Exponential NEXT Podcast Episode 2Series: Snapshots of Innovation

Welcome to the Exponential NEXT Podcast, where we interview ministry leaders across North America who are shaping what’s next for the future of the church. In this episode, we learn principles for mobilizing Gen Z. Olivia Williamson is sparking a nationwide Gen Z prayer movement through Claim Your Campus, and Cory McElvain, leads Zero Hour, a ministry equipping Gen Z to launch disciple-making movements in local schools across Kansas City.

Host: Jon Wiest, Director of NEXT Ventures

Guests: Cory McElvain, http://zerohourministries.org/ and Olivia Williamson, http://claimyourcampus.com/

— The North American model of church is not based upon disciple making, but that can be changed in a new church plant. Join Bobby and Paul as they describe how to plant new churches with disciple making DNA. — Welcome to One Eighty, welcome to Disciple-Making. Over the next 8 weeks, we will be turning our focus to creating a discipleship culture as we look ahead to our 2024 Global Exponential Conference March 4-7th.

This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit: https://exponential.org/events

For all other links: https://shor.by/Exponential

— On this episode join Bobby and Carl as they explore why it’s more important now than ever to have good theology. They will talk about practical tools the local church needs in this cultural moment.

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Welcome to One Eighty, welcome to Disciple-Making. Over the next 8 weeks, we will be turning our focus to creating a discipleship culture as we look ahead to our 2024 Global Exponential Conference March 4-7th.

This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit: https://exponential.org/events

For all other links: https://shor.by/Exponential

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On this episode we are talking about how Jesus’ style of evangelism always led folks to follow Him. So many times we try to separate evangelism and discipleship. That leaves us with weak Christians and an even weaker church. Walk with us through the exploration of the Master’s plan for evangelism that leads to discipleship.

Speaker: Dan Leitz

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This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit: https://exponential.org/events

For all other links: https://shor.by/Exponential

Evangelism Series // Week 5

Speakers: Ralph Moore

— This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit: https://exponential.org/events

For all other links: https://shor.by/Exponential

Evangelism Series // Week 4

Speakers: Faith Eury Cho, Albert Tate, Aaron & Hannah Barnett

— This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit: https://exponential.org/events

For all other links: https://shor.by/Exponential

Evangelism Series // Week 3

Speaker: Ben Connelly

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This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit: https://exponential.org/events

For all other links: https://shor.by/Exponential

Deconstruction has long been the activity of young people inside and outside of the church. However, this new wave of deconstruction has unique challenges that are deeply sociological and theological. In this episode, Daniel Yang explains how church planting models from 1980-2020 are falling short in addressing this new wave of deconstruction but also why Gen-Zers represent hope, not just for new models, but also for how God is redeeming their deconstruction for the greater good of the Church in America.

Speaker: Daniel Yang

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This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit: https://exponential.org/events

For all other links: https://shor.by/Exponential

Dive deeper into the conversation of God’s Lost Cause with Dave Ferguson, Aaron Barnett and Hannah Barnett.

• The Need for Reviving the Lost Cause: Problem: Evangelism has become a taboo word. Doing evangelism is seen as culturally inappropriate. Even many Christians feel like evangelism is wrong. But at the same time, it was central to Jesus’ mission. (Luke 19:10) Solution: If we are going to accomplish the mission of Jesus, we must revive evangelism. We must plant new churches that have cultures that prioritize evangelism by creating a safe place for people to belong before they believe. A church with a culture of evangelism will hold the Biblical values of evangelism, share the compelling narratives of evangelism, and live out the white-hot faith behaviors of an evangelistic church.

• God’s Commitment to the Lost Cause: God’s commitment to the Lost Cause is relentless and ultimate. Romans 5:8 tells us that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” While we were still in the process of rejecting him, God was persistently pursuing us in the person of Jesus. He was on mission to restore a broken relationship with us each of us. Lost people matter to God and it is his desire that all of us come to know him (“God is patient … not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance.” -2 Peter 3:9). We are all prodigals that God wants to find their way back to him and our eternal home.

