Microchurches

Thank you for joining us for this final episode of Season 4 of Microchurches! In this episode we'll hear from Jeremy Stephens on how microchurches can understand and navigate the tension of the organic life and the organized elements of the microchurch and, more specifically, how we get the organized elements to serve the organized life of the microchurch.

Thanks for tuning into this episode of Microchurches! Continuing in our Microchurch Conversations series, this week we'll hear from Stacy Gaskins as we talk through giftings within a microchurch, and more specifically how tools like APEST can help microchurch communities mature and more fully and effectively fulfill their calling.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Microchurches. This week we begin a new series of conversations around microchurches, and more specifically, discussing some tools and frameworks for people as they operate in their microchurches.
In this particular episode, you will hear from Lucas Pulley as we learn about Social Spaces, and how understanding and recognizing these levels of proximity and intimacy are key pieces in helping your microchurch thrive.

Welcome to another episode of Microchurches! This week we will hear from Brian Sanders as we dig into collaboration within the Church and even through our microchurches. We'll dive into the opportunities, benefits, barriers, and potential for Kingdom impact through collaboration.

Welcome back to this episode of Microchurches, which is a Part 2 from our previous conversation discussing leadership transitions within a decentralized network. This episode is a continuation in our Network Conversations series.

This week we are joined my Jeremy Stephens and Taylor McCall, as well as Joshua Benadum and Lucas Pulley from our last episode. We'll continue to unpack the benefits and risks of an external vs internal leader to fill an executive role, what the role of an executive director actually is in a decentralized network, the life cycles of movements and what that means for the founders and leaders, and more.

New episodes every Wednesday!

Thanks for listening to Microchurches! This week we'll be continuing in our Network Conversations series with a two-part conversation with Lucas Pulley and Joshua Benadum. We'll discuss the concept of leadership transition, specifically in the context of more decentralized church models. And don't forget to tune in next week for Part 2 of this conversation!

New episodes every Wednesday!

This week we're kicking off a new series called Network Conversations. In this particular episode, we'll chat about microchurch networks with Joshua Benadum of Dwell Community Church and Matt Ulrich of Greenhouse Church in Gainesville. Specifically, you will hear about the dynamic between their microchurches and their macro expression of church for their respective communities.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Microchurches! We're excited to continue in our series of hearing from networks around the country doing small expressions of the church in their own context. In this episode, you will hear from Shaunna Sturgeon of Watershed Collective in Iola, Kansas.

Shaunna and her community are empowering local missionaries in a rural context. She'll share about how it got started, the ways they've partnered with a local more traditional church in their area, and some stories of brave leaders in their network who help their network grow and thrive.

Welcome back to the Microchurches Podcast! In this week's episode, we're continuing in our series by hearing from Joshua Benadum of Dwell Community Church in Columbus, Ohio. Having officially began in 1969, their community and church structure has looked different over the years, and they have a lot of lessons and wisdom to share about how they've continued to grow through house churches and how they've adapted to their context in different seasons. To learn more about Dwell, visit https://dwellcc.org/

New episodes every Wednesday!

Welcome back to this week's episode of Microchurches, where we'll hear from Brian Johnson and Breana Weibe of KC Underground. They'll share some interesting insights into how they've contextualized their network to their communities, how their missionaries have helped shape their culture and how they serve, and of course some inspiring stories of microchurch leaders in Kansas City.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Microchurches. This week kicks off a new series hearing from networks around the country who are pursuing these smaller expressions of church in their own contexts.

In this episode, we'll sit down with Daniel Yang of the Prodigal Network in Chicago, IL. You'll hear about the ways that things like history and upbringing, ethnic identity, and experiences with different church structures have played a role in how he now leads communities and initiatives in their missional endeavors.

Thanks for tuning into Part 2 of our conversation on Kingdom Ecosystems with Jon Dengler and Taylor McCall from Brave Cities. In this episode, you're sure to be inspired and challenged to think differently about your circles and communities you engage with on a daily basis, and how God might be calling you or those around you to be the church in those spaces.

Resources mentioned: Brave Cities book (coming soon!)

New episodes every Wednesday!

Welcome back to this week's episode of Microchurches. To continue in our series of Reimagining Microchurch, in this episode you will be able to tune-in to a conversation with Jon Dengler and Taylor McCall from Brave Cities. They will share their experiences with learning the needs of their contexts and being the church through building within their cities, and how they have seen great transformation in the cultivation of these Kingdom ecosystems.

