned a lot from Gary over the last 4+ years, and I have discovered that one of his “sweet spots” is helping churches understand the issues of generosity. So, I am excited to welcome Gary to the podcast and promise to be on my best behavior. Thanks so much for being here Gary!·      Give me the two minute Gary Rohrmayer Story·      Why do pastors tend to cringe when we talk about generosity?·      How important is it that churches develop a strategic generosity plan?·      If you could share 3-4 musts for churches to develop a generosity strategy, what would they be?·      Can you share a story or two from churches that has reaped the benefits of pressing into the issues of generosity?·      What's one baby step a church could take who is listening today, that wouldn't feel “overwhelming”?

In 1990, the average age of a pastor was 41. Today, that average age is 55. Although there are several reasons you could identify for the cause of this, it is my belief that one of the main reasons for this shift is that we have lost our intentionality in leadership development. Too often, we forget that one of the big responsibilities we have as pastors given to us from Ephesians 4 is to equip the saints for the work of service. It begs the question: Where are our Timothy's, our young potential leaders we are training to be the next generation of pastors?  I can think of no one that can speak to this topic of leadership development better than today's guest. Jessy Padilla is pastor of Eglesia Emanuael in Waukegan Illinois, and is also the founder and leader of the Hispanic leadership training ministry entitled “Forming Trustworthy Leaders”. Jessy has raised up dozens of young men and women who are now leaders, pastors and church planters in the Chicago area as well as around the country and Central America.  Jessy is also passionate for missions and has led many teams on trips to Mexico and other Central and South American countries. Best of all, I consider Jessy a friend, and I couldn't be more grateful to have him on the show today. So Jessy, welcome to the podcast. ·      Give me the two-minute Jessy Padilla Story  ·      “Leadership Development” can be a very overused term and lose some of its meaning. How would you specifically define leadership development in a church setting?·      Ephesians 4 clearly identifies that we are to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Leadership development clearly is such an important part of that, but we often get trapped in even unconsciously thinking that it's too much work, or I don't have enough time. How do we think differently?·      Is leadership development the role of the pastor, or all leaders?·      How does Iglesia Emanuel focus on leadership development? Speak specifically to the Hispanic Leadership Training course?·      A cool story of how leadership development has changed the trajectory of someone's life in your church/ministry.·      What's a step our churches could take to do leadership development better?

Today we are going to talk about a subject that on the one hand most churches generally agree is extremely important, and yet on the other hand, struggle mightily with creating effective strategies more than almost any other subject, and that is the issue of small groups. It's not a matter of IF your church has small groups, its more a question of what those small groups look like. Are they Sunday School classes, Bible Studies, affinity groups, or the more traditional Small Group model? The simple reality is that most churches just flat out struggle with doing them well. So how can such an important topic contain so much confusion and frustration. To help us discuss this important issue, I am pleased to welcome Daniel Warren. Daniel is Executive Pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville Florida. Trinity is a BIG church, and as a big church, they need to have effective small groups. Daniel is well equipped to help us with this important subject. So, Daniel, thanks for being on the podcast and helping us wade through this topic of “Small Groups that Work”.   ·      Give me the two-minute Daniel Warren Story·      How do you define Small Groups? Why are they important?·      Should small groups be an A strategy, or should it be one of our strategies? (What is Trinity's Small Group Strategy)·      How have small groups worked, and how have they been difficult at Trinity?·      Open or closed groups. Which model should be our priority?·      When should a church think about small groups? In other words, what size church?·      Give us the silver bullet child-care solution?

One of the topics I get asked about a lot in my role in church strengthening revolves around  today's topic: “Developing a Discipleship Pathway”. Every pastor knows that it is crucial to create a way for people to grow in their faith, but struggle with a strategy that works. Most churches do a good job at helping people with the “basics” of their faith, like how to read the Bible, prayer, service, generosity, etc., but then what? How do we create effective pathways that really help people continue in a lifelong journey of spiritual growth?  To help us with this, I'm excited to welcome Gregg Heinsch to the podcast. Gregg is Lead pastor at Celebration Church in Celebration Florida. Gregg planted Celebration ? years ago after pastoring for ? years in Hudson Wisconsin. There are several things I appreciate about Gregg. He is one of the best preachers I know. He is passionate about the gospel, passionate about the church, and passionate about seeing people not only come to know Jesus, but to grow deeply in their relationship with Christ and see that multiplied in others. So Gregg, welcome to the podcast, and thanks so much for your willingness to share with us today. ·      Give me the two-minute Gregg Heinsch Story·      Discipleship Pathway is sort of a “buzz word” today. Everyone is talking about it, but that doesn't necessarily mean we KNOW what we're talking about. So, what exactly do we mean by Discipleship Pathway?·      As I shared in the intro, I get asked about issues surrounding Discipleship Pathway more than almost any other issue? Why do you think that is?·      What does Discipleship Pathway look like at Celebration? How do you help people measure if they are “getting somewhere”?·      Pastors are always looking for curriculum for Discipleship Pathway. Are there good curriculums out there, or should we be creating our own Discipleship Pathway model?·      I always love hearing success stories. Can you share a story of how Celebration's focus on Discipleship Pathway has helped transform someone's life at your church?·      If there was one thing you could tell a pastor listening today that they need to think about, or step they can take to move the ball forward in regards to Discipleship Pathway what would that be?