• Our Commitment to God’s Lost Cause: Our commitment to the Lost Cause should be passionate and personal. Our commitment to the Lost Cause begins when we take it personal. We are all lost people! When we let that truth motivate us, we can’t help but be passionate about reaching people far from God. In his book, Movements, Steve Addison reminds us that the movements that change the world are missionary movements of Christ follower with a white-hot faith. The same love that stirred God to sacrifice his son for us should stir inside each of us for a lost world. We should each adopt Jesus’ mission as our own personal mission: “to seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) It was because of that mission Jesus goes out of his way to get to know Zacchaeus and ultimately brings salvation to his house. And here is what happens when we have that kind of passion for the Lost Cause: “And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47) As leaders who are passionate about the Lost Cause the only thing that will matter is making sure that the lost are found. As a result of that passion, we will commit to starting new churches with evangelistic cultures, knowing this is the best way to reach a lost world.

Speakers: Dave Ferguson, Aaron Barnett, Hannah Barnett

This podcast is one of several workshops from Exponential’s Global 2023 Conference in Orlando. You can grab the Evangelism Resource Kit for this workshop and more to train you and your team: https://multiplication.org/product/evangelism-2023-orlando-workshops-resource-kit/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

Guests include:

John Wentz, Executive Director, Alpha USA

Tomy Wilkerson, Director, Tampa Underground

David Docusen, Director, The Neighborliness Center

Empowering the Church for Missional Movement

In this new season of (almost) post-Covid ecclesiology, we’re seeing pastors, church leaders, and planters struggle to find movement. Not only are congregants increasingly tired, mentally retreating, and instilling new rhythms in their life, but leaders are facing these new paradigms as well. All of this results in lower attendance and engagement, with tired leaders trying to find new movement in their community. At Forge America, we see the shifting patterns of church life and faith as opportunities to engage what the church was always designed to be…a missional movements of communities joining God in his mission to announce the Kingdom.

So what does “empowering” for missional movement look like?

Description of the Show: A conversation around re-missioning the church for movement and the implications of our current cultural and societal struggles on participating in God’s mission.

To watch the replay of the his conversation, visit https://multiplication.org/be-empowered-forge-america/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

The Enneagram and Spiritual Practices: discern the best rhythms and disciplines to guide your personal formation and leadership.

What if we used the Enneagram as more of a fluid tool toward spiritual maturity than a static personality assessment? Could we curate personalized practices that would allow for greater healing and alignment in our particular journey with Christ? How could our Enneagram type inform our Rule of Life and offer tailored rhythms that not only actually work for us but lean into our unique brand of brokeness?

These and other discussion points will be covered by Sarah, Drew, and Laura in this casual conversation about allowing the Enneagram to shape our own spiritual formation as well as guide those we lead.

As followers of Christ we have been called to make disciples and to bring life and hope to a world of decay, disease and death. The New Testament is a wonderful example to us of the kind of disciples that are needed for our world. As we read the Sermon on the Mount and follow the ministry of Jesus, we cannot escape what He did and how He engaged the poor and hurting while, at the same time, dealt with the rich and religiously pious. Jesus engaged the whole person and all of society.

If we focus on societal transformation, converts are a must; they are essential. However, now we are also defining their focus and their drive. This is how the early church operated in Antioch. This is also how the church in history grew, as it would work where there were tragedies and issues to be confronted. If we truly care about our communities and care that all domains of society are impacted by the church, then it should lead us to active engagement of churches within their community and in the world at large.

What exactly does that look like? One can start churches, build buildings, see baptisms, start programs, do mission work and still see your community degenerate. If, on the other hand, you want to see radical transformation, then the church must be active. The primary place of ministry becomes the domains in society, rather than the church on the corner. Engaging the world is the Father’s comprehensive response to a lost world. When that happens, we are connected with God at a deep level in terms of His will, His mission, and His passion. He begins to multiply that which He wants and he does so incredibly quickly. We need to plant churches that see what the Father sees, and watch as those churches are going to explode.

