The Grind

In this episode of The Grind, Neal brings back former hosts and founders of The Grind, Dave McClung and Chad Grigsby. We see what these guys are up to now in their new roles elsewhere and get to talk to them all about the history of the show, some of their favorite memories, and more. 2020 has brought the end to many things, and while The Grind may be ending for now the archives will always be available for your listening ear. Neal and Chanson will be back with a new, church planting podcast in the new year. So stay tuned and always keep grinding.

In this episode of The Grind, Neal and Chanson sit down with Charles Simmons of Connect Church in Conway. Simmons talks to them about how he came to Christ and what led a Texas man to plant churches in central Arkansas. The Grind email: thegrind@absc.org

The Grind is back, and in this episode we're getting to know our new co-host, Chanson Newborn! Chanson planted Fellowship Community Church in Forrest City, Arkansas before coming to serve on the Church Planting team at the ABSC as a Church Planting Strategist. We dive into his journey of planting a church in his hometown, and how he ended up where he did.

In this throwback episode from 2019, Dave & Neal talk with Charles Campbell from the North America Mission Board (NAMB). Charles Campbell is the Send Network Director of Church Planter Training at the North American Mission Board. Charles has worked with tons of church planters across the county and used this to shape his ministry concept. Charles talks about key aspects and measurements to find success in church planting on the national landscape. New episodes of The Grind coming in November!

In this throwback episode from 2019, Dave & Neal talk with Tim Wheat from the North America Mission Board (NAMB). Dave learned a thing or two from Tim in the past and is sharing that with us on The Grind. There's another side of Church Planting that people don't see, how it starts. Assessments have a lot of different factors that come into play, Tim shares with us how assessments have changed throughout the years. New episodes of The Grind will be back soon!

In this episode of The Grind, we have Greg Addison sit in one more time before he goes off to his new position at the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Neal also introduces his new co-host, Chanson Newborn! They guys talk about what Greg will be doing in Nashville, as well as how his impact here and how it can be used at the Southern Baptist Convention too. Chanson also gets to tell his story on how he became a church planter before moving up to be full-time here at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. You won't want to miss this one.

In this episode of The Grind, Neal talks to friend, Kevin Sartin from First Baptist Church in Nashville, Arkansas. Sartin has been the pastor at FBC for seven and a half years and has had experience in developing and maintaining partnerships with church plants across the state and around the world. They talk about Sartin's '555' plan to establishing partnerships with local, state, national, and international churches. They also talk about how easy it really is to partner with a church plant and that it's not always as scary as it seems. Questions Discussed: What was your first interaction with church planting? Did you ever think you could do more? How did it change that church when you began to partner with other churches? What made you decide to go to Nashville, Arkansas? What does the '555 Plan' look like? What was the initial response to the original plan? What was the response to the modifications to the plan? Had FBC does something like this before or was this a new thing? What other things/resources do you provide for partnerships that you're involved in? How does finding new partnerships look like right now, during COVID-19? What advice would you give to those thinking about partnering with churches? Resources The Grind email: thegrind@absc.org

In this episode of The Grind, Neal talks to Randy Garrett, Disaster Relief Director, about the upcoming virtual Disaster Relief Volunteer training. As COVID-19 continues to spread, Disaster Relief canceled training events for the rest of the year. Instead of waiting until 2021, they decided to take it to your living room. Neal talks to Randy about all that will be offered during the online event, how you can get involved with DR, and the general history of Disaster Relief at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Click the links below to get involved! Questions Discussed: What does DR stand for? How long have you been involved with Disaster Relief? What is your official title? How do people get ahold of DR when they need help? How can you get involved with DR? What are the disciplines involved with DR? What disciplines are being offered with virtual training? What isn’t offered during the virtual training? When did college students connect with DR and help clean-up? Resources The Grind email: thegrind@absc.org Disaster Relief Training

In this episode of The Grind, Neal and Greg talk to Laramie LeQuieu, Church Health Leadership Specialist, on the Church Health & Evangelism team at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention about the ‘Who’s Your One’ campaign. What is it? What can it be used for? All these questions and more are answered, so stay tuned. Questions Discussed: What is the ‘Who’s Your One’ tool? What are the nuts and bolts in how you do ‘Who’s Your One?’ How do you teach this? Is this something that can be easy for church planters to get and implement? Resources The Grind email: thegrind@absc.org Laramie LeQuieu email: llequieu@absc.org Who’s Your One Resources Who’s Your One Website

