EquippingU Podcast

Pastor Paul Yang, who leads the Compassion Chapel Church in the Hmong District of the Alliance joins Terry & Alan in this biographical episode. He shares his experience of how Jesus helped him in finding his purpose in life and ministry and shares about the specific challenges of doing ministry among an immigrant population. As we conclude season 11, with Terry's transition back into local church ministry, this will also be the final episode of EquippingU Podcast. Please do not miss the final outro from Terry & Alan at the end of this episode. We are thankful to all our viewers and listeners for your great support of this initiative.

Michael Gilmore, Communications and Next Gen Director for the South Pacific District of The Alliance, joins Terry and Alan for an insightful conversation about the next generation and how we can introduce them to Jesus and equip them to be His disciples. 

Irma Chon of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Hilliard, OH joins Terry and Alan for a challenging and encouraging conversation about ministry with refugees and immigrants. You'll be surprised what a small church can accomplish with some focused ministry and be encouraged by the blessings that come with stretching ourselves to reach people who are new and trying to find their place in our country.

Scott Kubie, president of the Orchard Alliance, joins Terry and Alan for a fun and practical look at the intersection of faith and finance.  Scott asks: “If we're not discipling our people in their finances, who is?”  and shares how Orchard Alliance can help pastors and leaders disciple people in their congregation to be faithful and generous with the resources God has given them.  This is a great episode to share with the financial leaders of your congregation. (Added fun for baseball fans: In the last question of the conversation, Terry asks Scott to prognosticate about his beloved Minnesota Twins. Scott makes a great guess and then turns it into an excellent piece of financial advice.) https://orchardalliance.org/

Tim Meier, the Vice President for Development at The Alliance joins Terry and Alan for an update on Project Reimagine and One Alliance Place. Our conversation includes how the vision of our National Office team being part of the Columbus community is already being fulfilled and the ripple effect that is having in our Alliance family. Tim also shares about some of the changes being made from the original plan for One Alliance Place.

Terry Powell, retired professor from Columbia International University, joins Terry and Alan for an encouraging episode about serving strong for the long haul in ministry. We have a feeling that you will wish you could sit down to have your own conversation with Dr. Powell after listening to this one.

Lean in for an on-fire episode that will challenge and inspire you to pursue our Alliance passion for reaching those who have the least gospel access. Marv Newell is the author of A Third of Us, a book dedicated to raising awareness throughout the body of Christ of the 3.2 billion unreached people in the world. You'll discover clear definitions and simple ideas for raising awareness in your own congregation.

Jen Ashby, Director of Church Health for the Metro District of The Alliance, joins Terry and Alan to share what she has learned from her doctoral studies and life experience about including single adults in the life of the church.  It's an encouraging and practical conversation with insights that can make a difference in the life of your church.

In an episode chock full of both depth and laughter, Jelani Pinnock joins Terry and Alan for a conversation that ranges from learning to wait on God's timing, to the Alliance Worship albums, to what Jelani is passionate about in worship and one thing he would like to change about worship. And oh yeah, Jelani calls Terry and Alan annoying and Terry is tempted to sing… again.

Bill Couchenour of Exponential joins Terry and Alan for a conversation about people being missional before missional was cool, making multiplication normal and breaking free from the magnetic pull of an attraction growth mindset that produces consumers to a multiplication mindset that cultivates disciple making.

Pastor Mark Little Elk of Cass Lake Alliance Church in Minnesota joins Terry and Alan for this season's pastor bio episode. Mark shares stories of God's gracious rescue and call to ministry and recounts stories of God intervening to show His love and sovereignty. Mark, compassionately shares what his hopes are for his Native American people.

Alex and Hannah Absalom join Terry and Alan for a joy-filled equipping conversation about making it normal to live on mission with Jesus through the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us. We have confidence that you'll finish this episode both encouraged and challenged. It's a great way to start 2024!