Recently, I have read some really disturbing statistics. 95% of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ.80% of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ.47% of Millennials believe sharing your faith is wrong. 63% of the leadership of one denomination studied did not lead one stranger to Jesus in the last two years.96% of the leadership believe their churches would have grown faster if they would have been more involved in evangelism.There is no wonder why evangelism, or lack there of in our churches and among our pastors and leaders is a major reason why so many churches are plateaued or declining in America. So what do we do about it? Today, as we continue to think through different marks of a healthy church over these episodes, we want to discuss the issue of evangelism, and specifically Need Oriented Evangelism. We are defining need oriented evangelism as evangelism that isn't “pushy” or “manipulative” in the way they share the gospel, rather their secret is to share the gospel in a way that meets the questions and needs of those who don't yet know Christ. To help us in our discussion today, I am pleased to welcome Walter Angelica. Walter is pastor of Iglesia Ciudad, a multi campus congregation that began in Jacksonville Florida, and is now preparing to launch in Orlando. Walter is passionate personally to see people come to know Jesus, and he has developed within his church a culture of Need Oriented Evangelism. I am excited to have Walter encourage us today as we think through this important subject. So, Walter, welcome to the podcast.  Give me the two-minute Walter Angelica Story   I have entitled this podcast “Need Oriented Evangelism”. Specifically, I mean evangelism that is not “pushy' or “manipulative” in the way the gospel is shared, but rather sharing in a way that meets the questions and needs of those who don't know Christ. What I'd like to ask you as we begin is, What differentiates effective evangelism from ineffective evangelism as you think about it? I read several statistics to begin this episode. There is no wonder we have so many weak and ineffective churches in America. What is happening? How do we change this culture within our churches? How does Iglesia Ciudad focus on Need Oriented Evangelism. The statistic that really struck me was the one where 96% of the leadership believe their churches would have grown faster if they would have been more involved in evangelism. It sure seems like we are not doing a good job as pastors and leaders practicing what we preach? Do you agree, and what do you see as the role of the pastor in evangelism? How would you encourage our churches today in regards to evangelism? What's one step they can take to see the temperature of evangelism raised in their church?

I am super excited for today’s episode. I have invited two pastors to join me. Andrew Ford is one of the pastoral team at Grand Ledge Baptist Church in Grand Ledge Michigan, just outside Lansing. Kendal Anderson is pastor of The Crossing church in Clermont Florida, just outside Orlando. Both have a long and effective pastoral history. The great thing for me is that in January of 2021, along with pastoring, both of these guys became part of my church strengthening staff for Converge MidAmerica. Andrew is helping out part time to care and mobilize our pastors and churches in Michigan and Indiana. Kendal is doing the same in Florida and Georgia.  For most of us as pastors as leaders, we see through the lense of our local church and experience. We don’t often have the time to Zoom out “so to speak” at the big C church. I thought it would be beneficial for our listeners to hear from two guys who are still in the pastoral trenches with those local lenses, but now have an ability to share with us their perspectives from a different lense as they have begun their new roles with our movement. What have they been seeing and learning as they have begun their new adventure? So, let’s get right to it. What has encouraged you over these last 6 months as you have invested in our churches and pastors in this new way? What has surprised you? What are some of the glaring issues, or areas of learning you have seen? What’s one closing thought, encouragement or exhortation you would give?