In this episode, Neal and Greg continue to talk to Ryan Worley from Rooted Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Worley started off as a bi-vocational pastor working part-time at a local hospital and being a pastor. God blessed them with the ability to grow, which allowed Worley to shift from bi-vocational to full-time pastoring. In conclusion to this conversation, the guys talk to Worley about the ins and outs of going from part-time to full-time pastoring. They talk about when the right time to make that shift was, and if making that shift is even helpful. They also talk about, if you decide to go full-time, how to keep those relationships with past employers on healthy terms. Questions Discussed: Did anything shift, legally, for you when you went full-time in terms of money/taxes, etc? What was the first thing that came to your mind when they (the church) asked you to go full-time? How did you go about leaving your job? What were the details, boxes to check, to be able to say, ‘I’m full-time now’? How does it feel on the backside of the transition? Resources https://www.abf.org/resources/ https://www.absc.org/articles/the-grind-all-things-admin https://www.absc.org/articles/the-grind-all-things-admin-pt-2 https://www.absc.org/teams/church-planting Email: thegrind@absc.org

In this episode, Neal and Greg interview Ryan Worley of Rooted Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Worley started off as a bi-vocational pastor working part-time at a local hospital and being a pastor. God blessed them with the ability to grow, which allowed Worley to shift from bi-vocational to full-time pastoring. In the first episode of a two-part series, the guys talk about Worley’s journey to Northwest Arkansas, and how the transition of going from part-time to full-time came to be. They also talk about the pros and cons of switching to a full-time pastor. Questions Discussed: When was Rooted Church planted/launched? How did Rooted Church get started? What was your journey to Northwest Arkansas? What was the long term plan for when you came to Northwest Arkansas? When did you decide & what did you do to begin to determine if you should go full-time, or have someone full-time? What were you looking for in the membership that keys you to shift from bi-vocational to full time? What are some key benchmarks that you set for your church to reach before you start that conversation? For more information, or to find resources click this link: https://www.absc.org/teams/church-planting Or email us at thegrind@absc.org

In part two of All Things Administration, Neal and Greg continue to talk to CEO and President of the Arkansas Baptist Foundation, Bobby Thomas. In this episode, they continue the framework started in the first episode and build on the fundamentals that all church plants need to know so you can build your plant on steady, financial ground and keep it that way. Questions Discussed: What are the basic things churches should have in place in regards to receipting payroll? What’s the difference between a W-2 and 1099? What is each used for? Who gets what? What are the basics of issuing your first paychecks as church planters? When you know you’re going to bring more people on, do you deal with it now or later? How can you turn things around, if you didn’t start right to begin with? When you plant a church or create a satellite campus, do you maintain the same tax credentials at the parent church or does that vary in different situations? What often would you recommend that church plants go back and use the assessment to check their systems? What do you suggest church planters pay extra attention in times of financial stress, like during the COVID-19 pandemic? What are some things that are happening at the Foundation to be excited about? Some Key Takeaways: Making key decisions early in the administration and financial needs is key to creating a functional system and maintaining that system. As a sponsor church, you have two responsibilities: - Keeping your satellite campus/church plant accountable - Helping to create and train a finance team with those leaders to be able to manage when God provides and people come to church. Where you can find help when you need questions answered, or to be directed in the right direction: - Your sponsor church - ABSC Church Health and Church Planting Teams - Bobby and his team at the Arkansas Baptist Foundation Resources Email: thegrind@absc.org https://www.abf.org/resources/ https://www.abf.org/contact/ https://www.absc.org/

In part one of All Things Administration, Neal and Greg talk to CEO and President of the Arkansas Baptist Foundation, Bobby Thomas. In getting back to the basics of church planting, Bobby goes in-depth of how the administrative side of a church plant should function. He also offers plenty of tips and advice in making sure your church plant is completely functional and legit - from a legal standpoint. Questions Discussed: What are the buckets we need to deal with when it comes to administrative needs in church planting? What is the process of becoming a legitimate church plant - in a legal sense? What are some basic things that church planters need to know about receiving contributions? What are some typical struggles you see with that? What would a proof is given to someone to prove to the IRS that they gave to your church look like? How do you handle designated gifts? What is considered deductible and not deductible? How do you handle donations and stay legal with them? What are the basics of spending money received correctly? Some Key Takeaways: The key buckets to the framework of administration in a church plant are: Gathering and creating governing documents, receiving contributions and handling that well, dealing with payroll and compensation, creating a process to handle your budget of money received, etc and creating a process of annually reviewing your documents and needs. Whatever mechanism you use for keeping track of contributions, there are two things you have to be able to do: You need to be able to account for the receipts, money that came in, and be able to account for each giver, doner, how much they gave. Resources Email: thegrind@absc.org https://www.abf.org/contact/ https://www.abf.org/resources/

