Podcasts about portable church

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We're talking with Aaron Stanski, founder and CEO of Risepointe, a firm that partners with churches across the country to design and build facilities that amplify ministry impact. With more than 15 years of experience in church architecture, project management, and ministry leadership, Aaron and his team help churches navigate complex building challenges while staying focused on mission. Is your church facing growing pains—crowded lobbies, full parking lots, or overwhelmed kids' spaces—but unsure how to move forward? Aaron shares practical insights on how to approach facility planning strategically, align vision with budget, and avoid the costly mistakes that can slow down momentum. Overcoming the overwhelm. // When churches consider expansion or renovation, leaders often feel paralyzed by the process. Questions about cost, zoning, design, and disruption quickly pile up. Too often, churches jump straight to hiring an architect before defining their real needs. Instead, churches should first clarify what's working, what's broken, and what's next before anyone draws plans. Start with scope and budget. // The two guardrails of every successful project are scope (what you're building) and budget (what you can spend). Aaron warns that skipping this step often leads to beautiful drawings that churches can't afford. Risepointe begins with a Needs Analysis, an on-site deep dive into the church's DNA, culture, and challenges. The team listens to staff, studies how people use the building, and identifies bottlenecks—whether it's the children's hallway, lobby congestion, or limited parking. Only then do they define the right-size project and realistic cost range. The power of early engagement. // Most churches wait too long to start planning. Zoning approvals, fundraising, and construction all take longer than expected, especially in urban areas. Waiting too long forces rushed design work, unclear budgets, and lost ministry opportunities. You don't have to build everything at once. Start with a plan that captures the next few wins—like improving your lobby or kids' check-in—while preparing for long-term growth. Knowing when it's time. // Aaron says early warning signs include maxing out your primary service, overflowing kids' spaces, and parking lots at capacity. Many pastors misjudge space needs because they see the auditorium every Sunday but rarely experience the parking or early childhood chaos firsthand. Evaluating your entire Sunday experience—entry to exit—reveals where capacity problems really begin. Aligning buildings with ministry models. // Every church facility reflects a ministry philosophy—but those philosophies evolve. Where there used to be 40-year ministry cycles, now they are closer to 10 to 20. Churches shaped by the seeker-sensitive movement, for example, are now adapting to relational, community-driven models. Spaces that once emphasized rows and stages now need more environments for conversations, mentoring, and connection. A free resource for leaders. // To help churches begin the conversation, Aaron's team created a free guide called “10 Things to Get Right Before You Build.” The resource walks through key questions every church should answer before launching a building project—from clarifying vision and budget to preparing for change. You can download it and schedule a free consultation at risepointe.com/unseminary. To learn more about Risepointe's work helping churches align facilities with mission, visit risepointe.com/unseminary or follow Risepointe on Instagram for inspiration and project stories. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Portable Church Your church is doing really well right now, and your leadership team is looking for solutions to keep momentum going! It could be time to start a new location. Maybe you have hesitated in the past few years, but you know it's time to step out in faith again and launch that next location. Portable Church has assembled a bundle of resources to help you leverage your growing momentum into a new location by sending a part of your congregation back to their neighborhood on Mission. This bundle of resources will give you a step-by-step plan to launch that new or next location, and a 5 minute readiness tool that will help you know your church is ready to do it! Click here to watch the free webinar “Launch a New Location in 150 Days or Less” and grab the bundle of resources for your church! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. I am so glad that you have decided to tune in. You know, across the country, we keep hearing about churches that are growing and we’re seeing swelling attendance and that’s good. Some of that is like a platinum problem though. It generates other issues that we have to think about. And so what what I did was pull on a friend of mine, Aaron Stanski, he’s the founder and CEO of Risepointe. He’s got 15 plus years of church design, leadership and project management and experience. Rich Birch — If you don’t know Risepointe, where have you been? You’re living under a rock. They’re church architects and designers. They have years of experience working with churches like yours, schools and nonprofits, and they offer a wide range wide variety of services, including architecture, interior design, graphic design, branding, and so much more. Aaron is, I like Aaron not just because he actually has got incredible skills. His team’s got incredible skills, but he really actually wants to help churches like you. And so Aaron, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here. Aaron Stanski — Yeah, I’m glad to be here, Rich. Rich Birch — It’s going to be good. Give give people, you’ve been on a couple of times… Aaron Stanski — Yeah. Rich Birch — …and but give us again, for folks that haven’t heard, the Aaron Stanski, you know, a couple bullet points. Aaron Stanski — Sure. Rich Birch — What did I miss? What do you want to fill in the picture? Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, ah you know the quick story is grew up in ministry. My dad was a pastor growing up, planted a we planted a church in Boston when I was a kid. Went to school for engineering, worked for Harley Davidson Motorcycles, did big projects, project management and stuff for them for a while. And then felt called to ministry. Aaron Stanski — So left Harley Davidson, was on staff with Cru for a couple years doing college ministry before I jumped on staff at a fast growing multi-site church here in Chicago. So loved that, loved being part of that ministry team. And then, of course, we went through a big building project. So got to roll up my sleeves on the on the church staff side of things and hire architects and engineers and AV consultants and really kind of combine my my engineering mind and my ministry heart. And so absolutely love that process. And so, yeah, I’ve been helping churches now for the last 15, 16 years. It’s been an absolute blast. Rich Birch — So good. Well, the the kind of person I want to have in mind today, and so friends, if if you’re listening in, if this sounds a little bit like you, you’re going to want to pay close attention. So I’m thinking about that church, you know, the leader that looks around, they maybe have got, maybe they got two services. Rich Birch — They’re looking around and they’re seeing, ooh, they feel like maybe their growth ah is starting to create some pinch points. Maybe it’s in kids. Maybe it’s in adults. Maybe it’s their lobby. It’s they look around and they’re like, man, I just I feel like our facility might be holding us back a little bit. um And because I do bump into this in churches all the time. Aaron Stanski — Sure. Rich Birch — And there’s like, there can be like a certain amount of anxiety and fear around, gosh, when do I, what do I do? So when you talk to pastors, what do you know notice as one of the kind of most common point of confusion when it comes to starting or pulling the trigger, moving on with a building project, expansion project, try to improve things. Where are we getting this wrong? Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, I think ah like one, the whole process itself can just be completely overwhelming. Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — Like immediately you’re confronted with, ah oh my goodness, like what’s the right solution? What is the, ah what is the town or the, you know, the jurisdiction going to allow us to do? What is this all going to cost? Where are we going to do church in the meantime if we’re having to fix this building or add on to it? Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Aaron Stanski — I mean, immediately all of these questions start to kind of well up and it can become ah really overwhelming for a lot of churches. Rich Birch — So good. So when when we step back, is there any one of those that you think in particular is like a piece of the puzzle that is the most kind of mysterious or is the most um confusing as as you that you bump into regularly with leaders? Aaron Stanski — I mean, I think the most confusing is probably like, what’s the right solution? Rich Birch — Okay. Yep. Aaron Stanski — A lot of times it’s a combination of like, you know, we feel like we’re out of space, so we have to add on. But if we do that, we’re going to have to modify what we already have. And what we have is old, or there’s some maintenance on it that we haven’t gotten around to. And like, what can we do in this space? And so actually the the right solution is is probably one of the most difficult things to kind of imagine for a lot of pastors. Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — And, you know, then right behind that is like. What’s it going to cost? Right. Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — I mean, you know, for the last four or five years, we’ve seen a lot of inflation. We’ve seen a lot of different things happening, like with pricing and stuff. And so what used to be a pretty easy calculation for us as churches now, it feels like it’s a lot foggier as far as like what what things are just going to cost. Rich Birch — Yeah. So I’ve heard church leaders at this this juncture, they start thinking like, okay, like we got to get an architect. Get me the architect, the the person that designed this building 25 years ago. Where are they? Are they still in business? And, you know, we start going down that road. I’m not even really sure what an architect does. Like, I obviously, you you draw things. But, like, help us understand what what is the piece of the puzzle that, like, an architect brings to the table. Aaron Stanski — Right. Rich Birch — And I know that’s, like, a subset of what you guys do. Pretend that I’m, like, super dumb because it’s probably not actually worry about pretending too much there. Explain what that is. What is that service? And is that actually what we need at this juncture? Is that the first question? Like, get the architect. Come in here. Explain that whole thing. Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, well, I think we have to be careful. Sometimes hiring an architect is like picking up a hammer, right? And for a lot of architects who were, you know, traditionally trained and might have like one sort of, you know, viewpoint of the world. Like their job is to come in and draw something new um that’s going to sort of solve your problem. The challenge with that is a lot of times that architect is just looking for ah one type of solution, ah which is build you something new, add something on. Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — And they’re looking at it very narrowly through the lens of what the solution is going to be. Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good. Aaron Stanski — And a lot of times they’re not, you know, kind of able to kind of step back and take a look at strategically and say, okay, before we start drawing plans and blueprints and some of those sorts of things, let’s really talk about like what’s going really well at your church and how are we going to amplify what you’re already doing well? How are we going to add some, you know, some pieces around it? And then of course, how are we going to fix some of the big, you know, some of the bigger problems? Aaron Stanski — So an architect technically, right? I mean, it’s a licensed professional. Their job is to lead your organization through the process from the very beginning all the way through the stages of design. Their job is to make sure that the solution is aligned with your with who you are as an organization and your budget. And they’re supposed to help all the way through construction, making sure that it gets built the way that it was designed and and that it gets you know all the questions get answered and that it’s ultimately safe. Aaron Stanski — So that’s what an architect does. I think the I think the thing that we miss a little bit on the front end is in order for the architect to start, we really need kind of need to know what the scope of the work is and the budget first. Rich Birch — So good. Okay. Okay. Good. Aaron Stanski — If we don’t put those two guardrails on the left and the right-hand side, we’re really missing out. The left-hand side should be scope. The right-hand side should be budget. And we should nail those down before we get going into designing. Rich Birch — Okay. I want to unpack that because I know, I actually texted you recently. Friends, getting you behind the scenes a little bit. I had a friend of mine, they had done exactly what we talked about here. They were like, we went and hired an architect to help with this thing. And they came back with a ginormous number um that was like, I would say a factor, you know, three or four times what I thought. And what do I know? I don’t know anything. Rich Birch — And I actually think it was these guardrails where they went off off on it. They didn’t start with scope and budget. They started with, hey, here’s a problem, architect – solve it for us. And they came back with this, you know, very incredible initial drawing and all that. Rich Birch — Talk us through how do we nail down scope and budget from the beginning? Talk us through what does that look like? Aaron Stanski — Yeah, so I would say, ah you know, you want to find a ministry partner who’s going to come in and really kind of help ah flesh out some of those pieces, really understand what’s working well, what’s not working well, what’s missing, where do we have to clarify what it is that we’re doing in order so to sort of establish that. And and there’s ah there’s a lot of great partners out there who can help you do that. But you’re really looking for someone in the building/design/construction space who has experience who has a lot of experience, honestly, with churches and understands what it means to, you know, serve people who’ve been part of your church for 20, 30 years and keep them on mission and disciple them up, as well as welcoming people who are walking into your doors for the very first time. Aaron Stanski — So at Risepointe, we walk through a process called The Needs Analysis, where we get on site with, you know, a church for an entire day and understand their DNA and really understand what’s working and not working and stuff. And we start with that so that we can sketch out some ideas and some concepts and stuff around what is the what is the scope of work that’s going to solve the problem or fix the lid or add the seats that we need? And what’s the budget that we feel like God’s calling us to spend as a church in order to go do that? And we want to start with that before we jump into full architecture. Rich Birch — Okay, so sidebar question. Is it possible for someone to help us at this early kind of scoping phase without doing some sort of on-site? Like, can I just call an architect and say, hey, here’s the problem. I need to add a thousand seats. How much is that going to cost? And then they go away and come back with a number. Or, or you know, are is there, yeah, can they do that? Talk us through that. Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, you can. I mean, you can call up Risepointe and I’ll get on the phone with you. The, and, but there’s going to be a range, right? Rich Birch — Okay. Aaron Stanski — And I can say like, Hey, here’s the last 10 churches that we’ve done a thousand seat auditoriums at… Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — …and here’s kind of the range and stuff. The problem with shortcutting to that is you miss a lot of things, right? Each jurisdiction is different, like how the civil engineering works, the parking requirements and stuff. Rich Birch — Right. Good. Yep. Aaron Stanski — And those really affect the budget. And so we want to understand those first. And the second thing is, I mean, every church that we work with is and incredibly unique in the people that they’re reaching, and the values that those people have and whether they’re de-churched or unchurched and and who they’re running into and and stuff. And so really kind of understanding that context is so important um before we jump into, you know, sort of solution. Aaron Stanski — But yeah, I mean, since we work with churches all over the country, I mean, if someone called me up, I could probably, I could probably put my thumb in the air and give them a ah swag on what that might cost. Rich Birch — Yeah. And I would, you know, it’s funny because I’ve, I’ve recommended people have asked me those kinds of questions and I always actually say exactly what, you know, where you led, which is like, you should call my friend Aaron and, but, but what you should do, get on the, do the like free call or whatever, get on the book a time. But I said, you really should do this Needs Analysis thing. Cause the project that you’re facing is always much larger than you think. Rich Birch — And I would rather people take time, invest the resources upfront and time, frankly, to slow down and say let’s actually understand the question we’re asking before we jump to answers, right? Like what because because we could get this thing wrong and actually that gets to this whole idea of how early is too early. My experience has been people wait too long before they engage with someone like you. They they get into like their third service, fourth service. They’re like, oh gosh, people aren’t going to the fifth service. Maybe we have to figure out how to get more space. Talk us about, you know, what mistakes do we make when we wait too long without engaging with someone like you? Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, I’d say, you know, the thing to keep in mind is that you’re, if you’re the average church that reaches out to Risepointe, you’re somewhere between two and a half and three years away from having any sort of new space. Rich Birch — Wow. Wow. Okay. Aaron Stanski — And that’s on the short end. We have churches who are bringing new space online five years after they’ve reached out to us because they’re, they live in downtown areas… Rich Birch — Wow. Aaron Stanski — …very challenging jurisdictions and some things like that. Rich Birch — Yep. Aaron Stanski — And so when we’re thinking about when is the right time, I think, yeah, earlier is definitely better. But we have to be careful ah that we’re strategically spending dollars even on the front end, you know, so that we, you know, we’re getting out of it what we need. Aaron Stanski — As leaders, what questions are we asking that we need answers for in order to determine is it the right time to move forward with a building project? Is it a right time to launch a campus or go multi-site or some things like that? Aaron Stanski — If you wait too long, typically what happens is either we’re we’re rushing through the design process to kind of hit the capital campaign stuff and there’s budget misalignment. All of a sudden we thought it might be this, but now this is the actual budget for what it’s going to work. Aaron Stanski — And I think when that happens, there starts to be some vision confusion. You know, we’re looking at solutions that we kind of rushed through and it doesn’t feel like we really thought all of those things through. And so I think that’s another one. Aaron Stanski — And then I just think, you know, there’s there’s some missed ministry opportunities if if we kind of wait too long. I think a lot of times when we’re planning out, here’s the multiple phases of how we develop this campus and expand it. You know, we miss out on opportunities to go get some smaller things done sooner… Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — …capture momentum, you you know, fix the welcome center, like invest some dollars in something we know we’re not going to tear down, make it better for guests in a couple months. And we miss out on those things if we don’t have a bigger, more strategic plan. Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good. Yeah, kind of a step back and say, hey, how does this fit into where everything that’s going on? Rich Birch — What would be kind of double clicking on that? What would be some indicators internally that would say, hey, um you know, these things are happening. I should really reach out to Risepointe. What would be some of the things that you would see as telltale signs that it’s now a time to to kind of take this step? Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, I think if we’re, you know, if we’re really pushing towards our, those max numbers at our primary service, I think that’s a, that’s definitely an early indicator. Aaron Stanski — A lot of churches just kind of reach out and say, Hey, okay, here’s, here’s kind of where we’re at. Here’s where the math is at. Like, can you look at this like from a, like how much kids area should we have? How much lobby space should we have? And we can run some quick math for them and say, Hey, you don’t have any other lids. You’re looking good. You, you probably have a few more years of growth in you. Aaron Stanski — So that would be one. You know i think if ah you know we’re starting to talk about ah adding a third or fourth service, it’s probably a little bit too late, but we should probably get on it sooner than later. Aaron Stanski — And then, you know, one of the, one of the other things too, is just kind of paying attention. It’s easy for us on Sundays to stand on the stage and look out and get a pretty good sense of, are there enough seats? Is there space for me here? And like, we look out and we see some empty chairs. Aaron Stanski — Keep in mind that when you’re coming in from the back of the auditorium, it’s a lot harder to see some of those empty chairs. Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — And so what is the percentage? But the other thing is the things that we’re not seeing when more when we’re on stage on Sunday is we’re not seeing the parking lot. We’re not seeing the early childhood wing that’s basically a it’s a it’s a disaster back there. There’s kids running around like crazy. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Aaron Stanski — And so even if we’re ah even if we have enough seats, like or we’re not at the 80 or 90 percent capacity to our primary service. We need to be looking out at some of these other areas and making sure that there’s not a lid somewhere else. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Yeah. In fact, I literally just last weekend said that to a church. I was, you know, I was doing a weekend visit where I was on site and all that stuff. And, and it, to me, it felt like the building, the parking, and the kids, and the main auditorium, they, or the adult auditorium, they just didn’t match. It was like they, the three were out of alignment. And I think they had enough kids, but you know, I don’t know. There was, it’s interesting how that can happen. And you know the lead pastor typically is seeing um only the adult room and not you know not anything else. Rich Birch — Early on, you know there’s my experience has been and projects that have been a part of that I would rather spend money as personally as a leader. I’m not saying, friends, if you’re listening in, that you need to necessarily do this. Rich Birch — I would rather spend money on the front end with a designer like you. Because because the joke I’ve made is it’s a lot cheaper to move walls on drawings than it is in in the real world. And I’ve that comes from pain of building stuff… Aaron Stanski — It’s true. Yeah. Rich Birch — …of building stuff, and then being literally I opened up a new facility and then stood there with a kids ministry person. And the kids ministry person was like, oh, I didn’t think it was going to look like this. I was like, oh my goodness, what what are you talking about? Aaron Stanski — Shoot. Rich Birch — Like, we just opened this new facility. Talk us through, like, what’s an investment on the front end to reach out to someone like you? Aaron Stanski — Sure. Rich Birch — How do you help churches see that hiring someone like you can actually save us resources in the long haul? Talk us through that. Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, starting out at the beginning and getting really clear about where we’re going and how we’re going to get there, it really helps us, you know, cart and like make sure we don’t overbuild or underbuild. Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — It makes sure that like compared to all the other churches that we’re working with all over the country, that we’re in alignment with where the square footage is at and it’s aligned with how you do ministry locally, how you use these spaces seven days a week. Aaron Stanski — And so it’s it’s really making sure that we’re not overbuilding or underbuilding anywhere because that’s ah you know that’s a huge that’s a huge miss if we do that. And that’s probably one of the biggest cost savings. Aaron Stanski — The other thing is you know during you know during sort of that season of vision and master planning and when we’re talking to our folks about what God’s doing at the church and we’re telling stories of life change, like we’re really kind of laying out a vision for what God is calling us to do as a ministry. And people just naturally have questions around like, like, how is this going to help? And and how is this actually going to help us reach my lost coworker, my lost neighbor? Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — And, and so I think, you know, spending the time to do that, really translating sort of the mission and vision into physical space needs and producing some of those renderings that accompany that story. I mean, that’s just a really critical part. Rich Birch — Okay, so let’s double click on that. That’s that I feel like I have been caught in this situation where I get I get like, it’s the hammer and nail thing you you say. Like, I’m I’m pretty sure I know what the solution is. Aaron Stanski — Yeah. Rich Birch — Like, let’s go do this. And I like that what you’re saying is like, hey, we need to take a step back and like actually think through how does this fit in our vision and how’s that all? How do you actually do that? How do you help a leadership team discern what the problem is that they’re really needing to solve, or should be solving, rather than just let’s build a bigger box. Or, I know! We just need 25 new parking spots. Like how do we not jump too quickly to that? What’s that look like? Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, it looks like, you know, spending time. Rich Birch — Good. And and, really getting to know them and what makes them unique. Like we have a fantastic set of tools that we use at Risepointe to like really talk about, you know, let’s talk about, uh, outside the walls, right? Like who, who are we called to reach? And, and what does it mean to do ministry in this place that God has uniquely put your church in the geographic area? Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — And let’s talk about the tension between this side of town and that side of town. And let’s, you know, let’s wrestle with, you know, some of those issues. And then let’s, and then let’s talk about like, like, man, who are we as a church on our best day? And what does it feel like when we’re like living up to our full potential? Aaron Stanski — And then we even get into some of the things around like, man, what are what are some of the strategic drivers? What’s driving more people hearing about Jesus? What’s working really well? What do you see as opportunities or things that where if you had the right leader or finances that you’d be able to you know, accomplish even more of your mission. Aaron Stanski — And so by starting there and then starting to work down towards, okay, where is your facility aligned with that with that exercise and where is it misaligned? Okay, let’s unpack that a little bit. And then without getting into ah the solution yet, I want to meet like individually with each you know ministry leader… Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — …talk about what how check-in works and all of those things. Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — And so it’s really sort of this almost like a 360 review of what’s happening between the mission and vision God’s given us, and how are our facilities helping or hindering that mission and vision. Aaron Stanski — And then it just comes down to budget. And so, okay, here are the possible solutions. Here’s what roughly what some of those things are going to cost. And then it’s going to the, going to God in prayer and saying, okay, what are you calling us to do? What are based on these options and trying to figure it out? Rich Birch — I want I want to come back to the budget question in a second. But I’ve I think I probably have stole this off you. I have said to multiple church leaders that like our buildings were built, there was like a philosophical underpinning of the the buildings that we were built with. There was a ministry model that they were built on. Aaron Stanski — Sure. Yeah. Rich Birch — And then there’s been a lag between when we made those decisions, we’ve we built them. Now we’ve been using them for X number of years. And our ministry model may no longer be the same as the building, or probably isn’t actually the same as when the building was built. Rich Birch — What’s your sense on how long that lag time is kind of between the, they they you know, we built something. If we built something more than 10 years ago, you know we probably want to readdress or look at our facilities afresh and say does this actually meet the needs of… Aaron Stanski — Sure. Rich Birch — Because I feel like so many of us are in like the the cramped shoes that just don’t quite fit they work but they don’t quite fitWhat do you think that lag time is? Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, the lag time is getting shorter and shorter. Rich Birch — Okay. Aaron Stanski — It used to be, you know, it probably used to be 40 or 50 years… Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — …you know, without major ministry model shifts and stuff. Obviously, you know, Willow Creek, North Point, you know, coming onto of the scene in the in the late 90s and stuff really shifted. We have churches all the way up into the 2000s, even into the 2010s that sort of copied the model of the Willow Creeks and some of those things. And I think we’re seeing, you know, we’re seeing the model shifting a lot faster now. Rich Birch — Interesting. Aaron Stanski — I’d say, you know, you know, we’re probably in a faster 10 to 20 year cycle, something like that. But I think we’re coming out of the, you know, the, you know, that model of Willow Creek and North Point and stuff. And we’re, we’re moving into a new season. And it’s kind of exciting for us. Rich Birch — Yeah. Aaron Stanski — I mean, we get to, we get to sit on the front edge of all of that. Churches like in fantastic places, being creative, reaching, you know, people for Christ. And so it’s just interesting to kind of observe some of those things and, um and observe what’s working really well and, and where it we can improve, you know? Rich Birch — Yeah. You’re baiting me. What are those things that you’ve seen that have shifted? There’s got to be, or is that the magic? We got to call Aaron to find out. Aaron Stanski — No, you don’t have to call Aaron. No, I mean, the thing, I mean, like, you know, I heard someone share this with me recently, right? I mean, every Netflix account homepage is different for every person, all billion subscribers or whatever that they have. Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — They’re individually tailored to to those individuals. And I know that because when I had a bunch of seventh grade boys spend the night at my house, like my algorithm got so messed up on my Netflix account last weekend. Rich Birch — Love it. Love it. Aaron Stanski — But I think there is a shift away from you know some of the bigger, more institutional types of look and feel and trying to get down to, okay, how are we engaging one-on-one with people who are walking in and where they’re at. Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — How do we, you know, instead of preach a sermon at them, how do we hear their story? And what does it look like for us to hear their story in in various places, whether that’s a welcome center, whether that’s, ah you know, side by side in the pew, whether that’s in sort of a first steps class. And so there’s a shift on that side of things… Rich Birch — Yep. Yeah, that’s interesting. Aaron Stanski — …just like as we look at the next generation and how we engage and reach the next generation. Rich Birch — Okay, I want to loop back on the money question. So for folks that don’t know, a part of what I do is actually help churches with that. And don’t really talk about it publicly, but I do. And, you know, there is this interesting tension that churches often come to this. It’s like we think we’re different than our ourselves. Rich Birch — And that if I was going to go build a new house, I would have to start with, well, how much income do I have? And like, what can the, you know, what can the, you know, what what would the what would the bank give me from a mortgage point of view? Like I start with reality around my finances. But so many churches start with, let’s build this giant thing. And it’s totally disconnected from the from what we could actually afford to either raise or carry long-term. Rich Birch — How much variance can a church bring to a design? Like if they upfront are defining, Hey, like we can afford probably 5 million. I know I’ve got $35 million dollars in dreams or maybe not. That’s, that’s too crazy. I got $15 million dollars in dreams. Is it possible for me to, to actually get that into a tighter box? Help us understand how do we do that? How do we on the front end be realistic with our finances as we’re doing this design thing? Aaron Stanski — Yeah, I mean, I think we have to with open hands, we have to hold out the, you know, the dreams, the vision, you know, the stuff that God’s given us. And we have to prayerfully sort of go through that exercise and say, okay, ah but how much risk do I want to introduce into the organization, like via debt? Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — What what is God actually calling us to do with those things? And we have to be creative in how we and and how we get across the finish line. I think when I when I hear sometimes a senior pastor sharing with me his $35 million dollars vision, Rich… Rich Birch — Yes, yes, yes. Aaron Stanski — …what I immediately try to do is say, okay, talk to me about what it is about that $35 million dollar thing that’s resonating with you. Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Aaron Stanski — And so even though he’s describing something that’s $35 million, dollars and as an architect, I might get really excited about drawing $35 million dollars worth of stuff. Rich Birch — Yes. Aaron Stanski — If he actually can’t afford it and can’t raise it, he’s actually not going to go do it. Rich Birch — Right. Aaron Stanski — So I need to go back to that vision and say, okay, what are the pieces in there that are from God, that are ah that are aligned with the mission that his church has and stuff? And I need to contextualize that. And then as an architect, as a designer, I have to turn around and say, okay, with my guardrails in place of budget and scope, how do I express those things… Rich Birch — That’s good. Aaron Stanski — …in the $5 million dollars that God has entrusted our church with? And so there’s going to be a lot of difficult decisions along the way. We’re going to have to prioritize some things. And some other things might have to go on the back burner. But that’s the process that we want to help churches walk through um to to get them to that point where they’re walking into a space for the first time and going, oh, man, this feels like us. Like this is this is who God wants us to be in our community. And I’m so excited about doing ministry in this new space. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. So it’s it’s not, from what I hear you saying, it’s not unreasonable on the front end to be like, hey, we should actually bring, like, be clear on this is this is what we think we can actually raise. This is that what we think we can carry. We think we could do a project of X, whatever. And that needs to be early on in the discussion rather than we’re disappointed on the back end. Oh my goodness, we got this this big number and we don’t know what to do with it. Aaron Stanski — Yeah, I like to be doing it simultaneously. I like to be doing the Needs Analysis and working through, okay, here’s the eight different project options. You can relocate and spend $35 million. You can add on. You can you can do this. All right, here’s your here’s your four options, $10, $8, $6, $4 million dollars And at the same time, I like to encourage churches to like, okay, go talk to someone like yourself… Rich Birch — Yep. Aaron Stanski — …and say, okay, what do we think we could raise if we did a capital campaign? How much debt do we currently have? How do our elders feel about us you know borrowing some money if it if it makes a bigger impact on the project? Because if we can bring those two things together and pray through it and get clarity from God about what he’s asking us to do, then I can go ah help draw buildings and blueprints and things like that. Rich, you can help them raise some money and they and we can you know we can go through that process. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. Yeah, it’s great. And you know, my experience has been every one of those steps, friends, is, it’s a lot of work. It’s, it’s like a, it’s a faith ah stretching experience. There are late, late nights staring at the ceiling, but every one of those I’ve been a part of, literally 100% of them have been transformative in the life of the church. You know, when they, when you look back, you’re like, wow, that was an inflection point. I am so glad we went through that. It wasn’t this like we did that and I was like, man, that wasn’t such so good in the end. It was really was amazing. Rich Birch — Well, there’s a resource that you’ve provided. It’s called 10 Things to Get ah Right Before You Build. Talk to us about this resource and then and then where can where can we want to make sure people get this. Tell us tell us a little bit about this. Aaron Stanski — Yeah, I mean, like with, you know, church, hundreds of churches calling us, you know, every year, asking a lot of the questions that we’ve talked about today. Like we tried to distill down what are the most common things the churches are like, okay, pause real quick. I got to go do something real fast before we decide that we can sort of move forward. And so some of these things are what happens like while you’re talking to Risepointe and some of these things might be before. But I think it’s just kind of a helpful reminder and ah a thoughtful list to kind of work through. Aaron Stanski — And so if that’s helpful at all, or if that’s interesting at all, um you can just go to risepointe.com/unseminary. And a little ah little landing page will pop up there. There’s two things you can do on that page. The first one is to just give us your name and your email there and sign up and get that 10 things to download. Aaron Stanski — I also threw another button on there this morning in case you’re like, hey, that sounds great, but I’ve got I’ve got a specific question I have about our building. Or like, I actually really need to talk to you guys about what our options are. And so I put another button down there at the bottom. If you want to schedule a call with myself or one of our architects, we’d love to hop on the phone with you. No charge for that. 30 minutes. Just kind of talk through where you’re at, what some of your questions are and see if we might be able to help. So ah once again, that’s risepointe.com/unseminary. And you can get all that, all that stuff right there. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s fantastic. That’s risepointe.com/unseminary. And friends, I’ve had multiple friends in ministry who have engaged with with Aaron across the entire spectrum. The like free 30 minute thing all the way up through, you know, the kind of full deal, help get a whole project out the door. And and just so happy with the work that Risepointe does. And just has been transformative for their churches. So you get a hearty endorsement from me. You really should do that. Again, that’s just risepointe.com/unseminary. You can pick this up. It is a helpful little PDF, and the schedule call is a great thing. Rich Birch — Well, Aaron, I appreciate you being here today. Aaron Stanski — Yeah. Rich Birch — If people want to track with you guys or if they’re anywhere else online, obviously risepointe.com. We want to send them to anywhere else online. We want to we want to send them to. Aaron Stanski — Yeah. I mean, you can always, uh, you know, follow us on the Insta or whatever you want to do there. Rich Birch — Nice. Love it. Aaron Stanski — If you’re into like, you know, cool pictures of like steel being erected, ah or, uh, kids ministry stuff or pictures and stuff, we’re trying to share a little bit more info there. But yeah, I mean, or just our website and, uh, yeah, stay connected. Rich Birch — That’s so good. Thanks for being here and have a good day, buddy. Aaron Stanski — All right, you too. Bye.