Marv Nelson, Lead Pastor of Indiana (PA) Alliance Church and author of the modernized version of the Simpson classic, "Land of Promise", joins Terry and Alan for a conversation about the value of updating the language of A.B. Simpson's writing so modern readers can be impacted with CMA DNA. Along the way, you'll hear about how the "Thief in the Night" movie rocked Marv's world, and about how he was saved, backslid, and repented all by sixth grade. You'll also find out if Marv has any talent for predicting the success of his favorite NFL team.

Scott Ream, Lead Pastor of Somerset Alliance Church, joins Terry and Alan for an honest and much needed conversation about pastoral burnout. Scott offers a brief history of the research on burnout and spiritual and emotional health and shares what he discovered while developing an emotional and spiritual health assessment during his doctoral studies. Even if you are feeling strong now, this episode will help you better understand how to stay healthy while serving in ministry. You may also discover you need this episode more than you think you do. (and in case, you're wondering, there are no whales in Lake Erie.

Larry Walkemeyer, Exponential speaker and author and previously the Lead Pastor of Light and Life Church in Long Beach, California, joins Terry and Alan for a straight to the heart conversation about ministry, marriage and surrendering your ambitions and fears to Jesus so you and your church can move to a multiplication mindset and know the joy of seeing Jesus' kingdom grow more than your own castle.

Author Reagan Rose joins Terry and Alan for an engaging conversation about productivity from a Christian perspective. Most books on productivity and organization are not written from a Christian perspective and Reagan shows us why it is important to reframe the way we think about being productive and fruitful as we steward the life the God has given us. You'll find encouragement for your heart and straight up good advice for planning and organizing your life.

Jim Putman, co-founder of the Relational Discipleship Network and Senior Pastor of Real Life Ministries in Idaho, joins Terry and Alan for a passionate conversation that will spur you on to consider if your church is making disciples who are becoming like Jesus or simply making church attenders who experience little transformation.  He leaves us with practical steps to shift toward becoming a disciple-making church.

Heather Holleman, author of "The Six Conversations: Pathways for Connecting in a World of Incivility and Isolation", joins Terry and Alan for a fantastic equipping conversation that will help you connect with people, love people, and make sharing Jesus a more normal part of your relationships. 

Alan Hannah, pastor of Allegheny Center Alliance Church and EquippingU Maximum Impact presenter and coach, joins Terry and Alan for a helpful conversation about the opportunity offered to pastors of Alliance churches between 200+ to 900 people. Tune in to see how this opportunity could be helpful to you and your church through instruction and coaching from experienced pastors of larger churches.

We have hit 100 episodes!  Join Terry and Alan as they celebrate 100 episodes of the EquippingU podcast with gratitude, funny stories, and, of course, their usual quirkiness.  Terry and Alan express their thankfulness for the great EquippingU listener family and for the opportunity to encourage and empower Alliance leaders.  They also recall their favorite moments with the guests who shared their leadership wisdom. 

Alliance worker Zach Meerkreebs had the privilege of preaching the message right before the mighty work of God began at Asbury University in February 2023.  He has since devoted his time to stewarding the ongoing work God began in students during those 16 days.  Zach offers a behind the scenes perspective on that time as well as how we can prepare ourselves for special works of God in other places.  On the personal side, Zach reveals how one of our key Alliance leaders was a great example for him during his early days of following Jesus.

Alliance worker Zach Meerkreebs had the privilege of preaching the message right before the mighty work of God began at Asbury University in February 2023.  He has since devoted his time to stewarding the ongoing work God began in students during those 16 days.  Zach offers a behind the scenes perspective on that time as well as how we can prepare ourselves for special works of God in other places.  On the personal side, Zach reveals how one of our key Alliance leaders was a great example for him during his early days of following Jesus.

Alliance President John Stumbo joins Terry and Alan in the studio for a post-council conversation about the important decisions that were made at Council 2023 in Spokane, Washington.  It's a conversation filled with honest reflection and personal insights on where we are and where we are positioned to go as an Alliance family.