In this episode, Neal talks to Bob Johnson, Associational Missionary Liaison, and Sunday School Consultant at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention about all things small groups. COVID-19 has created a unique experience for churches everywhere when it comes to connecting to their congregations. They talk about how vital small groups are to churches in general, especially church plants as they continue to grow their communities. They also talk about how planters can build upon existing small groups and create new small groups within their church. Even during the pandemic, ministry can continue through small groups. Questions Discussed: Given the environment that we’re in right now, do you think that gave the small group concept validity? Do you think churches were starting to see that? Should church plants not have the small group as part of the plan, given the current circumstances, or should they continue/include them? If you wanted to give some practical nuts and bolts, what’s one thing that church plants can use to build/create those small groups? What environment does a planter need to create in a small group? You don’t just throw a small group together, what’s the purpose of a small group? Resources Email: thegrind@absc.org https://www.absc.org/promotional-campaigns/coronavirus-update

In this episode of The Grind, Greg and Neal talk to Dave McClung on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected his church plant. They talk about what he's doing to encourage and continue working with his team, despite social distancing rules and tips and tricks on how to keep momentum thriving for the ultimate goal: progressing God's Kingdom forward. Questions Discussed: How is this crisis affecting your core group? How are you combating your group's anxieties/fears? What are you feeling? Praying for? How are you using all of this as an evangelistic tool? How are you staying sane throughout all of this? What suggestions do you have for other new church planters, or ones thinking of still church planting, as they try to navigate through this? Key Takeaways: The calling doesn't change in the midst of this. People are seeing how hard it is to be the church when you've depended on that Sunday gathering to define that. Families are taking ownership of disciplining their kids. There is no question now about if humans really need connection because this has proven that we definitely do. It's not the strength of our faith, but the strength of Jesus that we put our faith in. Resources: https://www.absc.org/promotional-campaigns/coronavirus-update Email: thegrind@absc.org

In this special episode, Neal and Greg bring in Tim Wicker, Church Planting Team Leader at the ABSC, to talk about what church plants around the state are doing to adjust and adapt as COVID-19 spreads across the country. Joey Cook, lead pastor at City Church in Conway, Arkansas phones-in to provide insight and practical tips into what he’s doing as a church plant to spread hope and give ideas to other plants around the state. Questions Discussed: How are church plants coping with the COVID-19 pandemic? How are you handling ‘home?’ What is the mood out there among planters? What are some basic things that we need to get to right now in responding to our churches? What are some of the ways they are adapting? What are some ways they are reaching out? What does assimilation look like right now? What are some ways other churches can come alongside? Key Takeaways: We can’t just rely on the routine Wednesday night/Sunday morning services to communicate anymore for ministry, for connection. This is moving us in the direction to be more faithful in the basic ministry things that make us the church. During difficult times we’re reminded to back to the basic: prayer and spending times in God’s word. Love on people through this process. Resources: https://www.absc.org/promotional-campaigns/coronavirus-update https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/coronavirus-resources-for-you-and-your-church Church Unique Book: https://amzn.to/2x6mNV8 Email: thegrind@absc.org

In this episode, Neal and Greg continue to talk to Dave about the ongoing process of his church plant in Vilonia, Arkansas. They discuss practical ways to train your core group on how to engage in the community, and what that might look like for each member of the group. They also dive into the importance of engaging the community you’re planting your church in because, without engagement, there will be no church. Questions Discussed: What is community engagement? What are expectations you have, as a planter, for your core group in engaging the community? How do you train your group to have community engagement? What does the plan look like for them to kind of follow? Do you have any unsaved members in your group, and is that a good or bad thing? What is your goal for each one of your core group members? Key Takeaways: Where do you go to find lost people? That’s an important question when engaging a community because if you don’t have a regular place in which you can talk to and get to know lost people, it’s going to be hard to plant and grow a church anywhere. You aren’t planning a service, you’re planting a church. Getting to know your community and making connections is more important than your big Sunday launch service. Links: Ronnie Floyd’s 2025 Vision Church Unique by Will Mancini Book