Resources mentioned: Brave Cities book (coming soon!)

New episodes every Wednesday!

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Microchurches! Today we are continuing in our series by hearing from Mark Scandrette, founding director of ReIMAGINE: A Center for Integral Christian Practice, where he leads an annual series of retreats, workshops and projects designed to help participants apply spiritual wisdom to everyday life.
In this episode, we'll discuss the value of not only studying the life of Jesus and His ministry as we consider our missional communities, but also letting Him teach us how to model our very lives after His way. One way this can be done is through experiments and practices that challenge the ways of the world and lead us into deeper connection with Jesus and those around us.

Welcome back, and thanks for tuning into this episode of Microchurches. Last episode, we sat down with Alan Hirsch and reflected on the missional conversation thus far. Today, we're joined by both Alan Hirsch and Brian Sanders, to continue this conversation and to unpack what it means for the future of the church.
You will hear insights into what Alan and Brian have seen and experienced in the Western church particularly, and together we'll dive into the values of humility and openness, repentance, and embodying Jesus in every way as we embrace the transformative possibilities of the church ahead.

Thanks for listening in to this week's episode. We're continuing in our series this week by hearing from Alan Hirsch once again as we dive into what the missional conversation has consisted of thus far.
You will hear about the way this conversation has shifted over the years and where it might be headed, as well as some challenges that movements and church entities have faced in staying faithful to the kind of mission God calls us to.

Welcome to Season 4 of Microchurches! Thank you so much for tuning in.
We're kicking off this season with a series called Reimagining Microchurch. In this particular episode, you'll be hearing from Alan Hirsch, an influential thinker and leader in the world of missional Christianity. Alan is known for his work in helping churches and organizations to better understand and embody their missional DNA, or mDNA.
During our conversation, Alan dives into what he means by mDNA and how it is crucial for the health and effectiveness of the church. When we have a clear sense of our identity and mission as the church, we are better able to make decisions, prioritize our resources, and engage with the challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world in meaningful ways.
Alan draws on his extensive experience working with churches around the world, and provides practical advice and insights for leaders and congregations who are seeking to better understand and live out their mDNA. Whether you're a pastor, church planter, microchurch leader, or simply a follower of Jesus who is passionate about mission, this episode is sure to inspire and challenge you.

While you wait for Season 4, here's a BONUS episode where we sit down with Hugh Halter and talk about kids, parenthood, and making the mission of God a family story. For those of us who are parents, we want to raise our kids to know deeply God's love and saving grace. In this episode, you'll learn practical tools to equip you to do this, and how microchurches provides a unique opportunity for nurturing disciples within your family.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Microchurches! As we near the end of this series, we wanted to talk about the Liturgy of a Microchurch. We will sit down with Jeremy Stephens, and hear about how having a liturgy can bring a kind of order that keeps your community accountable, while also creating freedom to serve God and love on those you are called to in the various pieces that make up your microchurch.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Microchurches! Today we are continuing in our series talking about Microchurch Life. You will hear from Lucas Pulley about how conflict and the process of dissent generally will happen within a microchurch model, and best practices for leading and shepherding within those spaces.

Welcome to this episode of Microchurches. In this series we are talking about all things Microchurch Life, and particularly things that are helpful for microchurch leaders to consider. In this episode we hear from Jeremy Stephens about the Life Cycles, and how the dissolving, pivoting, or rebooting of microchurches is not uncommon and is often embraced.

Thank you for joining us in this episode of Microchurches! Today we are kicking off a new series all about microchurch life by sitting down with Lucas Pulley and Jeremy Stephens and discussing what we often mean by "rule of life". Because microchurches function differently than more "event-based" churches or ministries might, a set of expectations of commitments to God and one another is important for the growth and sustainability of a microchurch. 

Welcome back to the podcast! We took a week off last week due to Hurricane Ian that impacted some of our communities locally, but we are back this week and hearing from Noah Cremisino and Greg Hay in New Zealand. In this episode, you'll hear about the formational season their community is in, the ways that their communities and circumstances has informed their deep value of journeying with people through the wilderness, and the fruit that it has produced in their microchurches.

Thanks for journeying with us through Microchurch stories from around the world. In this episode, we sit down with Vicki and Reuben in the Dominican Republic - where the typical church model is generally smaller in nature. You'll hear about how they've been called to neighborhood church, pastor care and invesment, ministry to vulnerable women, and more.