Welcome to the Practical Church podcast brought to you in partnership with Mission Support. Mission Support This episode was brought to you by Mission Support.  Stay focused on your mission and let Mission Support help you with everything you didn't go to seminary for! Get support from experts with decades of experience working with churches who know your unique needs and challenges. Click here to talk with a guide today & love being a pastor again! HERE ARE THE 7 LESSONS I DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE Repeatedly share the need, then follow up with people  People are very willing to serve if they think what they do matters Schedule set up + tear down teams separately  People are more gracious with imperfection when portable  People need to be trained  Pay for signage Pay for portable equipment Get more church tips and advice Click here to join the Practical Church Facebook group

Thanks for joining in the unSeminary podcast. I'm excited to have Jeff Beachum with us. He's part of Portable Church Industries (PCI), which has helped thousands of churches launch and operate successfully in mobile settings. Jeff serves as the Multiplication Specialist and Director of Marketing. Is your church running out of capacity, but looking for […]

This week Josh Baldwin and Youth Pastor Zachary Dyck apply an episode from The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast directly to Switch. Are you a Gen. 1, Gen. 2, or Gen. 3 Switch leader? How does your generation influence your leadership? 

Today, we are talking all about the best tips and tricks for how you can set up portable church successfully.  Even if you aren't having to rent out weekly space to do your youth ministry in a mobile church, some of these tips will be helpful in how you can step up your tech and decor for your current youth room.  For over a decade, our church was renting out a local high school to host our 2 Sunday morning services and our midweek programs were hosted at a completely different building.  Every Sunday, we would have to set everything up and tear everything down and every Tuesday/Wednesday was the same thing.  It was exhausting.  Eventually, we moved into a permanent building, but we will never forget our time of having to do portable church: the lessons learned, the successes, the failures and the appreciation for what we now have.  SHOPPING LIST:TECH:6' Folding Table (You can also check Home Depot, or Walmart for these): https://amzn.to/3ASCBa3PA SystemFender: https://amzn.to/3zWnN93Samson: https://amzn.to/3uqttXVPeavey: https://amzn.to/3m81iJyJBL: https://amzn.to/2Wn5xI6Portable Mini Soundboard: https://amzn.to/39OhiunMini Projector: https://amzn.to/3F5VVTwProjection Screen: https://amzn.to/3F2MPqRStage Lights: https://amzn.to/3EZ03oFFlat Screen TV (sometimes you can get a great price on these during holiday sales, Costco is an option for their returns) : https://amzn.to/3ifoQuUSTAGE:Music Stand: https://amzn.to/3kPD7QAFiddle Leaf Fig: https://amzn.to/3idKwHJBulb Lamp: https://amzn.to/3zWlZgaPipe & Drape: https://amzn.to/3kP0HgmArea Rug (approx. 5'x8') - fit your decorSTORAGE:Storage Bins (quantity depends on how much you need to store): https://amzn.to/2Wm5n3IGAMES:Klask: https://amzn.to/3uvMd8oPing Pong (table not included): https://amzn.to/3B0rbkMAir Hockey: https://amzn.to/3ojQACcFoosball:  https://amzn.to/2ZCuJvvPopular Video Game Consoles:Nintendo Switch: https://amzn.to/3upc8ORPS4 (PS5 preferred if you can afford it): https://amzn.to/3ukxiOcNintendo Wii: https://amzn.to/3kS72rtXBox: https://amzn.to/3umHc1L*DISCLAIMER* These items were listed because of their size/portability/price/brand reputation/reviews.  Before investing into anything, always do your research to see what would work best for YOUR specific situation.  These are meant to be a great starting point, but might not fit every youth group or budget. **This episode is not sponsored. Some of the links are affiliate links which simply means, if you buy something, we will receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) Thank you!**