In this episode, Neal and Greg continue to talk to Dave about the ongoing process of his church plant in Vilonia, Arkansas. They talk about a planter's prayer life, and how important prayer is in a church planter's journey. They also talk about combatting the spiritual warfare that comes along with doing God's work. Questions Discussed: How important is prayer to you right now? Do you set aside time to pray? Should you? How should that kind of look? As a planter, how are you praying for specifics? How are you praying for your team? How are you equipping your core group to pray? Where does spiritual warfare factor in when you get serious about calling on God to reach a city? Did you anticipate yourself changing in any way? Was it tough? Key Takeaways: Prayer is important. When you’re church planting, you realize how dependent you are on God. If He’s not in it, it’s not going to happen. But you have to learn to ask Him. God knows everything going on. He will sustain you, no matter how discouraging of a day you might have. God knows, and He’s paving a way for great things. So continue to stay in His Word and pray.

In this episode, the guys continue to talk to Dave on the planting phase of church planting. They discuss the ins and outs of finding the core members of your group that will help launch you into the planting of the church itself. Questions Discussed: How do you begin to talk to that core group/person to connect with them? What does it look like trying to build that team up as a group? What's the core group member of your dreams? How do you begin to identify the members that will become your 'Peter, James, John' group? Key Takeaways: Casting the vision for the church is important. If you can't cast the vision and get people on board with it, it's not going to work. You've got to be with people before they can respond to Jesus. They have to get to know you. They have to know you care about them, love them, before they'll be open to hear the Word of Christ and accept Him. Prayer is very important in every stage of the process.

In the first episode of 2020, Neal and Dave welcome new co-host Greg Addison, associate executive director of the ABSC. As Dave transitions out of being a host, Greg and Neal will be talking to Dave about the life of a church planter. In this episode, they look at Dave's plan for his church's launch in August and what the nitty, gritty details of planting a church in a small community looks like.

In this episode, Dave announces some exciting plans for him and his family going into 2020. They discuss Dave's journey, and what this is going to mean for The Grind Podcast. Don't worry though, we aren't going anywhere!

Dave & Neal talk with Bobby Clark, long-time friend of Dave and pastor of Abbott Baptist Church in Mansfield, Arkansas. They dive into the world bi-vocational ministry and how Clark has managed both his work life with his ministry.

Dave & Neal talk with Michael Horner, pastor of New Thing Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this episode, Michael dives into his testimony which ultimately leads him to his calling in planting a church where his life nearly fell apart.

Dave & Neal talk with Andrea Lennon of True Vine Ministries and the Arkansas Baptist Women's Ministry Podcast 'Inspire on the Go'. Andrea dives into all things women's ministry and gives tips and tricks to raising up women leaders and how to grow your women's ministry - whether a church planter or not. To learn more about Andrea's ministry check out her website https://www.andrealennonministry.org/

Dave & Neal talk with Dustin Clegg, lead pastor of The Bridge Church in Wynne, Arkansas. Dustin discusses his journey in church planting and establishing The Bridge Church, as well as gives advice on those looking to fulfill their call in church planting.

Dave & Neal talk with Sam Dula with the SEND Network, a ministry of the North America Mission Board, about the ins and outs of being a trainer with SEND. Dula discusses his journey into becoming a church planter himself before transitioning into the role he has now. He shares some tips and tricks for current church planters, or those wondering if they are being called into planting.

Dave & Neal talk with Tim Wheat with the North America Mission Board. Dave learned a thing or two from Tim in the past and is sharing that with us on The Grind. There's another side of Church Planting that people don't see, how it starts. Assessments have a lot of different factors that come into play, Tim shares with us how assessments have changed throughout the years.

Dave & Neal talk with Tim Wolfe and Milton Campbell. Tim and Milton took their church plants and joined them together to make, Midtown Bridge Church in Atlanta. It's cool to see how God uses his people, especially in this story.

Dave & Neal talk with Chuck Gschwend, a member at Fellowship Bible Church, Paragould. Chuck seems to have done it all from golfing in college and becoming a lawyer until he was called into ministry. Chuck tells us 10 things that all church planters need to know and pray about.

