The Church Lobby

Karl Vaters interviews Darryl Dash, a long-time pastor in Toronto, Canada. Darryl recently wrote the article, Advice to New and Aspiring Pastors, for The Gospel Coalition, Canada in which raised several issues that are helpful, not just for younger pastors, but for anyone who wants to be a better pastor for the long haul.Links:Advice to New and Aspiring PastorsDashHouse.comGospel for Life PodcastPrayerMate AppHow to Grow: Applying the Gospel to All of Your Life8 Habits for Growth: A Simple Guide to Becoming More Like ChristPreach Well: A Short Guide to Making Even the Average Sermon Much BetterBonus Content8 Habits to Become More Like Christ, with Darryl DashKarl Vaters interviews Darryl Dash about the content of his helpful discipleship book, 8 Habits for Growth: A Simple Guide to Becoming More Like Christ. The habits include: the importance of spending time with God, daily Bible reading, involvement in a healthy local church, and more. This is a great book for discipleship in the local church, and this interview with Darryl will give you an idea of what it’s about and how to use it.To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters talks with Kurt W. Bubna about what to do if you’re a Christian leader who has betrayed people and broken trust. This conversation was sparked by the Facebook post, An Open Letter to Philip Yancey Regarding His Extramarital Affair, that Bubna wrote in early January.So many have opined about Yancey, and understandably so, but most of them know little if anything about his situation, including Karl and Kurt. So, while this conversation was triggered by that news, it’s an attempt at a measured approach from a perspective that we need to hear—a pastor who broke trust and is rebuilding it again. This conversation focuses on practical help for anyone who is walking through a similar time of sinful behavior, by talking through Kurt’s helpful article, How to Rebuild Trust After You’ve Broken It.Links:An Open Letter to Philip Yancey Regarding His Extramarital AffairHow to Rebuild Trust After You’ve Broken ItKurt Bubna’s Amazon author pageKurtBubna.comTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters talks to Laurie Graham about some of the big ways volunteerism has changed, and how we, as church leaders, can respond to these trends.Laurie runs smallchurchministry.com, an online ministry that provides resources and support for volunteers and ministry leaders in smaller churches.This is Laurie’s second time on the podcast (the last time she was known as Laurie Acker), and in this conversation she and Karl talk about how church volunteerism has been affected by people’s changing schedules, their desire for deeper meaning, the need to restore their trust, and more.Links:Website: https://smallchurchministry.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallchurchministry/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smallchurchministryCreative Solutions for Small Churches Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallchurchministrySmall Church Network & Academy: https://smallchurchministry.com/membership/Bonus Content SummaryRethinking Church Programs for Volunteer Flexibility, with Laurie GrahamKarl Vaters talks with Laurie Graham of SmallChurchMinistry.com about different ways we, as church leaders, can start to change church programs that were originally designed for the way people used to volunteer, into ministry that works for the more personal, seasonal way people live and commit today.Website: https://smallchurchministry.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallchurchministry/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smallchurchministryCreative Solutions for Small Churches Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallchurchministrySmall Church Network & Academy: https://smallchurchministry.com/membership/To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters talks through some helpful guidelines with Dave Ripper about how to read, meditate, and teach from the Bible in a richer, deeper way.Dave is the lead pastor of Crossway Christian Church, a multicongregational church in southern New Hampshire, focused on spiritual formation, and is the author of Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus: Reading the Bible like Dallas Willard.Karl and Dave explore who Dallas Willard was, and what his way of reading the Bible can do for us, including:Willard’s four steps on how to read the BibleA five-step outline for meditating on a textThe IMMERSE methodPreaching out of the overflowHow to let God speak to the church instead imposing your ideas into the text or onto the congregationLinks:Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus: Reading the Bible like Dallas Willard, by Dave RipperThe Dallas Willard podcastDaveRipper.comDeeper Experiences with God Podcast, with Dave RipperDave Ripper on InstagramDave Ripper on FacebookContact Dave RipperBonus video summaryThree Warnings from Dallas Willard about How Not to Read the Bible, with Dave RipperIn this subscriber-only bonus material, Karl Vaters talks with pastor Dave Ripper, the author of Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus: Reading the Bible like Dallas