Watch the video replay of this episode.

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Featured Guest:

JAY MOON — Author and Professor of Evangelism & Church Planting and Director of the Office of Faith, Work, and Economics at Asbury Theological Seminary MARK DEYMAZ — A recognized leader in the Multi-ethnic Church Movement

Host:

BILL COUCHENOUR — Director of Learning Communities at Exponential, he provides strategic and operational oversight of Exponential’s R&D and expanding educational opportunities. He facilitates the Exponential Learning Communities, Multipliers: Leading Beyond Addition.

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Many churches today face financial strain; in fact, such strain has forced several churches to close this year. In addition, potential church plants have been delayed or disbanded due to a lack of finances.

Jay Moon’s Missional Vibrancy and Financial Viability provides several fresh options to provide hope to churches and church plants in financial distress. Moon offers six non-traditional financial approaches that churches can implement to promote missional impact and financial viability.

If you are looking for practical approaches to fund your church plant, these practitioners will describe six alternatives. In addition, they will help you find an approach that fits your particular needs in order for your church to fulfill your missional calling and maintain financial sustainability. Recognizing that each context is unique, important factors will be discussed to help you find an appropriate starting point for your church plant.

To watch the video replay on demand, visit: https://multiplication.org/book-tour-missional-vibrancy-and-financial-viability-part-2/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

Featured Guests: PAUL BANE — Founder of Mindful Christianity MATT LITTON — Author and bestselling collaborative writer

Host: Deb Walkemeyer — Co-Pastor of Light & Life Christian Fellowship in Long Beach, CA

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In the stress, noise, and activity of modern life, there is a way of finding inner peace and contentment. In the Presence of Jesus will help you learn to quiet your mind and focus your attention on the grace and love that is only available in God’s presence. Deeply faithful to Scripture and infused with the truth of Christ’s unwavering love on every page, In the Presence of Jesus is an easy-to-understand, step-by-step, daily guide that will empower you to transfer the truth of His everlasting love for you from your head to your heart. This 40-day journey will help you focus on the character of Jesus and open your spirit to His presence in your life.

In their book, In the Presence of Jesus, Paul Bane and Matt Litton:

• Guide you through a 40-day journey to practice the presence of God in new and refreshing ways
• Teach you how to find inner peace and contentment through the noise and activity of life
• Demonstrate that God is not “out there,” but is alive here and now with you
• Help you grow in the practice of contemplation and silence to experience God’s love for you and humanity at large

To watch the video replay on demand, visit: https://multiplication.org/book-tour-in-the-presence-of-jesus/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

GREG STIER — Greg is the founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries, a speaker, former pastor, church planter, and youth leader, as well as the author of numerous books.

Host:

PEYTON JONES — Peyton Jones is an author, church planter, leadership trainer, podcaster and writer. He also founded New Breed Church Planting Network which continues to train front-line first century style apostolic church planters.

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Some memories are permanently seared into our childhood brains with a hot iron of adrenaline and fear. For five-year-old Greg, it was the memory of his ma walking back to the house after confronting his stepdad with a splintered, bloodied baseball bat in her hand.

Greg Stier was raised in a family of bodybuilding, tobacco-chewing, fist-fighting thugs. He never knew his biological father because his mom had met his dad at a party; she got pregnant, and he left town. Though his mom almost aborted him, in a last-minute twist, Greg’s life was spared for so much more. Unlikely Fighter is the incredible story of how God showed up in Greg’s life—and how he can show up in yours as well. This is a memoir of violence and mayhem—and how God can transform everything.

To watch the video replay on demand, visit: https://multiplication.org/book-tour-unlikely-fighter/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

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Featured Guest:

JAY MOON — Author and Professor of Evangelism & Church Planting and Director of the Office of Faith, Work, and Economics at Asbury Theological Seminary

Host:

BILL COUCHENOUR — Director of Learning Communities at Exponential, he provides strategic and operational oversight of Exponential’s R&D and expanding educational opportunities. He facilitates the Exponential Learning Communities, Multipliers: Leading Beyond Addition.