Dave & Neal talk with Josh McCarty, church planter in Grand Junction, Colorado. God calls us to places that take us out of our comfort zone and Josh and his family did just that. Josh talks about his experience moving to the Western slope and how he's being reaching his community.

Dave & Neal talk with Kevin Gibbs, Discovery Church church plant in Seattle Washington. Understanding the Lords plan can take time, but it is worth the wait. Kevin talks about his experience before moving to Seattle and what his life looks like today.

Dave & Neal talk with Wayne Parker, Send City Missionary in Detroit. Church planting in Detroit can be very different than planting in many other context, but there are also many similarities. Wayne share's insights on what they face on a regular basis and also tells of the great growth and multiplication of churches happening in the Detroit area.

Dave & Neal talk with Charles Campbell, Send Network Director of Church Planter Training at the North American Mission Board. Charles has worked with tons of church planters across the county and used this to shape his ministry concept. Charles talks about key aspects and measurements to find success in church planting on the national landscape.

Coaching Leaders - Todd West, Oasis Church by Church Planting Team of the ABSC

In this episode, we try hold back the tears as we say farewell to the illustrious Chad Grigsby. He has truly been the host with the most, and he will be missed. Join us as we look back at some of Chad's funniest moments in the Grind's history.

Dave & Chad talk with Billy Sheets, church planter at Oasis Church in Camden, Arkansas. Billy talks about his journey back to Arkansas & joining up with Oasis Church as part of their planting team. Oasis Church started into the journey of church planting with a goal to plant multiple churches in one year! Oasis in Camden is following a replanting model & Billy discusses the advantages and struggles of this.

Dave & Chad talk with Scottie Long, Pastor of The Mercy Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. The talk about planting and pastoring a church in an urban context. They focus in on methods of making relationships and connections in the urban context.

Dave & Chad talk with Jordan Bowen, church planter at Oasis Church in Down Town Little Rock. Oasis Down Town is striving to become an international church plant right in the heart of Little Rock. Jordan shares helpful tips and ideas for identifying and reaching out to international people groups in your context.

Did you miss us? We definitely missed being in your ear buds, computer speakers and car stereo's for the last few months. We've taken a few months off to create some new content for the podcast and plan some big things for 2019!

Dave & Chad talk with Dan Reeves, pastor of Journey Church in Jonesboro. In this episode they discuss what a large church and a house church have in common: the mission.

Dave & Chad talk about the Big Idea from Episode 72 with Kevin Hasenack, lead pastor/church planter at Calvary Church Denver. They discuss Kevin's passions for developing leaders to send and the idea of planting pregnant.

Dave & Chad talk about the Big Idea from Episode 71 with Chanson Newborn, pastor of Fellowship Community Church in Forrest City, AR. They discuss how to love people where you are.

Dave & Chad talk with Kevin Hasenack, lead pastor/church planter at Calvary Church Denver. In this episode they discuss church planting in the context of Colorado.

Dave & Chad talk with Chanson Newborn, pastor of Fellowship Community Church in Forrest City, AR. In this episode they discuss church planting in the Delta.

Dave & Chad asked planters the question: “If you could start over, what would you do differently?" They discuss answers from planters and discuss their ideas on the question.

Dave & Chad talk about the Big Idea from Episode 68 with Brian Frye, a collegiate strategist at the State Convention of Baptist in Ohio and works with the North American Mission Board. They discuss whether you are in specifically collegiate church planting or church planting in general, it all comes back to being intentionally evangelistic.

Dave & Chad talk with Brian Frye, a collegiate strategist at the State Convention of Baptist in Ohio and works with the North American Mission Board. In this episode they discussed the concept of collegiate church planting.

Dave & Chad talk about the Big Idea from Episode 66 with Rodney Reeves, Dean of the Christian Ministry School at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. The big idea being centripetal force (pulling in) and centrifugal force (pushing out) as it relates to the church

Dave & Chad talk with Rodney Reeves, Dean of the Christian Ministry School at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. In this episode they discussed the gathering & scattering of the church, the seating & sending capacity, and how we are gathered around Jesus & then sent out to be on mission with Jesus.

Dave & Chad talk about the Big Idea from Episode 64 with Joey Cook, pastor of City Church, an urban church in Conway, Arkansas. In this episode they recap the concepts and ideas discussed.

Dave & Chad talk with Joey Cook, pastor of City Church—an urban church in Conway, Arkansas. In this episode they discussed planting a church by doing life with friends and neighbors.