Willard, about why Bible readers should stay away from:Bible rouletteThe “It’s all in the Bible” ViewBible deismTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Have you ever gone to a church growth conference and been told “all healthy things grow?”Karl Vaters talks with Jeff Hoglen about what’s happening behind that idea, and why it can be a problem for a lot of pastors and churches. The conversation is based on an article Jeff wrote, called “The Church Growth Lie No One Talks About.”Karl and Jeff talk about what that lie is, why we keep believing it, and what to do, instead.They also discuss alternative ways to look at church health and growth, including:How growth feels more like farming than fireworksHow most real growth is slow, often invisible, and always hardHow the slow seasons don’t have to discourage youHow to deepen before you broadenHow to pursue health over hypeThe importance of celebrating the small stuffAnd more.Links:The Church Growth Lie No One Talks AboutChurchPlanting.comCanvaChatGPTTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters talks with Brad Edwards about the shift that’s happened over the last decade or so in how people perceive institutions, especially the institutional church.In this conversation they talk about how the rise of radical individualism has replaced once-trusted institutions, why a distrust in institutions is problematic, and why institutions—especially the church—still matter.Brad is a church planter and pastor of The Table Church in Lafayette, CO. He’s also the author of, The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism. This conversation also includes an overview of the reasons behind the loss of institutionalism, and especially five Church Defeaters:Church Defeater 1: Spiritual PragmatismChurch Defeater 2: The Sacred SelfChurch Defeater 3: Counterfeit InstitutionsChurch Defeater 4: (Un)Civil religionsChurch Defeater 5: Virtuous Victimhood(CONGRATULATIONS to Brad on his book being named Book of the Year by Christianity Today magazine!)Links:The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical IndividualismMere Orthodoxy BONUS TALKOur Role in the Grand Narrative of Scripture, with Brad EdwardsKarl Vaters talks with Brad Edwards about the importance of understanding the metanarrative of scripture as a foundational teaching for life and faith.In particular, their conversation addresses two storytelling terms. First, Main Character Syndrome, which helps us understand and clarify the dangers of the  hyper-individualism of our current age. Second, the MacGuffin, a term coined by movie director Alfred Hitchcock that helps us see what our role in God’s story really is. Links:The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical IndividualismTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Do you know how to spot if someone in your congregation has a gambling problem? Once it’s been spotted or confessed, do you know what to do?Karl Vaters talks with Dr. Don Lichi about one of the fastest-growing addictions in the world, including:How is gambling defined?Why does it have such a strong grip on some people?Who is most likely to be addicted?How to get helpAnd moreDonald Lichi is vice president emeritus of Emerge Counseling Ministries, and author of the article, Is Gambling a Problem in the Church? You Bet! in Influence magazine. Links:Is Gambling a Problem in the Church? You Bet! (article)Emerge Counseling MinistriesBroken Windows of the Soul: A Pastor and Christian Psychologist Discuss Sexual Sins and the Prescription to Heal ThemYouVersion Bible App Bonus ChatWhat to Do if You’re a Pastor with a Gambling Problem, with Donald LichiPastors are not immune to the temptations of gambling and other addictions.In this short conversation, Karl Vaters talks with Dr. Don Lichi about how to recognize those tendencies in yourself, and what to do if you’re trapped in it. They also talk about who you should/should not share these problems with, and how to engage in preventative measures. Links:Is Gambling a Problem in the Church? You Bet! (article)Emerge Counseling MinistriesBroken Windows of the Soul: A Pastor and Christian Psychologist Discuss Sexual Sins and the Prescription to Heal ThemTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters talks with Dr. Jeff Forrey about grief, recovery, and how your church can help people, both inside and outside the congregation, deal with grief in healthy ways.Grief has no rules, but there are healthy ways through it. And churches—small churches especially—are uniquely suited to provide real comfort for people in these difficult seasons of loss.Karl and Jeff talk about some important principles, including:Why do we need help with grief?What kind of damage can we experience if we don’t deal with grief properly?What's a typical time frame for experiencing grief?What common mistakes are made in responding to grievers?And moreJeff Forrey oversees GriefShare, which can come alongside your church to equip you to be a resource for people in need.Links:GriefShareChurch InitiativeDivorceCare Session 1 PreviewGriefShare on FacebookGriefShare on InstagramGriefShare on YouTube CCEF.orgGrieving Room, by Leanne FriesenThere is no bonus material for this episode.