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Many churches today face financial strain; in fact, such strain has forced several churches to close this year. In addition, potential church plants have been delayed or disbanded due to a lack of finances.

Jay Moon’s Missional Vibrancy and Financial Viability  provides several fresh options to provide hope to churches and church plants in financial distress. Moon offers six non-traditional financial approaches that churches can implement to promote missional impact and financial viability.

He combines kingdom innovation with entrepreneurial practice to assist church planters and pastors to impact their communities. He uses a matrix to aid churches in knowing where to start based on the church’s financial liquidity and access to relational networks. Moon references contemporary churches that currently use these approaches. Such churches have changed their financial trajectories.

Instead of limiting churches and church plants to traditional funding options, Moon shows effective, alternative models. His step-by-step instructions will help churches chart a new financial course.

To watch the video replay on demand, visit: https://multiplication.org/book-tour-missional-vibrancy-and-financial-viability/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

Making your presence known the right way… Helpful insight for how to have an effective digital presence can be overwhelming to find these days with so many approaches and products available for church leaders. You need real world applications with practical advice for your new or existing churches as you look to advance your mission.

In this Exponential HUB Show, we will be exploring and highlighting key factors that your church needs to be found online so you can connect with more people who need to be reached with the hope and truth of Jesus:

• Importance of business listings
• Reviews, Reviews, Reviews!
• Social Media
• Website
• When to run paid ads

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Featured Guests: ERIC BERNHARDT — CEO, M77 Media WALTER CASTRO — Lay Pastors Director, FL Conference, SDA

—– To watch the replay of the his conversation, visit https://multiplication.org/is-your-church-digital-presence-relevant/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

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Featured Guest: JEFF VANDERSTELT — Central Region Elder, SATURATE THE SOUND at Doxa Church

Hosts – JASON SHEPPERD, Jason is the Lead Pastor of Church Project in The Woodlands, TX, a “Church of House Churches”

—– To watch the replay of the his conversation, visit https://multiplication.org/how-do-your-start-a-church-of-house-churches/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

New, fresh and dynamic expressions of church that live out new paradigms, seek justice, and mobilize missionaries in everyday life are popping up like weeds growing through the cracks of concrete sidewalks. However, because they are small they are often overlooked. Join us as we hear from two planters and pioneers, Laura Hairston and Drew Thurman, about their unique expressions of the church lead by everyday people.

Featured Guests: LAURA HAIRSTON — Upper East Side Pastor, HopeChurch, NYC DREW THURMAN — Church planter & aspiring social entrepreneur in Boston.

Watch the replay of this conversation on demand at https://multiplication.org/planting-new-expressions-of-the-church-led-by-everyday-people-costing-zero-dollars/

To learn more about Exponential events visit: https://exponential.org/events

STAN ENDICOTT – Stan is co-founder and chief cultural officer at Slingshot Group.

DAVID A MILLER – David is currently the Chief People and Product Officer at Novus Global.

— Anyone who’s learned the basics of an instrument can follow a chord chart or play from sheet music. But great improvisers aren’t limited to the notes on the page; they draw on the theory and techniques they’ve practiced in the past to create something original in the present.

The same is true of great leaders. Anyone can read a few books and apply the lessons, but only the best leaders bring out the best in any person, in any situation. These improvisational leaders have mastered the key principles of coaching to build strong teams.

JIM PUTMAN – Jim is the senior pastor of Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho.

CHAD HARRINGTON — Chad is the owner of Harrington Interactive Media.

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Seismic culture shifts leave Christians wondering how to effect lasting change. While the Bible calls disciples of Jesus to humility, they often display pride. Pride is the enemy of discipleship on every level, and it keeps disciples from making an impact for the kingdom.

What is the way forward?

In The Revolutionary Disciple, Jim Putman and Chad Harrington offer clear guidance for navigating cultural changes with humility. They walk readers through the Five Spheres of Discipleship and unveil their four core practices of humility along the way. A tapestry of Scripture and stories, this book uncovers the path to ultimate peace for Christians who want a cultural revolution.