Mark Porter, pastor of Regeneration Church in Ocean Beach, CA, joins Terry and Alan to share the story of his miraculous transformation and the call for him and his wife Lindsey to minister to the surfing community of Ocean Beach.

Aaron Henning, pastor of State College Alliance Church in State College, PA and Josh Grimes, pastor of Common Places Church in Lock Haven, join Terry and Alan for a conversation about church evangelism cohorts that help churches make evangelism normal for their people and turn the ministries of their church outward.

Ivan Marti, Assistant VP of Multiplication for the Alliance, and Jorge Cuevas update our listeners on what is being accomplished through a million dollar grant the Alliance received to plant and promote thriving Hispanic churches.

Ron and Lisa, the new directors of CAMA, the relief and development arm of Alliance Missions join Terry and Alan for a conversation on the role of relief and development in bringing all of Jesus for all the world

Bruce Lyman, the new Director of Alliance ESL, formerly known as Great Commission ESL, joins Terry and Alan for a practical and motivating conversation about ESL as the clearest and most direct way to reach the nations that are coming to our neighborhoods.

Keith and Kathy Davis, counselors and former chaplains for the Alliance national office, join Terry and Alan for an encouraging and hopeful conversation to strengthen ministry couples for fruitful and joyful life and ministry together

Rob Wegner, leader of the Kansas City Underground, brings a fire hose of energy to the studio to ignite our hearts for reimagining the Church as a missional movement and encouraging us toward carrying a lighter load that will yield greater impact.

The most interesting man in the Alliance joins Terry and Alan for a riveting and sometimes awkward conversation about helping believers actually love their neighbors.  Bonus: Discover the new nicknames for Terry and Alan as inspired by Jonathan

Rebecca Mclaughlin, author of the 2020 Christianity Book of the Year, "Confronting Christianity", joins Terry and Alan on the podcast for a conversation on the hard questions Christianity must address and for a call to giving intelligent answers for the hope we have in Christ with gentleness and respect.

Walter Kim, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, shares profound insights for Evangelicals in this cultural moment, provides encouragement for weary Christian leaders and talks about how significant moments in his spiritual journey included Star Wars and a final exam in seminary.

Mark and Nami Trinkle, pastoral couple at Neighborhood Church in the suburban Washington D.C. region, join Terry and Alan for this season's biographical episode with a local Alliance church pastor.  Mark and Nami share their international love story from Wisconsin to England to South Korea, the challenges and opportunities of multi-cultural marriage and what it means to be both a multi-ethnic and multicultural church.

The Alliance is in the top 5% of military chaplain endorsers and we have Alliance chaplains in key places of the U.S. military world. Alliance military chaplaincy leader, Chaplain Colonel Kevin Pies, gives us a look behind the scenes of this vital ministry reaching people that may not be reached in any other way.

Mark Byrom, Executive Pastor of Outreach and Care and Missions Mobilizer for Appleton Alliance Church in Wisconsin, joins Terry and Alan for a practical and encouraging conversation about making church and International Worker partnerships mutually beneficial for the IW and the local church. Mark provides great tips for celebrating missions and building missions mobilization teams in local churches of all sizes.

Adam Clewer, Old England native and current lead pastor in New England of South Shore Community Church in Boston, takes time to share the story behind Glimpse videos. Glimpse videos are creative works meant to give people a taste of the good news of Jesus so they hunger for more.

Mark and Kora Taube, Alliance IWs in Montevideo, Uruguay, join Terry and Alan for a personal conversation about growing up as Third Culture Kids, their call to international work, why it mattered that they learned to love the local church, and about serving as team leaders in one of the most secular cities in Latin America.

Tom Flanders, Former District Superintendent of Alliance New England and current District Superintendent of Alliance Southeast in Florida, joins Terry and Alan for a thoughtful conversation about shepherding and leading Alliance workers as a DS. Tom's wisdom, care and intentionality shine through with practical insights for ministry in any setting.