In recent decades, parachurch organizations have carved out an important space in church life and ministry.Karl Vaters talks with Dr. Angie Ward about why it’s important for ministers to take a closer look at what the church is, what parachurch organizations bring to the mix, and how we can move forward more missionally, even as the emphasis on institutions diminishes.Dr. Ward is director of the Doctor of Ministry program and associate professor of leadership and ministry at Denver Seminary. She’s also the author of Beyond Church and Parachurch: From Competition to Missional Extension, which is the basis for this conversation. Links:Beyond Church and Parachurch: From Competition to Missional ExtensionBeyond the Local Church: How Apostolic Movements Can Change the World, by Sam MetcalfThe Church and the Parachurch: An Uneasy Marriage (A Critical Concern Book), by Jerry E. WhitePolycentric Leadership: Church as a Discipleship Movement, with Dan White Jr. (The Church Lobby, Ep 039)Uncharted Leadership: 20 Case Studies to Help Ministry Leaders Adapt to Uncertainty, by Angie WardBONUS TALKThe Five Advantages Of Parachurch Organizations, with Dr. Angie WardEvery parachurch ministry needs to flow from and/or point to the local church. So why do we need parachurch ministries, at all?In this bonus conversation, Karl Vaters talks with Dr. Angie Ward about the five benefits that churches can gain from partnering with parachurch ministries in productive ways:ReachSpecializationLay involvementPromoting unityTo call the local church to mission Links:Beyond Church and Parachurch: From Competition to Missional ExtensionTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

If you’re a preaching pastor, you know what it means to feel the burden and the joy of preparing and preaching a sermon every Sunday. No matter how many years we’ve done it, we can always use a little more help to do it better.Karl Vaters talks with Austin Carty about the craft of writing and delivering a weekly sermon, based on Austin’s latest book, Some of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon. Austin is the pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church, a small congregation in Anderson, SC.Karl and Austin talk about several of the aspects that go into sermon prep, including:The weekly call to biblical self-reflectionHow to decide what passage to preach fromHow to hook the listeners into the essence of the messageSetting enough time to seriously prayerfully read, study and ponder the textPreaching from a posture of humble conviction rather than blind certaintyAnd more Links:Some of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a SermonThe Pastor’s Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for MinistryWhy Reading Matters for Ministry, with Austin Carty (Ep 61)Vanderbilt Revised Common LectionaryBONUS EPISODE (Subscribers Only)Five Questions to Help You Preach a Well-balanced Sermon, with Austin CartyOne of the most important aspects in sermon prep and presentation today is making sure you know and acknowledge that there are points of view that are different from yours. But how do we recognize these points of view, while preaching the truth from God’s Word?Austin Carty helps us negotiate this potential minefield in a short conversation with Karl Vaters, based on Austin’s new book, Some of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon, by helping us ask these five questions:Have I made sweeping generalizations?Have I overargued my point?Have I taken into account my own biases?Have I considered other viable points of view?Have I sufficiently justified my claims? Links:Some of the Words Are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon

What happens when all the church growth principles that were working in your church, suddenly stop working when you need them the most?Karl Vaters interviews Paul Dazet about what happened to him, as the pastor of a fast-growing church shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer. Over 100 members left, saying things like “I just can’t handle being sad at church,” and “It used to be so energetic. Your illness changed the whole vibe.” Paul’s illness and the shaved head that went with it were seen as a show of weakness, need, and vulnerability that many people were uncomfortable seeing on a church platform.But it’s not all bad news. Paul also walks us through the positive changes he has made in his approach to pastoring, including allowing space for lament, and how he now defines ministry success.Links:Paul’s