Take ground for your church, your family, and the kingdom.

Bridge the gap between the call to follow Jesus and the commission to make disciples of Jesus.

Join the revolution.

There’s never been a more important time to mobilize the people of God in the everyday spaces of life. So how then do we take a congregation of members and see them transformed into a community of missionaries? How do we lead people from being consumers of church-y goods and services, to living out the imago dei in the places they live work and play? Join us as we discuss these questions with pastor and author Jon Ritner.

Featured Guests: JON RITNER — Lead pastor of Ecclesia Hollywood in Los Angeles, California BETH WOLFF — Beth Wolff is the Lead Pastor at Clarksburg Church in Clarksburg, MD

Watch the replay of this conversation on demand at https://multiplication.org/remission-moving-a-congregation-of-members-to-a-community-of-missionaries/

To learn more about Exponential events visit: https://exponential.org/events

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Featured Guest – BILL HULL, Bill is the Co-Founder & President of the Bonhoeffer Project

Hosts – JASON SHEPPERD, Jason is the Lead Pastor of Church Project in The Woodlands, TX, a “Church of House Churches” DAVE EDWARDS, Dave serves as Pastor of Discipleship at Church Project in The Woodlands, TX

—– To watch the replay of the his conversation, visit https://multiplication.org/can-a-mega-church-successfully-create-context-for-discipleship/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

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Featured Guest – JEFF CLARK, Jeff is the Lead Pastor of Venture Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Hosts – JASON SHEPPERD, Jason is the Lead Pastor of Church Project in The Woodlands, TX, a “Church of House Churches” DAVE EDWARDS, Dave serves as Pastor of Discipleship at Church Project in The Woodlands, TX

—– To watch the replay of the his conversation, visit https://multiplication.org/how-does-a-mega-church-transition-to-distributed-lay-pastoral-leadership/

To learn more about Exponential events, visit https://exponential.org/events

Are you listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading on all aspects of ministry?

As pastors, we know when we are lead by the Holy Spirit in our ministry sinners are set free, marriages are restored, and disciples are made.

But leading a church is also leading a business. That’s a good thing unless it means that the bottom line begins to guide how we do the ministry rather than listening first to how the Holy Spirit wants us to approach these business decisions.

This week we’re talking to Kurtis Parks, a church planter with a unique vision to teach the good news through music by fusing story and scripture with song. From a young age, Kurtis set out with a guiding value that he and his wife Sarah still keep in focus today: to intentionally pursue a Spirit-led life. His Spirit-dependence has led him to big stages like American Idol, his previous role as Worship Director for Mark Batterson’s National Community Church, his successful career as a singer-songwriter, and now his church, Bridges Nashville.

We’ll discuss how to keep the business of ministry and life dependent on the Holy Spirit to stay connected to the one who called you into ministry.

This episode is all about reactivating Spirit dependence:

• Discover how to cultivate holistic life rhythms
• Learn how to form transformational prayer habits
• Find ways to tune your ear to God’s voice

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Featured Guest — KURTIS PARKS, Lead Pastor of Bridges Church in Nashville, TN

Co-Hosts — STEVE PIKE & JASON BOWMAN

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To watch the video replay, click here.

To learn more about Exponential conferences, visit exponential.org/events.

Multiplication was embedded into the lifestyle of the Early Church. For the earliest believers, multiplication was as natural as breathing. The way it happened was simple and easily transferable to the 21st-century reality. Disciples made disciples. Leaders made leaders. Church made churches.

Making multiplication a priority requires decisions, actions, and habits that are very different from an addition-based church. Discover next step for your leadership and your church in this next episode of Cracking the Code of 21st Century Ministry.

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Featured Guest — JEFFERY PORTMANN, Director of the Church Multiplication Network for the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri.

Co-Hosts — STEVE PIKE & JASON BOWMAN

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To watch the video replay, click here.

To learn more about Exponential conferences, visit exponential.org/events.