Rob Parker, planter, and pastor of "The Plant" in Mahwah, New Jersey, and leader of Launch Discipleship, joins Terry and Alan for an energy-filled conversation about lessons learned from the highlights and hardships of church planting and about training pastors and church leaders to make disciples in a way that matches their context.

Dann Spader, legendary founder of SonLife Ministries and longtime leader of Concentric / Global Youth Initiative, joins Terry and Alan for a conversation about intentional disciple making. He reminds us that making disciples is hard, but it's easier than we think. He challenges us to understand that making disciples requires both new wine and new wineskins and to believe that every believer who wants to be part of a a disciple making movement will have a wilderness experience.

Danielle Kemp, National Director of Strategic Church Partnerships with Alpha, joins Terry and Alan for a fun, but matter of fact conversation about what's keeping God's people from sharing Jesus with others and how Alpha not only helps churches reach lost people, but can help shift the whole culture of a church.

Chad Hall, President, and Co-founder of Coach Approach Ministries, joins Terry and Alan for a practical conversation about shifting to a coaching mindset for equipping the people God has given us to shepherd. You'll also discover that while Alan may be weird, he's not an outlier. Come along for a fun conversation!

Michael Carrion, Vice President of Church Planting and Leadership Development for Redeemer City to City in New York City, joins Terry and Alan for an explosive conversation on church planting, the necessity of collaboration and revival through Word and Spirit.

Cathy Sigmund, Alliance Chaplain, the director of refugee ministry at ACAC in Pittsburgh, and the chair of the RAIN Alliance, joins Terry and Alan for a passionate and joy-filled conversation on ministry with immigrants and refugees.  She shares the place to start and best practices for connecting with immigrant and refugee populations in our communities.

Gary Friesen, Vice President / General Counsel for The Alliance, joins Terry and Alan for an insightful, helpful, and wide-ranging conversation about the cultural challenges facing the Church.  Along the way the conversation covers the autonomy of the self, tribalism, the loss of civility, the state of religious liberty, sex as identity and how we can reach out to the lost while maintaining biblical standards.

Alex Zell, administrator, professor at the Crown college, former local church pastor and an Alliance International worker joins Terry and Alan to discuss about effective engagement of the student community to prepare them for the ministry work. Alex brings out the significance of having continuous education opportunities for the pastors and ministry leaders and how it shapes their effectiveness in their ministry. Alex also shares about his experiences on transitioning from pastoral to academic background.

Kim Valenzuela, the brain behind PEAK assessment tool rolled out by the Metro District joins Terry and Alan in this episode to discuss about the benefits of having churches the ability to discover their potential through the help of PEAK assessment. They also discuss the importance for the church to know its strengths and the areas that need more focus. Kim shares the definition of a Healthy Alliance Church and how PEAK can help the church to determine where they stand and plan for the future course.

Joel Repic and Steve Rossi from Aliquippa Gospel Tabernacle join Terry and Alan to discuss the gift of prophecy and how it helps churches to engage in the mission of Jesus. They share their personal and sometimes awkward experiences of how the prophetic gift has helped their church pursue the Great Commission and they share tips on how to get started in prophetic ministry, in spite of the inevitable learning curves.

Spencer Sweeting, pastor of North Springs Alliance Church in Colorado Springs, joins Terry and Alan for a wide ranging conversation covering his ancestor's involvement in the Underground Railroad, growing up in Williamsport, PA, discovering the Alliance at Penn State University, how COVID has helped his church, and simplicity and clarity for racial reconciliation. You'll also find out Spencer's favorite all-time episodes of EquippingU and his opinion on who is the most interesting man, not only in the Alliance, but in the entire world. Enjoy the ride!

Brian Fikkert, author of When Helping Hurts and the founder and director of Chalmers Center for Economic Development, joins Terry and Alan for a conversation about helping people in poverty. Brian encourages churches and leaders to recognize that simply providing material goods often hurts more than it helps because it doesn't develop people. Brian provides insight about how to bring economic development and holistic transformation in our efforts to show mercy and how we can fulfill Isaiah 58 in “spending yourselves in behalf of the hungry.”