article on SubstackFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/pastorpauldazet/Instagram - @pauldazetTwitter / X - @pauldazetBluesky - @pastorpaul.bsky.social‬LibbyHoopla Bonus video The Five False Jesus’ of the “Successful” Church, with Paul DazetPaul Dazet found out that a numerically-growing church isn’t necessarily a healthy church. In this Bonus content, Karl Vaters talks with Paul about the 5 ways churches can be tempted to see Jesus that are not what Jesus intended for his church. They are:“Jesus wants you rich” (Prosperity Jesus)“Jesus votes red, white, and blue” (Nationalistic Jesus)“Jesus is disappointed in you” (Judgmental Jesus)“Jesus only loves people who look and believe like us” (Exclusive Jesus)“Jesus is here to meet your every need” (Consumeristic Jesus) Links:Paul’s article on SubstackFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/pastorpauldazet/Instagram - @pauldazetTwitter / X - @pauldazetBluesky - @pastorpaul.bsky.social‬To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Leanne Friesen about grief. Specifically, how pastors, family members, and other caring people can help give people the room to process their grief when they go through a profound loss. Karl and Leanne also talk about how to process those feelings ourselves.Leanne is a former pastor and is the author of Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things after Death and Loss. She talks with wisdom and compassion about the difficult, but important principles she learned as she went through the death of her sister more than a decade ago.Links:Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things after Death and LossInstagram: @Grieving.Room and @leanne_friesenLeanneFriesen.comFacebook: A Little Bit of Grieving Room Bonus videoHow to Give People Room When They’re Not “Getting Over” Their Grief, with Leanne FriesenKarl Vaters interviews Leanne Friesen about one of the hardest aspects of grief – what happens when you can’t seem to “get over it” the way people seem to think you should?As Leanne explains, when a loved one dies, the ones who have lost them need room for grief to be a part of their lives for the rest of their life. By recognizing this, they can deal with it in a much healthier way.Links:Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things after Death and LossTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters talks with Darrell Stetler about a new AI program Darrell has created, called Sermon Illustrator.After a short introduction to what AI is, and some of the advantages and dangers of using it, they narrow in on this tool that helps pastors with a very specific task – finding illustrations (stories, metaphors, historical events, and so on) that can give your well-prepared sermon a story, a photo, a video, or another illustration that will help your content connect in a memorable way.Podcast Links:Sermon IllustratorGet the AI Training Course ($27 offer for podcast listeners!)Ep 038: A Discipleship Strategy Small Churches Can Actually FollowEp 084: Second was Trunk-or-Treat, with Darrell Stetler Also from Darrell Stetler:NewStart Discipleship curriculumFree New believer Bible reading plan (1 Page PDF)Free audiobook on discipling your childrenFree NewStart Discipleship Journal: A 54-page discipleship Bible study for new Christians.Free one-hour discipleship training workshopFree 23 Page Planning Guide with Trunk or Treat Ideas for ChurchesThe Gospel Trunk or Treat Planning SystemSocial media:facebook.com/darrellstetler2facebook.com/newstartdiscipleshipyoutube.com/@newstartdiscipleshiptwitter.com/newstartdiscBonus ContentSome Strengths and Dangers of Using AI for Sermon Prep, with Darrell StetlerKarl Vaters interviews Darrell Stetler about what AI is good for, and some of the dangers AI poses, specifically when it comes to prepping Sunday sermons. To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters talks with Luke Simmons, the pastor of Ironwood Church in Mesa, AZ. Recently, Luke and his church elders decided to pursue a very ambitious goal with the aim of helping their large, growing congregation feel smaller and more connected.As a big-church pastor, Luke is not a typical Church Lobby guest, but he and Karl follow each other on X (formerly Twitter) and when Luke posted about this plan it inspired a lot of questions and curiosity. The plan is for the members of their elder team to have one-on-one meetings with 1,000 church members over coffee or a meal this coming year.If those numbers make you feel like