Today marks the beginning of season two of Advance, and I am so excited to launch what I hope to be an encouraging series of episodes in the coming months that will help spur your church on to greater health. We’re going to cover topics that will include discipleship pathway, evangelism, leadership development and effective small group ministry just to name a few. As always, each episode includes a guest that will share from their experience on these important topics.  Today, as we start this new season, I want to get us thinking again about church health by sharing “The Marks of a Healthy Church.” How do we know if we are getting healthier as a church. Or more specifically, how do we measure church health. It’s not always easy.   ·      Acts 2:36-37·      Quantitative Health·      Qualitative Health·      Eight Important Characteristics of Qualitative Health·      NCD and Why Assessment is So Important

Today we will hear from Danny Parmelee from his podcast, 1"01 Questions Church Planters Ask" on the issue of the pastor and Social Security. Specifically, should pastors opt out?

Today we are going to continue our conversation about church planting by trying to understand what makes a church planter “tick”. Who are these guys? Why do they decide to plant a church, and what does my church need to be looking for in a church planter when we decide we would like to plant a church?

Multiplication must be a part of any healthy church, and church planting must be part of a healthy church’s multiplication plan. So today, we are going to press into this idea that healthy churches plant churches

I believe God wants to restore churches that are broken or lost, sick or even dying, and I firmly believe your church can be one of them. So in this episode, I wanted to provide you and your church with hope from a church that is seeing a new day.

Not every church will become a mega church. Statistics say that only 6% of churches are over 500 people and 60% of churches are under 100 people. So clearly, most churches will not reach the “mega” status. So how do we make a big deal about small churches.

So much of ministry philosophy comes from city centers. It makes some sense since statistics say that over 80% of people in America live in metropolitan areas. However, what about the 20% of people who live in small town and rural areas? How do we think about healthy ministry in these locations. This episode deals with this very topic.

Today we are going to continue our focus on addressing the guest experience by speaking to the importance of using technology as a tool to attract guests to our churches.

Statistics say that if you want to be a healthy growing church, you need to be drawing at least 5% of your worship attendance each month as visitors. That means, if you’re a church of 100, you need to see at least 5 new guests each month attending your church. Not only, do you need to figure out how to reach those guests, you really want them to come back, so their experience before and after attending become critical.

In this episode, we continue our conversation about the importance of corporate worship and church health. We are again joined by our panel of 3 pastors and worship leaders.

This episode brings a panel of 3 lead pastors and worship leaders together to talk about the issue of worship and a healthy church. What is worship? How do I make worship about something different than just "what we do? How can we all get better at worship!

Today we are going to talk about “The Church Board”. All of our churches have them. Some call themselves “The Board”. Others call themselves elders or deacons. Still others use terms like Executive Board, Guide Team, (), etc. So, what’s the right kind of board to have? How do we make sure our church boards are doing the right thing? What even IS the right thing? And that doesn’t even start to address the issue of who should be on the board.

Today we are going to address the issue of “The Pastor and Self Care”. It is my firm belief that the single most important aspect to having a healthy church is a healthy pastor. Unfortunately, unhealthy pastors are becoming an epidemic. Why does pastoral ministry seem to be taking an increasingly devastating toll on our emotional, physical and spiritual well being, and how do we protect ourselves as pastors from issues like burnout, losing our call, addictions and more?

Today we are interrupting our normal schedule to talk about an amazing movement that is sweeping the country, and is specifically launching this fall here in Chicago, called “All America”. The purpose of All America is to mobilize millions in the Body of Christ to pray for and connect with their neighbors until all 127 million households and every school campus in America is adopted for the purpose of praying for the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ and the Gospel.

Vision is a term that gets bounced around all the time. So how important is vision really? And if it is so important, how should we go about defining it, and pursuing it as a church?

Prayer is essential for church health. Unfortunately, there is no ministry of the church in America, no spiritual discipline in the life of the believer that is more difficult to sustain and grow than the prayer. Is it any wonder that so many churches in America are declining. But I believe there is a way forward for us as churches in this critical area of prayer. I believe we can, in fact, see the temperature of prayer raised in our churches.

Scripture is clear that the proclamation of the Word is one of the most important things we do as a church. This episode addresses the critical place preaching holds in a healthy church.

This is episode 2 of the podcast, and today I’m grateful to welcome back Dr. Bruce Hopler, Executive Director of Church Strengthening with Converge. In this episode, we will be discussing the Church LifeCycle. What is it, and how does it help us evaluate ministry, and even our church.

A short "kickoff" to this brand new podcast devoted to helping strengthen churches for gospel movement.

This is our first official episode of the podcast, and we’re kicking it off by dealing with the question all other episodes will be trying to answer, “What Is A Healthy Church?” To help us answer this 30,000ft question, I am excited to welcome our first guest, Dr. Bruce Hopler. Bruce is the Executive Director of Church Strengthening with Converge, our parent organization. Not only is Bruce an experienced and gifted leader in our movement, he is also my friend.