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Eugene Cho who is the founder and former Senior Pastor of Quest Church. He is now the President-Elect of Bread for the World. He is also an author of several books including his latest Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk. During their conversation, they discuss the marathon of leadership, the pitfalls of building a platform for the wrong reasons, and Eugene’s journey as an entrepreneur. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 37: “One of the ways that you realize you are a leader isn’t just that you are leading, but that you have others following you as well.” “Leadership is not for the faint of heart.” “I believe leadership is not about perfection. It is about maturity, and one of the best ways I can define maturity is awareness.” “Are we more in love with the idea of changing the world than actually changing the world? ” “When we are talking about changing the world, it is not one, single viral moment. It is about living a trajectory of faithful obedience.” “Personal growth is always greater than platform growth.” “If you are not working on character when no one is looking, when you build an audience and people look at you, they will see no depth and substance.” “We need to be healthy spiritual beings in order to be healthy spiritual leaders.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero Overrated by Eugene Cho Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk by Eugene Cho A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson Christ Plays in 10,000 Places by Eugene Peterson Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Clayton King, is a speaker, author, pastor at NewSpring Church, and founder of Crossroads Ministries. They discuss fulfilling God's call on your life and pursuing friendships. BEST QUOTES "If I'm not communicating on a stage and on a page, then I am not actually fulfilling God's call on my life.""I am going to have to answer to God for what I did with the gifts that He put in me.""This covid season has given us a great opportunity to come together as a team.""I am trying to take inventory of everything in my life that I have been doing and was doing up to the point of the pandemic.""What was I doing that I could not do and not miss that would free up space and capacity in my life to do things that I absolutely cannot live without?""I want to have kids and grandkids that love Jesus, in part, because they saw me love Jesus and they saw me allow Jesus to love me.""In order for me to have a friend, I have to be a friend.""For guys, we have to schedule our lives in ways that we can have close friendships.""Getting up early in the morning has been the secret to my relationship with Jesus, my wife, my kids, and the ability to get things done in ministry that need to be accomplished.""My number one leadership commitment in my home is that we will make these decisions together as a team.""Ultimately we were created for Jesus and ministry is a small blip on the screen of eternity.""If you are too big for the small things, then you are too small for the big things." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Crossroads Summer Camp Clayton King Ministries Reborn by Clayton King Paul: A Biography by N.T. Wright This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Daniel Im, former 5LQ cohost and senior associate pastor at Beulah Alliance Church, and Kevin Peck, lead pastor at Austin Stone. They discuss the following questions: What is your best ministry story so far?What has realigning your staff looked like?What are the best practices that have come out of this situation?What tools and frameworks are you using?How important is it for church leaders to stay emotionally healthy? How are you doing that? BEST QUOTES "We have three times as many people in Alpha as we would normally have at this time of year.""Generosity has not stopped and our people, candidly, are leading us as much as we are leading them.""We want people to help in a new digital world that's not digital by preference, but by necessity.""In order to preserve management structures, we took whole teams and assigned them to one of those tasks.""We've seen a lot of energy coming out of people being assigned to do new work for a while.""We started off with the rallying cry of these two phrases: How are we going to be the church? And how are we going to look to Jesus?""Ask one of the accountants in your church to help do some scenario planning.""Go after the things that you know you can do and that you know people need right now.""Are we pushing people toward being more faithful or toward being more consumeristic?""Based on what we saw in the first month, what kind of goals can we have 90 days out?""If I have no reason to go to the church building, there is not reason not to treat my home as one." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Alpha Ministry Grid Slack Asana This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Ben Mandrell are joined by John Eldredge, author of Wild at Heart and Get Your Life Back. They discuss soul care and how technology causes distractions. BEST QUOTES "My attention has been fragmented by the way I work, the way I move, the way I consume media. I want my attention back.""Transformation, human restoration, takes place when you are able to give God your attention.""If we put some boundaries around technology we get to be people again.""The modern pastor has the most ruthless job on the planet.""The human soul is nourished by creation.""Every leadership meeting has some component of waiting for God to lead.""You have to unplug from your world to move into other things.""We are in love with distraction because distraction keeps you from having to look at anything inside.""If you don't take care of your soul, you will dry out. And then you will look for relief." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Wild at Heart by John Eldredge Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge The Shallows by Nicholas Carr Experiencing God by Henry & Richard Blackaby, Claude King Jesus Calling by Sarah Young One Minute Pause App This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Léonce Crump Jr., pastor of Renovation Church in Atlanta and author of Renovate. They discuss why and when pastor's need to be vulnerable and the fear of failure. BEST QUOTES "Last year was the hardest year, ministerially, of my life.""Your Enneagram is the person you felt you had to become to navigate your world as you were developing.""Last year's conflict forced me into a place of exposure and vulnerability that made me a better leader.""A part of the reason pastor's want to look like they have it all together is because that is the pressure and the expectation.""Ensure that you put yourself in a position in which you can be vulnerable, in which you can be your whole self uncensored.""The people you lead need to know some things so that they know you are both sheep and shepherd.""There are four relationships every ministry leader needs: friend, coach, counselor, pastor.""If we are seeing this as a disruption to be waited out until we can return back to whatever we thought normal was, we are missing it.""I want to fundamentally shift and be a part of fundamentally shifting the way that the church approaches the public square.""There's a lot of risk involved in leadership, and a lot of immobility for fear of failure, but you are going to fail. That does not determine or define the scope, breadth, or depth of your leadership." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus 5LQ Episode 203: Léonce Crump 5LQ Episode 73: Léonce Crump Renovate by Léonce Crump, Jr. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster Abide App This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Derwin Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church and author of The Good Life. They discuss leadership as modeling and what true happiness is. BEST QUOTES "Leadership is influencing people to become what you are asking them 'to do.'""You can be a leader without being a disciple, but every disciple has an opportunity to be a leader because you are influencing people to become something.""You can work hard at doing the wrong thing.""The goal of working hard is not accomplishment. Working hard is the goal. That's the reward.""When we lose our life in Christ, that's when we find our lives.""No matter what's happening keep your mind, keep your vision, and adapt.""We want people to know that the church is not the building. The church is the people.""If we dismiss grief, we forfeit growth.""We have looked for happiness in the things that God has created for us to use, and we've actually missed the person who can bring us happiness.""Happiness is not about good things always happening to you, it's about God actually making you good.""Jesus is the only carpenter who can renovate and fix the brokenness in our lives.""As leaders it's important that the rhythm of our home matches what we're saying." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus The Good Life by Derwin Gray TheGoodLifeBook.net CSB Tony Evans Study Bible Paul by N.T. Wright The New Testament in Its World by N.T. Wright The Day The Revolution Began by N.T. Wright This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Derwin Gray who is a former NFL football player and the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church in South Carolina. He is also an author of many books, including his latest The Good Life. During their conversation, they discuss how to learn from failure, how to focus on discipleship more than leadership, and how to find true happiness in Christ. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 37: “Typically where leaders fail is that we delegate tasks instead of delegating responsibility.” “The best teacher is failure.” “I thought pastoring was just getting up and preaching, but it is not. That is about 5% of what I do.” “If you don’t deal with conflict on the front end and it gets toxic, on the back end it’ll be even more expensive and many more people will be hurt.” “Leaders must step into conflict to bring about resolution, to bring about restoration, and to bring about reconciliation.” “The greater we understand the cross and Jesus making peace, the greater that we can be peacemakers.” “In the New Testament, the word leadership is used 3 times and the word disciple is used 269 times. Why don’t we talk about discipleship more?” “Leadership and discipleship are two sides of the same coin. However, you can be a leader without a disciple, but every disciple is called to be a leader.” “Oftentimes we are ambitious for power and status instead of being ambitious for Jesus.” “Happiness is not about what you are getting. Happiness about who you are becoming.”“Wouldn’t it be sad to live a life of effective ministry and be broken hearted at the end of it.” RESOURCES MENTIONED The Good Life by Derwin Gray The Evangelism Linebacker Designed to Lead by Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr. Conformed to His Image by Ken Boa Paul by N.T. Wright For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Rasool Berry, teaching pastor and host of "In Pursuit of Jesus." They discuss the mission of the church during the pandemic and why reflecting on the past is useful. BEST QUOTES "What I learned was that Jesus is more glorious and more worthy of worship after I went through this journey than I even had an appreciation of before.""I thought how amazing would it be for us as a church for people to not be able to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 without talking about the church's response.""For every hand that you can't shake, that should be a phone call or text that you make.""When we are able to gather and relax these social distancing policies we are always going to make available online our resources.""More than ever, being aware of what's happening in our city, in our nation, around the globe, is just part of what has to happen.""We have most of the New Testament because someone was writing correspondence to someone they could not physically be with.""That tension of intentional time and also intentional distance has been an important balancing act at home.""Reflection, in general, is such an important and under-utilized discipline right now because we live in an information age, but information is not the same as wisdom.""I see sanctification as us allowing God to help us fully realize who He has made us to be, not just simply trying to become more like somebody else." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus In Pursuit of Jesus The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch Essentialism by Greg McKeown This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Ken Costa, a London-based banker, author, and speaker. They discuss the following questions: How does this coronavirus crisis compare to others in the past?How should leaders be using this time to grow personally as a leader and in their relationship with ChristWhat advice would you share with pastors to be prepared financially for what is next?What does good leadership look like in crisis?How would you advise leaders to improve in their flexibility and decision making? BEST QUOTES "There is nothing ordinary about where we are at the moment.""There is an opportunity for the moment for people to stop and reflect.""This whole nature of what is ordinary has never been able to be examined in the stripped down way in which we've been forced to examine it now.""Wherever God finds you and me, He calls us to that place.""This is the moment to be self-investing.""Don't forget that your credit card is theology in numbers.""The most difficult thing for anyone at the moment is that the horizons are being expanded in fear constantly.""We've never been in a place like this, but I honestly think it is God's way of saying I want to draw you back to being an integrated person.""The crisis leader has to be flexible to change as the circumstances change." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Joseph of Arimathea by Ken Costa 5LQ Episode 108: Ken Costa Know Your Why by Ken Costa God At Work by Ken Costa 90 Second Leadership - Leadership When the World is V.U.C.A. 90 Second Leadership - Leading Through Uncertainty This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy is joined by Steve Green who is the President of Hobby Lobby, founder of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, and author of many books including his latest This Beautiful Book which just recently released. During their conversation, they discuss how to build a strong organization, how to lead relationally, and how to see your business as a ministry. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 36: “You lose teaching opportunities when you just do the job yourself.” “No one learns more than the teacher.” “My job is making sure I have good people and that I’m building a strong organization.” “As a leader, you don’t always have to be the expert in the room.” “My nature is more of the doer and I can miss out on relational moments.” “It really became clear to me that not only was I doing ministry at church but the business was a direct ministry.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Museum of the Bible This Beautiful Book by Steve Green Good to Great by Jim Collins Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Joel Manby, author of Love Works. They discuss the danger in not being completely honest about our mistakes and leading through crisis. BEST QUOTES "None of us should put our self-worth in whether we keep our job as the lead pastor or not.""We have to lead in the short term and think in the short term, but at the same time we have to lead and vision to the future. That's one of the most exhausting things as a top leader.""When I've made the huge mistakes in my life, I haven't been completely truthful.""It never gets better, it only gets worse, if we don't own up to every mistake we make.""The pastor's leading is not more important than what is going on with their children or their home.""This is such a stressful time that we have to take care of ourselves first - eat, sleep, exercise. If we don't do that it causes unhealthy living.""A lack of trustworthiness can cause a meltdown personally because you've taken on too much.""I don't know why we fail to talk about our mistakes when you look at who God used in the Bible." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Love Works by Joel Manby Love Works by Joel Manby Facebook JoelManby.com This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by JT English, pastor and cohost of the Knowing Faith podcast. They discuss how adopting structure in ministry can be beneficial and why deference is an important leadership skill. BEST QUOTES "When you get into ministry or leadership, a lot of what you end up doing relates to your story.""This philosophy of ministry is more scalable than any other philosophy of ministry.""If you adopt a structure and predicable approach to ministry, people will buy in.""I think God does organic things out of structured ministry.""As leaders we are not just called to pick up our preferences and run with them until everybody else submits to them. We are also called to lay our preferences down and learn what deference looks like to others.""In order to lead in a healthy organization, deferring is a leadership instinct that has been lost.""That kind of leadership shows us that the privilege of leading is greater than the pain of leading.""Good leaders know what their weaknesses are and they know the strength of the team around them and they learn how to create systems and operations that allow everybody to operate in their strengths so that everybody thrives.""Leadership is going to hurt, but it's worth it." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Knowing Faith Podcast The Village Church Institute Deep Discipleship by JT English This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Ken Costa who is a London-based, internationally renowned banker, author and speaker. He has been the chairman of some of the world’s largest investment banks, advisor to some of the most powerful people in the world, and is a committed Christian who believes Jesus is the hope of the world. During their conversation, they discuss how to view your work, how to understand your calling, and slow down and listen to God. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 35: “I came to realize God was really interested in what I did throughout the week, not just what I did on Sundays.” “You can’t govern the timing of God.” “If you are trying to reach the top and don’t feel called by God to do it, you are going to burn out.” “The great heritage of Christians is that we know our why.” “With COVID-19, it is as if God has said to the world, stop. Reboot, rewire, and rethink.” “You can’t just Google your why and your calling. It is a profound psychological process. We have to cut through the noise.” “The door that God opens, no one can close. And the doors that God closes, no one can open.” “For this generation, we live in a spectrum between broadband and burnout. And at the moment, we were on the verge of people veering toward burnout.” RESOURCES MENTIONED God at Work by Ken Costa Know Your Why by Ken Costa Start with Why by Simon Sinek Atomic Habits by James Clear For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Karen Swallow Prior, professor of English and author of On Reading Well. They discuss how and why we should work on developing our reading skills and being comfortable with other viewpoints to better support our own viewpoints. BEST QUOTES "I think you should take notes, mark in the book, or do something to engage with it and read reflectively. Good writing is not the kind of writing you can skim." "Reading one book well is far better than reading ten to check off your list.""We all have skill levels, whether its reading or listening, and we should be trying to develop those and not get frustrated with ourselves because we aren't where we think we should be.""I really want to understand their point of view so that I can understand and support my own point of view.""We are always thinking in community and hopefully we are part of different thinking communities.""When I see leadership potential or any other type of gifting in my students or colleagues, I want to name that in them and encourage them to pursue it.""All this is about nuancing our ability to see and apply the truth and also to pursue it apart from our comfort zone." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus 5LQ Episode 351: On Reading Well With Karen Swallow Prior On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler Sense and Sensibility: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting by Karen Swallow Prior Heart of Darkness: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting by Karen Swallow Prior This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Nils Smith, from Dunham+Company, and Jason Powell, online pastor for Harvest. They discuss the following questions: What did Easter service look like in your context?How are you following up with people after Easter services?What will church look like post COVID-19 season?Tools for doing online church better BEST QUOTES "I think American is hungry for the gospel. I think this is the perfect time right now to advance the kingdom of God using technology like never before.""If someone in this opportunity clicks a banner and fills out their information, we immediately mail them a Bible.""We call every single person that has made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ for the first three weeks and we will talk to them on the phone and give them encouragement.""Those that are really leaning into this technology and having zoom gatherings are having the depth of community and connection the most effectively.""We've got to be realistic and understanding that there will be an anxiety with physical gatherings.""This isn't new for the church. The church was born out of hardship.""Do you have a phone? Does it have a camera? That is enough. Utilize Facebook." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Church Online Platform Zoom Ministry Grid This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Daniel Im who is the Senior Associate Pastor at Beulah Alliance Church, speaker, and author of a few books including his latest You Are What You Do. During their conversation, they discuss navigating transitions, discerning God’s call on your life, and staying focused on the little things. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 34: “We just wanted to get plugged in and be the type of volunteer I would have looked for while on staff at a church.” “When God is moving you, it is like he is a good gardener.” “I loved the number 2 role and the systems side of things.” “We need to be faithful and follow God’s ways by cultivating spiritual practices and being in community.” “Spiritual growth is a lot like sleeping. You can’t cause yourself to sleep, but you can create the conditions in which it will come.” - Richard Foster “Don’t assume every opportunity is from God. It could be a distraction.” “Instead of trying to do great things for God. Let’s just do things for a great God.” “Be faithful with the little things and the big things will come.” RESOURCES MENTIONED You Are What You Do by Daniel Im The Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene Peterson Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton Soul Keeping by John Ortberg For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Jimmy Dykes, sportscaster and author of The Film Doesn't Lie. They discuss how leadership in the sports world applies to all other kinds of leadership and how our words and actions truly reflect God's impact in our lives. BEST QUOTES "From a sports analogy - with coaches and players the real change, the real truth, the real evaluation process begins when they watch a film. I take that same scenario that's used in the sports world and I take us on a spiritual journey throughout the book.""Our walk with God goes to a whole other level when our obedience goes to another level.""I am so blessed to be a part of the ESPN family and that puts me in front of a lot of different people. A lot of coaches are mentors in my life.""If you are a head coach, you have immediate impact - hour to hour - with everyone on your staff, the student athletes you coach, and the actions you lead with speak volumes.""I have a huge platform because of those 4 letters - ESPN - they open a lot of doors for me and because of that I know God has given me a chance to be consistent in who I say He is.""Praying with my wife and daughter is a non-negotiable in my life.""My own quiet time alone with God is crucial right now and letting God speak to my heart about what He wants me to have growth in.""If you are a leader right now in any form, the higher you get the less likely people are to be brutally honest with you at times and the best leaders make sure they have those people around them.""Real lasting change occurs when it comes from the power of God's written Word in our life and letting Him change our heart." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus The Film Doesn't Life by Jimmy Dykes CoachJimmyDykes.com This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Gene Getz, author of 60 books including The Measure of a Man and the Life Essentials Study Bible. They discuss the life-long journey of learning about the pastorate and the importance of encouraging those who we have learned from. BEST QUOTES "People are sheep and they need to be lead, and they will be lead if you have strong leadership.""You've got to keep learning all the time. If you stop learning, you are going to stop growing.""When I started pastoring, being a writer, I determined that if I was going to do a series I would write my sermon as if you were reading it.""Our main point of emphasis right now is how can we stay on top of all of the tasks we have and keep things moving in spite of this shutdown because of the virus.""If communication breaks down, hit it immediately and open the door of communication. That is what keeps us efficient.""Every one of us is built on the shoulders of someone else.""As I look back over my life, every door that has opened for me was opened by someone else and I was able to walk through it with their encouragement." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Elders and Leaders by Gene Getz The Measure of a Man by Gene Getz The Measure of a Healthy Church by Gene Getz Life Essentials Study Bible Sharpening the Focus of the Church by Gene Getz This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Levi Lusko, lead pastor of Fresh Life Church. They discuss how being knowledgeable in areas outside your specialty can benefit your leadership and the unique challenges facing the church during this time. BEST QUOTES "We are only going to be effective in ministry long-term if we can manage ourselves, manage our emotions, and productively minister to people in a way that is life giving.""People that have a wider range than just one discipline will be more likely to explore more options than jump to what they specialize in.""The murky water is how to we execute a clear vision in a dark world?""We have Zoom, we have our Bibles, we have our phones. Let's go.""I have tried to build our home to be a place of Selah for our family.""We are trying to make sure our kids know that their problems and flaws are not ever a problem to me because i am a pastor.""I think the brokenness in the church and so many families and pastors burning out is because of the perceived need to present some sort of lacquered version of what life looks like.""I was so busy wanting to drive the devil out of Montana that I took for granted the call on my life to be intentional about helping other people succeed." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Episode 190: Levi Lusko Through the Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko Take Back Your Life by Levi Lusko I Declare War by Levi Lusko The Great Bridge by David McCullough The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough Masters of Scale Podcast A Beautiful Constraint by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden The Fight to Flourish by Jennie Lusko This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Dr. Lina Abujamra, founder of Living With Power Ministries and pediatric ER doctor. They discuss the following questions: What does it look like on the frontlines right now?What do we need to know about COVID-19?What advice would you share about ministering during this time?How long do you think this current COVID season will last? And will there be a second round? BEST QUOTES "The very thing that God had directed me to became the hub of ministry and medicine combining like no other time before.""As New York has grown in its crisis, one of the things that has happened in the rest of the United States is that there has been time to prep.""The easiest way for me to talk about plain, old COVID is the trifecta - fever, shortness of breath, and cough - and sort of a flu-like look.""The fear factor is exponentially increased because of so much mis-information out there and that's dangerous.""Something happens in crisis that makes ministry to people so much easier.""People simply want to be seen, heard, and ministered to.""Look at people as individuals who need Jesus desperately now and be a pastor.""Move into the pastoring role of finding those people and setting up systems of dividing up people so they can be seen one-on-one.""I feel like God has given the church this gift of stripping away those things that were background noise that we have made important in our culture that have distracted us from the main thing which is first vertical: love of God, and second horizontal: love for one another.""This week I felt some deep optimism both about the disease itself and about the future of the church. I believe God is going to bring revival in this season." "No matter where we meet, we know who the church is and we will still be connected in some way." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Living With Power This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Jenaye White are joined by Ian Morgan Cron, author of The Road Back to You. They discuss how the Enneagram helps you become more self-aware and how knowing more about your people makes you a better leader. BEST QUOTES "As I think about the Enneagram and the crisis we are in, it opens up all kinds of opportunities to become the best expressions of ourselves that we can become, to exercise the muscles of compassion and patience and self care.""The Enneagram is a personality typing system that teaches there are nine basic or core personality styles - one of which people gravitate toward and adopt in childhood.""The human ego would like us to believe we know ourselves better than we do and that we are more in control of our lives than we actually are.""The Enneagram helps us see what we are like at our best and at our worst - when we are under a lot of strain and when we are in a good space.""The Enneagram is very simple to learn, it's very hard to master. But you don't need to master it to benefit from it in ways that are incredibly helpful.""The Enneagram can move you along a continuum of self knowledge in a way that is like evolutionary steps forward.""One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to believe that your way of seeing the world is normal." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus IanMorganCron.com @ianmorgancron on Instagram The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron The iEQ9 test Insight by Tasha Eurich A Beautiful Constraint by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by John Eldredge who is a counselor, a teacher, and an author of  Wild at Heart and his latest book called Get Your Life Back.  During their conversation, they discuss how to handle stress and anxiety, the importance of trust in leadership, and the importance of pausing and slowing down. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 33: “We can want to change the world. But we should enjoy our life while trying to change the world.” “Do real things.” “I don’t check my phone first thing in the morning anymore.” “The average person spends 93% of life indoors.” “We are all faking it to some degree to another.” “We are all broken. What matters is what we do with our brokenness.” “My mistake as a young leader was too much, too fast.” “God is going to do some things in your 20’s that don’t look related to your career or success. But it is shaping your character. And you’re going to want that in your 50.” “God humbles us to exalt us.” “One of the greatest costs of leadership is loneliness. Invite others into it and share the leadership.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge Wild at Heart by John Eldredge Captivated by Stasi and John Eldredge Victory Over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard River of Doubt by Candace Millard Deep Work by Cal Newport  The Shallows by Nicholas Carr The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis The One Minute Pause App For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