this isn’t for you, give it a chance. Luke has a heart for people, and he’s interested in how to set numerical goals that help us reach non-numerical objectives of discipleship, fellowship, and service.Links:Luke’s original X post about elder meeting goalsLuke’s original X post about doing one-on-one meetingsFaithful and FruitfulTim Keller on Leadership and Church Size DynamicsDarrell Stetler’s Sermon IllustratorFollow Luke on XIronwood ChurchBonus videoHow To Conduct An Annual Leadership Meeting, with Luke SimmonsKarl Vaters talks with Luke Simmons about some of the steps he follows to gain as much as possible from an annual leadership meeting with his church elders. Points include:Get it on the calendar as soon as possibleMake it an overnighterBudget for itSlow down in a relaxed environmentSet the tone with idea prompts in writingWrite a summary afterwardAnd moreLinks:How to Grow Your Small Business: A 6-Step Plan to Help Your Business Take Off (Donald Miller)Luke’s original X post about elder meeting goalsLuke’s original X post about doing one-on-one meetingshttps://faithfulandfruitful.com/elders-meeting/To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Over the last few months, several of our podcasts have been about bivo/covocationality, side hustles for pastors, and so on. And more are on the way.Why? Because the future of the church is bivocational. In this episode, Karl Vaters talks to Andrew Hamilton about the content from his book, The Future is Bivocational: Shaping Christian Leaders for a Post-Christian World, including the theological foundation for bivocational ministry, how work isn’t a sinful result of the fall, but an element of God’s creative design for us, and the value of covocational ministry for the pastor, the church, and the community.The second half of the conversation includes several very practical steps for any pastor who’s considering bivocationality, including:Having upfront conversations with your church leadersDeciding which tasks are essential for you to doKnowing which tasks others can be trained for and trusted withThe non-optional tasks of leadership and communicationWhy Andrew tries to function at 70 percent of his ministry capacityAnd moreLinks:Backyard MissionaryThe Future is Bivocational: Shaping Christian Leaders for a Post-Christian WorldThe Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman EmpireBonus videoEight Options for Finding Bivocational Work, with Andrew HamiltonAre you considering becoming a bivocational pastor? Karl Vaters talks to Andrew Hamilton about some practical work options that mesh well with a pastoral schedule and skillset, from the content from his book, The Future is Bivocational: Shaping Christian Leaders for a Post-Christian World, including:Project/Contract WorkLaboringStart a Small BusinessThe Church Starts a BusinessRetrain/Upskill/StudyLow Demand WorkVolunteerConsultingTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

*ATTENTION NEEDED* Help us get to Malaysia by going to KarlVaters.com/supportAnything you can give will be appreciated.Karl Vaters interviews Bryan Sims about creating an environment for discipleship to thrive, from his book, Creating Space: Cultivating Environments for Disciples of Jesus to Thrive and Multiply (co-written with Craig Robertson).In the first half of the book, and of our conversation, we talk about the importance of creating PSDs (Passionate Spiritual Disciples) and how the church needs to get better at creating space for it to happen among our church members.Then in the second half, we get practical, talking about four tools to help this happen in your church. Plus, Bryan addresses the five characteristics of healthy disciple-making  environments, and more.Links:Creating Space: Cultivating Environments for Disciples of Jesus to Thrive and MultiplySpiritual Leadership, Inc.Bryandsims.comBonus videoThe 4 Stages of Disciple-making Environments, with Bryan SimsKarl Vaters interviews Bryan Sims about the 4 different types of environments that are needed for varying stages of spiritual growth, from his book, Creating Space: Cultivating Environments for Disciples of Jesus to Thrive and Multiply (co-written with Craig Robertson).Stage 1: Engage and BefriendStage 2: Relate and ConnectStage 3: Equip and GrowStage 4: Become and SendTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Derek Maxson about some simple ways to make sure your church website is reaching the three kinds of people who are most likely to use it.Derek runs Spiffy.Church, an online ministry