The Nurtured Church Podcast
The Nurtured Church is a podcast dedicated to helping today’s church leaders and ministries grow their communities.
Latest Episodes
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Why Virtual Church Just Might Actually Make Sense
w/ Jeff Reed
There are roughly 385,000 evangelical churches in the United States today. Of those, fewer than 15,000 churches broadcast their Sunday services online. And of those, only a handful are actively making disciples and building community in the digital space. For Jeff Reed, that’s not good enough. And that’s why he started The Church Digital. On this episode, discover how church online can be just as life-changing as church in-person.
Leveraging Church Real Estate to Build Community
w/ Nathan Artt
We often hear stories of thriving, growing churches that suddenly experience a culture shift. All at once their focus shifts from reaching people to paying bills. And in almost every one of these stories you can tie this shift back to a decision that was made involving buildings and debt. Nathan Artt, Owner and President of Ministry Solutions, shares his expertise on how churches can make sound real estate decisions that lead to a thriving church community.
Make it Easy: Using Invitations to Grow Your Church
w/ Michael Lukaszewski
When Michael was pastoring a church in Atlanta, they were reaching many people and growing quickly. But he realized something about a year into the journey of planting his church: A crowd and a church are very different. On today’s episode, Michael walks us through why getting your church to invite new people on Sunday morning has become so difficult. And, he’ll give us practical strategies to try as we equip our churches to grow the ministry.
Ensuring Your Church Website is Creating Connections Within Your Community
w/ Aimee Cottle and Shayla Kenworthy
When it comes to being strategic about nurturing community, your website plays a critical role. So, we invited Aimee Cottle, Director of Marketing, and Shayla Kenworthy, Communications Strategist, onto The Nurtured Church podcast to share their thoughts on the role that a church’s website plays in creating meaningful connections.
Stewardship — Why It’s a Relational Ministry, Not a Financial Ministry
w/ Dave Briggs
Often misunderstood is the idea of stewardship. How is it different from giving? And what does stewardship have to do with building community? We addressed these concerns and more on this episode with Dave Briggs. Dave is currently Director of Stewardship at Central Christian Church and previously, he led the stewardship ministry at Willow Creek Community Church.
Leveraging Technology to Deepen Relationships in Your Church
w/ Scott Pleasants
When it comes to technology, there’s a common criticism: it’s an obstacle to real relationships. But Thomas Road Baptist Church sees it differently. They’re actually leveraging technology to deepen relationships and expand their ministry. We caught up with Scott Pleasants, Chief Information Officer at Thomas Road Baptist Church, to discuss how they’re using technology to nurture engagement.
Why a Strong Financial Team is Key to an Engaged and Thriving Church
w/ Brett Billman
You can’t do ministry if the lights don’t turn on. How true is that? These are wise words from Brett Billman, Director of Finance at Watermark Community Church. Brett talked with us about his role on the finance team and the important part it plays in helping to build communities and stronger small groups.
How Missions Ministries Build Community
w/ Jared Romano
Community doesn’t just happen. It has to be created, nurtured, and pursued. So, as you know, we’ve been looking at how different churches and different ministries are creating community within their congregations. With our guest Jared Romano from Focus Ministry, we continue that thread by looking at how you can create engagement opportunities through your missions ministry.
Why Generosity is Foundational to Building a Healthy Church Community
w/ Greg Gibbs
To many, generosity a sensitive issue. If you’re in this boat, you’re not alone. But we hope you’ll be encouraged by the conversation we recently had with Greg Gibbs, Lead Navigator at AUXANO, who regularly consults with churches on generosity development.
Leveraging Church Communication to Nurture Engagement
w/ Stephen Lenahan
Stephen Lenahan, Director of Development & Communications at St. Anthony’s, came on the latest episode of The Nurtured Church podcast to share the story of St. Anthony’s and to talk about how they’re using their communication efforts to build engagement among their parishioners.
A 3-Part Framework for Doing Church Social Media
w/ Haley Veturis
In this episode, we interview Haley Veturis, Director of Digital Engagement at Bayside Church in Sacramento, CA. Prior to that, she was the social media manager for years at Saddleback Church. Listen in to hear Haley share a three-part framework for engaging your church on social by paying attention to the needs of the individuals in your community.
Building a Great Leadership Culture That Leads to an Engaged Church Community
w/ Bobby Bogard
Bobby Bogard has decades of experience building community. Bobby has served as Executive Pastor at Gateway Church and currently works with Bogard Group Ministries and LINC. He came on the show to talk about the keys to setting a great foundation that blossoms into an engaged congregation.
Every Church Should Have An Experience Pastor — Here’s Why
w/ Holly Tate
Your church staff culture will have a trickle down effect on your congregational culture. That’s why it’s so important to think about nurturing engagement as you hire, onboard, and integrate your staff members. We talked with Holly Tate from Vanderbloeman about how churches are thinking about staffing, particularly with new pastoral positions focused on the member journey.
Your Guide to Effective Church Branding
w/ Katie Allred
While Katie Allred was on staff as Web Content Manager at Brentwood Baptist Church, the church scaled from one location to eight. During that time, Katie says the biggest challenge they faced was branding. In this episode, Katie, who’s now an Assistant Professor at the University of Mobile, talked about why church branding matters and how you can achieve excellence in your own brand strategy.
If the Leaders Build a World-Class Church, the Congregation Will Come
w/ Tyler Reagin
What does a church leader do when they get punched in the mouth? You can ask Tyler Reagin. Reagin is the president of Catalyst, a development organization focused on raising the next generation of church leaders. Reagin joined us on The Nurtured Church podcast recently, and shared his thoughts on church leadership, current and future.
Growing and Scaling Church Communities Pt. 2
w/ Chris Ames & Ryan Van Sickle
On this episode of The Nurtured Church, we pick up where we left off with our guests Ryan Van Sickle and Chris Ames from North Point Ministries. Ryan and Chris share their expertise and lessons learned along the way on building connected communities. See what you can take away to use in your congregation and beyond.
Growing and Scaling Church Communities Pt. 1
w/ Chris Ames & Ryan Van Sickle
Chris Ames and Ryan Van Sickle from North Point Ministries join us to give an inside look at how North Point has made a digital transformation and the impact it has on building a connected and engaged community. This is part 1 of a 2-part series.
Using Data To Fuel Engagement and Ministry
w/ Chris Kehayias
In this episode, Chris shares how a management platform can support your member journey, how to find the balance between engagement and pushiness, and why it’s not actually about the data. Listen in to discover why digging into member engagement data is a necessary part of reaching people with the good news in this digital age.
Maintaining Organizational Health in Your Church
w/ Shawn Lovejoy
No matter how big your church is, if it isn’t healthy, you’re likely not going to be around for very long. You can host thousands of people every weekend, but if your staff is burned out, or you run your church like a dictatorship, your church likely won’t be doing all that it could be. Listen in as our guest digs deeper on this topic.
4 Ways Your Church Can Build a First-Class Online Community
w/ Nils Smith
When it comes to technology within our churches, the time isn’t yesterday. It’s now. And the online, mobile, and digital spaces aren’t where our “second-tier” efforts should be. A physical church and its digital touchpoints are one—one community, one team, one heart, and one soul. Discover how your church can build first-class online communities.
About the Podcast
Church leaders and ministries want thriving organizations, but are often frustrated by the lack of participation. That’s why we’re highlighting ordinary churches doing extraordinary things to nurture engagement and growth in their community. At Pushpay, we work with more than 7,000 churches and a plethora of networks, partners, and leaders in the Church and technology space. It’s lessons and best practices from these relationships that we’re excited to bring you through this podcast.