Livestreaming Best Practices With church going online, Kevin reminded us that “churches are all equalized now; they're just a click away.” Your church now has the same tools to bring content to your people as every other church out there.  Even so, with the church entering the digital realm like never before, there is a […]

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Justin Murff, director of The MENA Collective. They discuss responding to current COVID-19 circumstances as churches move to digital platforms and focusing on family during challenging ministry times. BEST QUOTES "Are we the kind of church that is making a difference in the life of our community and our city, or are we just occupying space and having a good social gathering on a Sunday morning?""Use the tools that you have at your disposal. Facebook Live is a great tool. Zoom is a great tool.""Your congregation needs to see you. They need to hear you. They don't just need to get an email.""We are facing, for the first time in our country's history, we most likely will not be able to gather as a church to celebrate Easter. That is profound.""When we think about digital church it is going to expand some of our boundaries, particularly when we talk about our ordinances or sacraments." "Use what you have, think through it, and use your tradition to best of your ability. We may see God do something completely new.""Take you Sunday School classes into Facebook Groups. Use those opportunities and those technologies that are there.""This is a great opportunity to onboard and recruit that army of digital natives that are in your church that have been there honestly thinking, 'Do I even belong here? Where is my place to serve?'" RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus The MENA Collective The African Memory of Mark by Thomas C. Oden Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Reneee Mauborgne This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Tim Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and author of The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, and the How to Find God Series. They discuss how lessons learned while serving in New York City after 9/11 can be helpful in response to the current COVID-19 situation. BEST QUOTES "Right now, a lot of our cultural idols are being smashed.""How do we minimize the damage of this situation to our ministries and also how do we capitalize on the situation to minister?""This is not like the 2008 recession. This is not like 9/11 in New York City. These are all somewhat unique, but they are all cataclysmic.""After 9/11, we knew that 14,000 small business went away overnight and all the people that worked their lost their livelihood. We put out word that if you could prove you worked there we could help.""It's going to take time, but be looking for ways to step in and if you are praying for it, the Lord will show them to you." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus The Reason for God by Tim Keller The Prodigal God by Tim Keller Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller On Birth: How to Find God #1 by Timothy Keller On Marriage: How to Find God #2 by Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller On Death: How to Find God #3 by Timothy Keller TimothyKeller.com GospelInLife.com Living by Faith in Troubled Times The Triumph of the Therapeutic by Philip Rieff Sources of the Self by Charles Taylor A Secular Age by Charles Taylor Habits of the Heart by Robert Bellah After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre Whose Justice? Which Rationality? by Alasdair MacIntyre How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler Marxism and Morality by Steven Lukes The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller Jesus, Justice, and Gender Roles by Kathy Keller Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Todd McMichen, director of Generosity by LifeWay. They discuss the following questions: What do I say on Sunday?How can you communicate this throughout the week?How can pastors lead their people to live a generous life during this time?What do I do if giving starts to tank?How do we help people have a good experience giving online?During this season, how should churches handle benevolence? BEST QUOTES "We have to settle into this new world and help people see the mission of the church.""Lead with a generosity story of how someone in your church is living generously right now.""If you can give a positive word about your finances, that would be good to do.""Because life is so challenging right now and there are so many distractions, giving to the church is the last thing on their mind.""On Sunday when you refer to the offering you only need to refer to one way to give digitally to keep it simple.""There are lots of ways to take up an offering during the week.""The offering is more important to a human being's faith than it is to a church's budget.""The church is going to have lower resources and it is going to have an increased benevolence need.""The biggest ministry in this season may be a church down the street that you need to lock arms with.""A simple online form that eliminates every conflict you can is what you need to start with for digital giving." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network LifeWay Generosity LifeWayGenerosity.com/CoronaVirus LifeWay.com/CoronaVirus Church Giving Group on Facebook This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Brad Lomenick, past Catalyst leader and author of H3 Leadership and The Catalyst Leader. They discuss the following questions: Who or what has been the greatest leadership influence in your life?What is your favorite leadership failure story?What book would you gift yourself as a young leader?If you could teach a course on any topic, what would it be?What advice would you give a student about the real world of leadership and ministry? What common things should they ignore? BEST QUOTES "Networking is all about you, connecting is all about others.""As a connector, my job is to put people together and let the power of the connection be built between them.""The person of Jesus and the people of the Scriptures I think are true connectors.""If you are a leader, a parent, or train horses, there are so many similarities.""You need to be aware of your passions, but you have to combine strengths and passions with an undergirding of the Holy Spirit.""This whole premise that we can do anything in life is true, but is it biblical or smart?""The reason I ended up doing the things I've done is because of the people I was around.""Figure out whatever your area of deficiency is and lean into that." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network Unseen Leadership Podcast H3 Leadership by Brad Lomenick The Catalyst Leader by Brad Lomenick Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp Good to Great by Jim Collins This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Daniel Im, former cohost of 5LQ, Senior Associate Pastor at Beulah Alliance Church, and author of You Are What You Do. They discuss the following questions: How do you deal with past regrets?Is the process of journaling regrets supposed to be individual, or with someone? And if it is with someone, who?How can this lie disable or destroy your future?How does this lie fit into the gig economy?What's your advice for leaders who still have things from their past they need to deal with? BEST QUOTES "The past is not just about the things that you have done, the past is also about what others have done to you.""Reflecting on both what you have done and what others have done to you will help you assess the extent to which your past affects your present.""There's a lot of junk and pain that we experience because we work with broken people.""Is what I am doing right now a reaction to something in the past or am I living the way I am living out of freedom and intentionality?""If we don't deal with our past, it can disable or destroy our future.""The grip of these lies is only going to grow stronger as long as we keep them buried underneath the surface.""What are ways that you can come to terms about the lie you are dealing with?""Bring your issues to the surface between you and Him and let Jesus tell you what the next steps are." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network You Are What You Do by Daniel Im How to Ruin Your Life by Eric Geiger 7 Lies The World Tells Us, 7 Biblical Truths That God Tells Us - YouVersion Bible Reading Plan This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Jenaye White are joined by Ellie Holcomb who is a Dove award-winning singer/songwriter and author of two children’s books titled Who Sang the First Song, and her brand new kids book Don't Forget to Remember, available now. During their conversation, they discuss how to lead with authenticity, how the creative process works, and how God’s plans are better than our own. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 32: “Music is a bridge builder. There is something about music that connects our story to someone else’s story, even if it is very different.” “I’ve had to learn to be who I am and to own my own story and to own my own pain.” “God didn’t come to make bad people good people. He came to make dead people alive people.” “Don’t let fear dictate your decision making and pay attention to what makes your heart beat fast and come alive.” “When I feel like I’m leading well, it is usually from a place of vulnerability and owning what I’m not good at.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Don't Forget to Remember by Ellie Holcomb Who Sang the First Song by Ellie Holcomb The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown Rising Strong by Brené Brown For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Joshua Gagnon, the founding and lead pastor of Next Level Church. They discuss starting a church in a difficult situation and navigating being an organization that is stable and agile. BEST QUOTES "We are excited that that started where nobody would have thought a movement of God could start.""Looking back, God prepared me to lead Next Level Church, but it wasn't in a church environment.""We have to have people walking alongside of us as sidekicks that are sweating with us in our pursuit of what we hope to become.""Heroes are simply people who are living the life now that we hope to someday live.""Let's keep the grit, passion, and great expectation for God to do great things, but in the end let's go ahead and surrender our expectations.""One of the dangers of the church world is the lack of grit and resolve. When we face resistance we often want to back down from it.""A vision statement is pointless outside of a culture that can carry it.""I believe high-impact moments over a long stretch are way more valuable than low-impact moments over a long stretch.""I was so guilty of hoping for fast results, but I've learned that fast results are not always sustainable or achievable." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network Next Level Church It's Not Over by Joshua Gagnon This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Daniel Im, former cohost of 5LQ, Senior Associate Pastor at Beulah Alliance Church, and author of You Are What You Do. They discuss the following questions: What do you mean by the saying that experiences are better than things?What's the shadow side of the lie that you are what you experience?Do you address anything about how experience economy has shifted us from ownership-minded to access-minded?How are we seeing the idea of experience come into the church? BEST QUOTES "Experiences create more memories and for us, as a culture, we are spending more money on experiences than things.""Experience is everywhere you look, even in the way our culture is trying to sell products." "If you take a photo of a thing, you are never going to get as many likes as if you take a picture of yourself in an experience." "Influencer marketing is being driven by narcissism.""Envy and jealousy stirs up in our heart when we see an experience, not just when we see a thing.""The problem with believing you are what you experience is that the odds are stacked against us because it is impossible not to compare.""In the church, you don't want to fuel comparison and envy the way that marketers do.""You want connection, community, and interactions to happen within the church." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network You Are What You Do by Daniel Im The Experience Economy by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore 5LQ Episode 344: The Power of Moments Book Breakdown New Churches Q&A Podcast This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Joshua Gagnon who is the founding and Lead Pastor of Next Level Church, which is one of the fastest growing churches in America and the author of his new book It’s Not Over. During their conversation, they discuss how to leading by asking good questions, building culture, and pursuing your dreams in a Godly way. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 31: “No one wants to listen to a young leader full of pride or thinks they know it all. They want to listen to a young leader who is submitted and full of honor.” “Older leaders don’t mind young leaders who ask good questions that lead to better results.” “I wanted to start a church where my friends would want to go.” “I had to learn to lead like a father rather than a brother.” “Emotions in the moment compromise the integrity you want to walk with.” “We have to be prepared to lead the moment, and often times we have not prepared our hearts to lead the moments we are stepping into.” “Leadership breaks down when we are not prepared to lead in a specific moment.” “If I’m moving the ball forward in an organization but not developing leaders for forward movement, that is going to create a lot of tension and roadblocks.” “Wait until the morning to handle conflict and make big decisions.” “Culture is what matters. Everyone talks about vision. But everybody has a vision. Tell me about the culture that supports the vision, and I’ll tell you if your vision is going to amount to anything.” “We often expect way too much out of the immediate and not enough over the ultimate.” “God will be fruitful. Our job is to be faithful at taking each piece in each season so that someday we’ll see our dream fulfilled.” “The fake me might get me further for the short term, but the real me will take me further over the course of a lifetime. I want to be real and allow people to get scary close.” RESOURCES MENTIONED It’s Not Over by Joshua Gagnon Red Zone, Blue Zone by James Osterhaus, Joseph Jurkowski, and Todd Hahn Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards Scary Close by Donald Miller For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by D.A. Horton, Pastor of Reach Fellowship in Long Beach, California. They discuss being engaged in a deep accountability relationship and transparency in difficult situations in your life. BEST QUOTES "Learning church history will help believers understand how the church contextualized the nuances of the great commission where they lived in the time that they lived in.""It's the idols of comfort, personal peace, and self-preference that we have to combat, confess, and then destroy in order to be freed up.""It's through that fire that we have melded together meaningful relationships that you cannot communicate in a prospectus.""Scars are a representation that healing is possible through Jesus Christ and His local church.""It's in community that the Scriptures come to life.""If we have truly trusted Christ to save our soul, then He will also provide for the physical needs we have.""Praying to the Lord privately is a key discipline that has flourished my walk with the Lord.""If I'm not leading my wife well in humility, brokenness, and honesty and decision making, it's all for naught.""Arguably the best advice I ever received was there are are three areas in your life you need to passionately pursue: purity in your doctrine, purity in your sexuality, and purity in your finances." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network A Gospel for the Poor by David C. Kirkpatrick Global Gospel by Douglas Jacobson Evangelism in the Early Church by Michael Green This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Daniel Im, former cohost of 5LQ, Senior Associate Pastor at Beulah Alliance Church, and author of You Are What You Do. They discuss the following questions: What is the greatest lie that leaders believe?How is this lie affecting the church?How has this continued to shift in culture? We have both experienced the tragedy of a fall. How does that happen?How do you come back from this? BEST QUOTES "'You Are What You Do' is the greatest lie that leaders believe.""Every single one of these lies is likely more appealing to one of the Enneagram numbers than not.""Doing has become a badge of honor. It has become a status symbol and the way to define ourselves.""Books have become the new business card.""Is your identity on the things that you do, have done, and are going to do? Or on what Jesus has done for you? And is that enough?""Ephesians 2:8-9 is what Christ has done for us, and doing is a response in verse 10.""There are three unintended consequences when we believe this lie that we are what we do.""Platforms in and of themselves are neutral, but the problem is that desiring for and building your life on getting that platform often opens the door to a compartmentalized life.""The problem with pretending is it always leads to anxiety.""That divide between your inner and outer life continues to grow until you just can't hold it anymore and that's where we see implosions happen.""It was in the desert that God shaped David's character, deepened his prayer life, and made him into the man he was." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network You Are What You Do by Daniel Im How to Ruin Your Life by Eric Geiger This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Shannon Miles who is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Belay Solutions, a Virtual Assistant Company. During their conversation, they discuss how to take calculated risks, how to lead others with empathy, and how to lead remote teams. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 30: “When your desperation exceeds your embarrassment, you will make a change.” “I had to learn to stop applying my desires and ambitions to those I was trying to lead.” “Not everyone is like you, and not everybody can be lead the same way.” “You have to actually understand and know those you are leading.” “A leader can lose credibility simply in the language that they use.” “People will rarely remember what you say but they will remember how you make them feel.” “If we had not taken the risk, we would have had regret.” “The safest thing for us sometimes is to take risks.” “I don’t think there has ever been a better time to start a business.” “Always be looking to replace yourself.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Good to Great by Jim Collins This is Marketing by Seth Godin Purple Cow by Seth Godin Deep Work by Cal Newport Talking with Strangers by Macolm Gladwell Overcast Podcast App The Podcast App For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by John Mark Comer, author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. They discuss what he learned from writing his book and living an unhurried life. BEST QUOTES "Once you discover Truth and wisdom you are tapping into God's design and intention for the universe.""In my experience, you have to exegete the cultural narrative as much as you exegete the biblical narrative and point people to Jesus and His gospel.""Knowing the exegesis of a text is different than actually becoming the kind of person with the capacity to do what the text says.""Now I think about a sermon through a Venn diagram of three parts: biblical theology, spiritual formation, and cultural commentary.""How do we live an unhurried life and focus on sabbath and soul care without getting into introspective, introverted self-improvement for Jesus?""Hurry and burnout are coming for everybody.""Because of the digital age, there are all sorts of Type B people who are still way over busy, hurried, and stressed out.""Shifting my morning to having to read for an hour before touching my phone has had a profound effect.""I would like to tell my 20-year-old self to go discover the practice and joy and art and need of sabbath." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer This Cultural Moment Podcast Facing Leviathin by Mark Sayers JohnMarkComer.com Essentialism by Greg McKeown Deep Work by Cal Newport Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge by Dallas Willard This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins is joined by Daniel Im, former cohost of 5LQ, Senior Associate Pastor at Beulah Alliance Church, and author of You Are What You Do. They discuss the following questions: How prevalent is the gig economy and how has it grown?How is the gig economy affecting the church?How is the gig economy beneficial and what are ways people can participate?How does the gig economy change the way we hire? BEST QUOTES "The book started out from a talk I gave to leaders and pastors about how the gig economy is affecting churches.""The broadest way to define the gig economy is being self-employed in a part-time or full-time capacity and if you get paid for your time, skills, possessions, or expertise.""In 2019, 35% of the American workforce was a part of the gig economy.""If you aren't a part of the gig economy, you are funding it.""When you look at the research, about 68% of all gig workers joined the gig economy in the last 5 years,""The gig economy's number one promise is a life of control.""People have less discretionary time to give and to serve because they are using that time to work and make money instead.""The seven lies in the book fund and fuel and come together with the core lie of the gig economy - a life with ultimate freedom and flexibility." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies About Work, Life, and Love by Daniel Im ImBetween Podcast Morning and Evening with Charles Spurgeon Podcast Trends.google.com This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Andrew Peterson who is an award-winning sing-songwriter, creator of The Rabbit Room, and author of the Wingfeather Saga and his latest book Adorning the Dark. During their conversation, they discuss how to distinguish between pride and ambition, how to tell the difference between leadership and false influence, and how to lead as a creative. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 29: “There is no recipe for success. The best advice I can give to young leaders is say yes, keep working on your craft, and be available.” “Everything that I tried to make happen on my own, ended in a dead end.” “If your ambition is to leave a legacy, what you’ll leave a legacy of ambition.” - Rich Mullins “Your motives are never going to be perfectly pure, so don’t let that stop you from doing good work, but listen to the Spirit saying careful.” “You need to go to church with people who are not impressed with you.” “Knowing that you are not alone and that your struggles are familiar to other people is so helpful.” “A good thing can be a bad thing for us if that is not what God has given us to do.” “If you are honestly reading Scripture, it is almost impossible to get arrogant.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning Deep Work by Cal Newport The Lion’s Gate by Steven Pressfield For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Chandler Vannoy are joined by Barnabas Piper, former cohost of 5LQ, current director for community at Immanuel Nashville, and author of Help My Unbelief. They discuss the following questions: What is one thing you’ve read recently?What is one thing you’ve listened to recently?What is one tool or resource you’ve started using recently?Who is one person who has influenced you recently?What is one lesson you have learned recently? BEST QUOTES "Everyone thinks it's the abundance of resources that are the answer to the golden tomorrow, and really it's more about what you stop and clarify.""I have found the Community Bible Reading Journal really helpful in terms of slowing down to think through text that normally I would have read over quickly.""One thing I've noticed after moving from LifeWay into church ministry is the way I have gravitated to learning from people who are 20 to 30 years ahead of me in ministry or in faith.""The biggest shift for me is that publishing is not a people-oriented job, it's a production-oriented job; and the church is entirely people-oriented.""I wish churches understood more the number of people at LifeWay who are really dedicated to churches.""What I am learning is that our culture is saying hustle and fill up your calendar, but they are saying it's OK to take Sabbath and rest.""Grinding doesn't always lead to greater success, but having a good work ethic and being a hard worker is always a necessity.""We really connected around intentionality and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.""I'm going to try to read less books and take notes on them to slow down and process what I'm reading." RECOMMENDED RESOURCES LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network Living Life Backwards by David Gibson The Message of Ecclesiastes by Derek Kidner On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior Deep Work by Cal Newport Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin What If by Robert Cowley Educated by Tara Westover Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance A Beautiful Constraint by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden 1865 Business Wars Manhunt by James L. Swanson Brave Browser Chick-Fil-A App WhatsApp Church Community Builder The Community Bible Reading Journal Atomic Habits by James Clear Day One Journal App Strong Workout App The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazerro 5LQ With John Mark Comer - Coming Soon! Help My Unbelief Study by Barnabas Piper Help My Unbelief by Barnabas Piper This episode's sponsor: For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Kara Powell who is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. She’s also the author of Sticky Faith, Growing Young, and a brand new high school curriculum titled Faith in an Anxious World. During their conversation, they discuss affirming leadership in others, when to pursue higher education and seminary, and how to handle anxiety and depression in the church. QUOTES FROM EPISODE 28: “Little by little we travel far” - J.R.R. Tolkien “If you want to read more, always keep a book with you.” “I wish I would have talked more freely about God with young people.” “It is easy to judge my day based upon how much I cross off my to do list. Instead, I’m constantly trying to reorient my compass to say my day is based on how well I loved God and how much I loved others as my self.” “One of the biggest mistakes we can make when it comes to anxiety and depression is simply not talking about it enough.” “My concern with personality tests is that it becomes our excuse to not grow.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Faith in an Anxious World curriculum Measure What Matters by John Doerr For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