that specializes in helping smaller churches get the most from their websites, using limited time and resources.Derek and Karl talk about how to optimize your church website by making it simple and affordable, and how to use it to help three types of people.Insiders (your church members and regulars)Shoppers (those looking for a new church home)Seekers (those who are curious about the faith or who are needing help in a time of crisis)Links:Spiffy.Church Bonus videoThree Simple Changes You Can Make To Your Church Website, with Derek MaxsonChurch websites shouldn’t be as complicated as we make them. In this bonus chat, Karl Vaters talks with Derek Maxson about a few quick changes you can make to your church website that will immediately make it better for everyone. Links:Spiffy.ChurchTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Mike Edmondson about the hot-button topics of racial segregation in the American church, why affinity spaces matter, and how the gospel defeats racism – even the racism that has sometimes been promoted within the institutional church.Mika speaks with experience, wisdom, directness, and grace, generating more light than heat.Some of what Mika and Karl talk about includes:What is segregation?What is “Hereditary Heathenism?”Why did historically black churches begin?What are “Affinity Spaces” and why do they matter?How can we think and act more biblically about issues of race?And more. Links:Text of Mika’s thread from XLink to Mika’s original X threadNoteBird AppTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Rachel Bren is a survivor of sexually related trauma, and now she serves with SRTServices.org, which helps people recover from their trauma, and can help you and your church. She’s also the co-host of the Grace & Grenades podcast.Karl Vaters interviews Rachel about what sexual related trauma is, how the church can help those dealing with it, some mistakes to avoid, and more.Links:SRTServices.orgGrace & GrenadesOur church introduction videoBrene Brown video on sympathy vs. empathyThe Allender Center PodcastThe Place We Find Ourselves PodcastGrace & Grenades PodcastYou can reach Rachel by email at rachel@srtservices.org and the website  www.srtservices.orgBonus videoHow Your Church Can Help People Recover from Sexually Related Trauma, with Rachel BrenKarl Vaters talks with Rachel Bren about how SRTServices.org can come alongside your church to give you the tools to help people who are dealing with sexually related trauma.Links:SRTServices.orgGrace & GrenadesTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Sam Peters about the microchurch model, and more specifically, what are the minimum aspects that need to be in place for a church to be a church?If you’re serving a small church that’s considering if you have a viable path forward, the microchurch model is worth considering, and Sam offers some help for thinking about it in fresh, new ways.Sam Peters is a church consultant, and the author of several books, including Small Church, Big Opportunity; BIG Faith: Six Key Factors that Grow Your Faith in God, & Rebuilding Stronger: Navigating the Post-Pandemic Landscape of Worship.Links:SmallChurchCoaching.comLinkTreeYou can follow Sam on Facebook and X Bonus videoThe Limitations of the Institutional Church in Reaching the CommunityKarl Vaters interviews Sam Peters about some of the limitations that are now coming to light about the institutional church model (building, salary, etc.) that we’ve both spent our lives in. The challenges we talk about include:1.  Physical and Financial Constraints: Many churches invest most of their resources into maintaining buildings and programs rather than directly engaging the lost. This is especially difficult for smaller congregations.2.  Passive Churchgoers Instead of Active Disciple-Makers: Institutional churches can unintentionally foster a consumer mindset, where members attend services but are not equipped to lead or disciple others.3.  Limited Reach Beyond Church Walls: Most churches expect people to come to them rather than embedding the Gospel in everyday life and relationships.4.  Slow Adaptation to Cultural Shifts: In an age of rapid change, large churches with complex structures often struggle to pivot quickly to meet new challenges and opportunities.5. Overemphasis on Sunday Gatherings: The primary focus in many churches is the Sunday experience, but disciple-making happens most effectively in smaller, relational environments.To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.