200churches Podcast: Ministry Encouragement For Pastors Of Small Churches

Pastor Dan "the Animal" Reiland, Executive Pastor of 12Stone Church in Atlanta GA joins Jeff and Jonny talking about 7 signs of a church in maintenance mode, and how to get out of it! Dan brings years of experience to this episode as he helps us to encourage pastors of small churches. Lots of fun too!

College Ministry Pro Jonathan Burgio talks about how a small church can have a ministry on the college campus in their community! Another fun episode with the guys from Elim Fellowship in New York!

What a BLAST! Jonny & Jeff talk to Lori Harris, a pastor's wife and church planting partner from Rocky Mount, NC. This episode is certain to surprise you, inspire you, and motivate you to believe that your small church can be a big deal in YOUR neighborhood!

Jeff talks with the President of Elim Fellowship, Chris Ball. They have a wide ranging discussion about the next generation of leadership, pastoral struggles, ministry health, and getting help as a pastor - This... is a good one! It's absolutely the stuff that small church pastoral ministry is made of...

Jeff and Jonny are joined in the studio by "first call" pastor, Scott Dalen aka - Dirty Scotty D! We talk about frustrations that face especially newer pastors in ministry. We also share some solutions & hope - to encourage you in your good Kingdom work! It's always fun when someone joins us live, in studio. Scotty D is a great guy!

Joe Jansen, from Elim Fellowship in Lima, NY joins us again to provide a virtual overdose of ministry encouragement for pastors of small churches! Joe shares a checklist for assessing your ministry health, and provides a ton of HOPE!

While Jonny is out, Jeff talks with Dr. John Pletcher, an old friend, about his book, Emoticon-versations: Working Through Our Deepest Places. What emotions do pastors deal with, and how to handle them? A fascinating talk...

Jonny is remote in Orange City and Jeff is in the traveling 200churches Studio in NY talking with Joe Jansen, a Champion Cheerleader of small church pastors! You will be encouraged and inspired by their conversation! Joe oversees 170+ pastors all over the U.S. who are part of the Elim Fellowship of Churches. He is a master encourager and small church pastor cheerleader! Enjoy.

Pastor Mandy Smith, from University Christian Church in Cincinnati joins the guys today to talk about her book, The Vulnerable Pastor - How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry. Ultimately, Mandy reveals that vulnerability is not something we feign or fake, but it's a true description of our reality - we are vulnerable! This very truth can and will empower our pastoral ministry.This is so good and helpful! Enjoy!

A FANTASTIC conversation to share with your worship leader and entire worship team! A conversation with Jerret Hammons filled with practical worship leading wisdom. Jarret started leading worship at age 13 with his guitar and help from the pastor's wife. You can find all the links to the resources Jarret mentions right here: http://www.200churches.com/blog/episode-183-dynamic-advice-on-small-church-worship

This is a very practical episode on the importance of family in ministry. The imperceptibility of the slide of ministry activity into the holy space of family is a reality we must beware of! Dave Jacobs of www.smallchurchpastor.com helps us explore this, and we all share some helpful tips on keeping family first.

Michael Nations, founder of The Vital Initiative, joins the guys to once again proclaim the value and importance of small church ministry! Michael is with the Church of God Cleveland, and he travels around the U.S. encouraging pastors of smaller churches. Michael shares his own story of frustration and feelings of failure, and how he turned this around to achieve great influence in encouraging other pastors of small churches in his own denomination. He is recognized by his national denominational leaders as a pastor of value and encouragement to the Church of God!

Zach Bauer joins the guys live in the Studio again to talk about his volunteer philosophy at his church plant - Red Door Church in Sioux Falls, SD. Zach gets honest and vulnerable as he shares from his heart in this episode! The conversation centers on the philosophy of volunteers in the smaller church - you will be challenged to think differently about your volunteers - enjoy!!

With Jonny on sabbatical, Jeff speaks to Melanie, a missionary wife and young mother about the reality of the "One Year Furlough". Vacation? Or... Uh... Something else?? Some of us pastors might think that the one-year break that missionaries get, every four years, is a vacation. Melanie kindly disagrees with that notion! She speaks, from the wife and mother of young kids perspective, honestly and openly about what her and her husband's experiences have been like in churches and at "home" while on what some call the "home assignment" or "furlough". Melanie even put up with some of my bad joking! YOU as a pastor will learn better how to treat missionaries when they come to your church! I did!

What a blast we had with Dave Jacobs from www.SmallChurchPastor.com! Dave talked with us on the topic of "Doing ministry with one hand tied behind your back." We had just too much fun on the "pre-record" with Dave. Things that will go unmentioned... Jeff and Jonny also talk about their new website upgrade! This is the first major upgrade of the 200churches.com website since January 2013... or... ever! There's even a mysterious infusion of music during the intro to the episode... you'll likely love it! :-) Enjoy this great episode with Dave Jacobs!

A deep dive into the importance of understanding the text of Scripture in both the theory and practice of small church ministry. Dr. Jeannine Brown joins us to talk about her life's work, NT scholarship & teaching pastors! Jeannine is a New Testament scholar, author, and Seminary professor. She talked with us about her journey to being an author and professor, as well as her work in the New Testament, and especially the commentaries she has written and how they have changed her. The first 55 minutes are the actual episode and the last 15 contain extra material on the changing nature of seminaries and theological education today. This was a huge JOY - to record with Jeannine!

Pastor Michael Nations from Clyde, NC joins Jeff and Jonny LIVE in the 200churches Podcast Studio! Michael is the founding director of www.TheVitalInitiative.com and is making a difference encouraging small church pastors! We have a new friend! As Michael talked, we resonated with his heart as though he were the 3rd missing brother in the 200churches line-up. I (Jeff) met Michael at the Big Little Church Conference in Portland. We had an absolute blast!

Jeff talks with John Finkelde from GrowAHealthyChurch.com as he shares some powerful, essential advice for crafting attention getting, effective sermons! This is a mini seminar on the art of sermon craft!

Jeff and Jonny use this episode to talk about the struggles of pastors who pastor churches that are smaller, or that are not growing by leaps and bounds. There's plenty of discouragement to go around in ministry circles - and 200churches seeks to be an oasis of encouragement for pastors of small churches to drink from! This is a podcast by pastors of a 200church, for pastors of a 200church! No exponential, explosive growth going on here, but MUCH and GREAT significance, as our small churches love and serve year after year, decade after decade, making a huge impact for the Kingdom of God in this world! It's time for pastors to hold their heads high, be encouraged, and do the work God has called them to!

Zach is a bivocational pastor and church planter and shares some of the pro's and cons of being bivocational while planting a church, and even after the church tops 100! A fun conversation with Zach and the guys LIVE, in the luxurious and opulent 200churches Podcast Studio! p.s. Are you ever jealous of other pastors and their Facebook bragging on Monday mornings??