You know God's calling on your life. You're on the path and boldly stepping forward toward the vision He has provided, but internally you're struggling with feelings of anxiety, frustration, and inadequacy. Sound familiar? It's easy to compare our start with someone else's middle or end, but God has a plan in all of the seasons of leadership. In today's episode, Carter discusses with Pastor Mark Albrecht of NorthBridge Church his personal experience persevering through the two key seasons of leadership.Love the Bible Leadership Podcast? Consider becoming a Patron for as little as $3 per month!

#NewLifestyle #dancemeditation #gui #Mustafa

Portable church audio, video, and lighting can be a beast of production work each week. Load it all in, pack it all away, and hope everything in between goes smoothly. On episode 32 of the podcast, Chris Huff and Brian Gowing discuss the biggest mistakes made in each of those areas - audio, video, and lighting, and how to overcome them. They also announce the new Guide to Portable Church AVL. Resources: The New Portable Church AVL Guide (Bundled)

Thanks for coming back for this week's episode of the unSeminary podcast. I'm honored to have Jeff Beachum of Portable Church Industries with us today. PCI helps churches go portable. Portable Church started one day when a portable church was struggling in a middle school setting. Finally one of the pastors went to a volunteer, […]

[Recorded live at Exponential] One of the most critical decisions a church planter has to make in its early years is when to purchase a permanent location. Church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss their experiences moving from portable to permanent, along with the possible positives and negatives that come with the move. 0:33 - Lee talks about the transitioning aspect of moving from portable to permanent 1:16 - Danny shares about his experience of moving from portable to permanent and vice versa 2:01 - Lee talks about his experience of purchasing a property after being in a portable location for three years 3:04 - Lee shares about one of the most critical decisions a church plant has to make in its early years of ministry. When do we buy a building? 3:48 - Lee and Danny talk about the importance of establishing your church before buying a building and not putting too much emphasis on the building itself 4:59 - Danny and Lee discuss the advantages of being portable (financial, freedom to move) 6:32 - Danny and Lee talk about how moving to a permanent location won't solve all of your problems 7:34 - Danny and Lee talk about helping volunteers stay connected after you move from portable to permanent 10:28 - Lee cautions that even though moving from portable to permanent is a positive change, you're still going to lose people 11:49 - Danny shares about how God's timing was perfect in his church's move from portable to permanent 14:14 - Danny talks about the challenges of finding a location in an urban environment 15:14 - Lee talks about how you never know how God is going to open doors when the timing is right 18:43 - Lee likens the move from portable to permanent to a surfer riding a wave. The challenge is: Are you a surfer who can ride that wave? Are you ready? 19:26 - Danny says that if your church is not healthy in a portable location, moving to a permanent location will only magnify those problems 21:02 - Danny talks about the process of purchasing their first permanent building 24:02 - Lee talks about the growth spurt his church experienced after moving to a permanent location and the challenges that presented 24:28 - Lee gives six signs that you're ready to ride the wave generated from moving to a permanent facility 29:14 - Lee and Danny share about some problems/challenges (expected/unexpected) that are created by moving to a permanent building 40:07 - Danny recommends that church planters who are looking for a permanent facility contact the Converge Cornerstone Fund 41:20 - Q&A: "Could you share about some of your failures?" 47:40 - Q&A: "How you do you balance taking the plunge to get ready for taking on more but making sure you have a good enough system in place to handle incoming growth?" 51:00 - Q&A: "Is there a certain amount of money or a percentage that is healthy for a church to borrow when moving to permanent?"

2016/09/08 ~ Steve and Phil talk with Kevin Jones from Portable Church about solutions for church planters and multi-site churches.

2016/09/08 ~ Steve and Phil talk with Kevin Jones from Portable Church about solutions for church planters and multi-site churches.

2016/09/08 ~ Steve and Phil talk with Kevin Jones from Portable Church about solutions for church planters and multi-site churches.

10/9/11 Pastor Mark & Pastor Jeremy utilize our 1st preview service to talk about the 1st Portable Church in the Bible. Canton Church, in Canton, GA, features live teaching from Pastor Jeremy Isaacs and others. Our desire is that as a result of these messages, you would be challenged and changed. You can find out more about our church and the ministries that we offer by visiting www.CantonChurch.com or Facebook.com/CantonChurchGA

How fast can you set up tear down and have a your church gathering? This week we talk about being a an ultra portable church and what it takes to make this happen. From the right gear to being creative with cheap home improvement stuff, we got some ideas to make your life easier. Also we got a great motion loop freebie via, the creativemyk.