Welcome back to the Microchurches Podcast. This week we are continuing in our series by hearing from the Gathering Network in Glasgow, Scotland. Adam and Charlotte Penketh started with intentionality towards those around them and eventually persevered in the slow growth and development of what became the Gathering Network. Listen in on the ways they've seen microchurches become self-sustaining and continued to say yes to new and unique ways that Jesus has called them. 

To wrap up this series of microchurch stories from various networks, we hear from Lucas and Tomy once again as they debrief just some of the lessons and themes that came up in talking to these leaders. You will learn how although microchurch models are often so beautifully adapted to their contexts, there are underlying themes and values that allow them to be the church wherever they are planted.

This week we are doing a bonus episode with Matt Ulrich of Greenhouse church, who the Underground is partnering with to host the upcoming Microchurch Conference. You will hear about how microchurch DNA is in everything they do, despite having their largest attendance on Sunday mornings. By focusing on making disciples in a way that is organized but organic, the Greenhouse community continues to empower ministry leaders and walk alongside them in their individual callings and journeys.

In this episode of Microchurches, we continue our series with Matt Newman and Jerad Sears of Samaritan Church. While part of their rhythm includes a Sunday service as a traditional church would, they have adapted the microchurch model to empower and release missionaries to live and love like Jesus in their neighborhood - and in turn build bridges to sustainable relationships in the community.

In this episode of Microchurches we hear from Pastor Will Francis of Be The Church Network, as he talks about how the callings and needs of their community came together to create this movement in Atlanta. You will learn more about what it looks like to contextualize the microchurch model given diverse leaders, location, and spiritual giftings.

Continuing in this series of hearing from network leaders and their microchurch stories, today we hear from Shawn Mitchell and Isaac Federiuk of the Catalyst Network in Portland, Oregon. Their team has done mission largely through construction and facility/home improvement projects. You will hear how what started as simply serving neighbors and community members with their skills became a chance for them to be the church in their city.

In our next episode of the series we talk with Taylor Rogers, the director of Wildfire Network in San Antonio, Texas. You will learn about the different ways that they engage with the needs of their community and be faithful to where Jesus calls them. In their contextualized version of microchurches, in what they call missions, you will hear about how they’ve cultivated a family in these smaller spaces and seen God do incredible things through it.

To wrap up the Microchurch Phases series, Tomy and Brian talk about Expansion and growth. In a culture where numbers and size are often what determine a church’s success, the goal of a microchurch is to model Kingdom mission by discipling and sending. You will hear how multiplication and expansion look different on a micro-scale, but are foundational to the journey of a missional community.

For this next episode and next Microchurch phase, we discuss Codification. In this particular phase, a microchurch leader will begin to notice what approaches and practices work for their community and the population they are trying to reach. After having gone through iteration and experimentation, this next phase allows for a microchurch to be shaped by where they’ve seen God move, and really be able to move forward.

In this second episode of this conversation around microchurch phases, we sit down with Brian Sanders once again to discuss the phase of iteration. Some of the most important lessons that are learned in the journey of a microchurch happen in the process of trying things, adjusting, and continuing in some form of mission even when you fail.

In this next series of Microchurches, we talk with Brian Sanders about how microchurches often begin, and what the ideation phase often looks like. You will learn best practices for answering the call to start a microchurch, as well as why this sacred process is such an important part of missionary life.

In this week's episode of Microchurches, we continue through hearing from Stacy Gaskins and Jeremy Stephens in our breakdown of the Missionary Journey. In this particular conversation, you will hear about the various ways that God calls us to start something new and how we can walk with those we are leading through listening to Jesus and having the confidence to answer the call to action.

In this week's episode of Microchurches, we continue through our conversation with Stacy Gaskins and Jeremy Stephens in our breakdown of the Missionary Journey. You will hear about the first two stages in the journey of a missionary, and how we can make spaces for our people to experience their own “altar moments” with the Lord, as well as walk with them through liminal moments that they may encounter.

Welcome to Season 2 of Microchurches! This season, we are kicking things off with a deep dive into the Missionary Journey. In this episode, Stacy Gaskins and Jeremy Stephens give us a 30,000-foot view of the missionary journey, how it began as a study of persevering microchurch leaders, and how it's impacted missionaries since.

In this episode of Microchurches, we continue in our conversation with Jeremy Stephens about the foundations of what a microchurch is. To conclude this series, you will learn about suffering within the missionary journey, and the ways that it brings us into intimacy with Jesus while simultaneously reminding us to surround ourselves with other missionary peers to journey with us.