Explore every episode of the podcast 200churches Podcast: Ministry Encouragement for Pastors of Small Churches

Church Planter and now Lead Pastor Matt Hayden joins Jeff to talk about the process of planting a church, in fact one that will thrive! Jeff peppers him with a LOT of questions to tease out the story of Harvest View Alliance Church in Grand Junction CO.

If you are considering planting a church and wonder what it really takes to actually do it, or are a current pastor considering what the cost might be for your church to plant another church, this is the episode for YOU!

Created with TLC just for you - to make a Kingdom Impact! Enjoy.

This episode lives up to the MINISTRY ENCOURAGEMENT billing of this show! John Finkelde from GrowAHealthyChurch.com in Perth, Australia joins Jeff to share wisdom drawn from many decades of ministry and coaching pastors in ministry! He mentioned using a productivity software - Trello.com - that I did not want you to miss, you might like it.

If this is something you value, pass it along to other pastors! There are over 400 other 200churches episodes for your encouragement - listen to them all!

In this episode my friend Aaron shares his story of pastoral ministry. The 20teens were great, then 2020 hit and things began to unravel. Too many of us will identify with Aaron's story - and maybe it will highlight something in your own life or ministry that you can make a midcourse correction on now, before it's too late!

Jeremy Norton is pastor of the Mountainview Church in Whitehorse, Yukon Canada. He is the founder of LeadBiblically.com, a resource rich site for everyday pastors. And, with his three sons he produces all the content on THE YUKON BOYS YouTube Channel - which you should absolutely check out!

As always, this episode of the 200churches Podcast is full of ministry encouragement, and engagement in the very things you face as a pastor of a 200church (a church of about 200, give or take a hundred or two...)

Enjoy!

Jeff jumped on the mic for another episode of the 200churches Podcast - after almost two years! Let's say this is an update episode that might turn into a restart episode - he makes no promises. Jeff shares his heart for pastors, and brings a spotlight back again to the importance and beauty of small church ministry and pastors.

In June of 2018 Jonny and I had a conversation with Brandon Patterson, who was then the Pastor at the church in Plains, GA attended by a well known former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter.

Brandon was newly married and 24 years old at the time, and while talk of pastoring a presidential family was interesting, the HEART of this small church pastor was palpable. 

With the death of President Carter this week, I asked Brandon for permission to re-release this almost six-year-old episode - and he was gracious to grant it. There's a TON of encouragement in here, and yet it also gives a glimpse into the priorities of a man who once was president.

After more than one year... here is a new episode! So I took a little time off...

This is a short one with the intention of more to come!

What a blast to use my podcast to introduce Rick Warren to a church planter who hasn't even launched his first public service yet!

Willie Johnson is with REDEFINE CHURCH in St. Louis MO. Rick's project these days is FinishingTheTask.com.

I asked Rick to coach Willie, from his perspective as a church planter who has handed off his church to the next guy - with Willie and his team yet to launch their very first service.

Willie would never ask this, so let me ask this for him - would you like to bless this new church plant?! Why not give them a one-time, or recurring gift as they get started? I love promoting what others are doing! Full disclosure - my church is forming a partnership and has sent thousands of dollars to Redefine Church, and I welcome you, if God so leads, to bless them also. They are a church plant with the Christian & Missionary Alliance!

Enjoy this church planting coaching session!

Greg Atkinson was on the 200churches Podcast 10 years ago! Way back in July of 2013 he joined us, when we were only six months old as a podcast - and now, ten years later he is back for the fourth or fifth time - with a great episode about something so fundamental to our Christian life, that we almost miss it: KINDNESS.

Check out Greg's book: The Secret Power of Kindness - 10 Keys to Unlocking Your Capacity to Change the World.

Check out Greg at GregAtkinson.com where you can find his other resources including coaching and consulting, his First Impressions Conference info, and more!

Thanks for helping us encourage so many pastors Greg!

Jeff talks with Sam Rainer, Pastor of West Bradenton Baptist Church in Florida, the President of Church Answers, and the author of the new book - The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church.

Sam is a great example of a 200church pastor who refuses to imagine a limit on his impact based on the size of his church. This is an encouraging conversation! Sam and his father Thom are co-hosts of the Rainer On Leadership Podcast - check it out. Their podcast is also on YouTube.

Thom Rainer is the co-host with his son Sam of the Rainer On Leadership Podcast, and the founder of ChurchAnswers.com and ChurchAnswers.University.

Thom is a research guy and a data guy and has studied the church for many years. He has written many books which you can see listed HERE. Thom and Jeff spoke about Thom's book, Pray and Go, which releases in June 2023, and about ChatGPT and pastors, and Thom's ministry membership site, Church Answers.

We talked about the HopeInitiative.com which helps church leaders change the culture of their church to reflect the heart of God for lost people.

For information about Church Answers University and questions about potential partial scholarships, contact matt@churchanswers.com

Robby Angle is the CEO of Trueface.org and joins Jeff today to talk about what he and his team are doing with Trueface, about his life and background, and about how Trueface is resourcing churches with training in best practices for discipleship.

As Jeff said on the podcast, Trueface.org is offering some great training for you and your small group leadership, so you should definitely check it out!

Check out Robby's new book - The Cure For Groups - How to lead a small group people will talk about the rest of their lives!

And check out these other Trueface-related episodes:

Episode 61 with John Lynch - How Not To Impress God As A Pastor

Episode 64 with John Lynch - The Pastor's Secret To Breaking Sin's Power

Episode 304 with John Lynch - A Truckload of Pastoral Encouragement and Hope

Episode 239 with Steve Mason -  What Authors and Small Church Pastors Dream of - A Story of Radical Life Change

Pastor Tony is the pastor of Nicholasville United Methodist Church in Nicholasville Kentucky. You are in for a real treat with a humble, godly, 200church pastor from Kentucky. Enjoy!

Check out Tony' book, Jesus, The Four Gospels in Politics HERE!

David Wentz was a pastor for 38 years, originally an Engineer by vocation, and now an author and equipper of pastors around the world. Lots of kids and grandkids (I've forgotten how many!)

David and I speak for a bit about the revival at Asbury, and revivals in general - quite interesting to me. But we talk mostly about the ability of the church to thrive outside of a building - meeting with God in living rooms.

You can check out David's books here!

A HELLO Video from David is here

And His Website is HERE!

She's still writing the 1 Peter volume of the New International Commentary on the New Testament. She is on the NIV Translation Team. She has written three commentaries on Matthew and one on Philippians, as well as a book called Scripture As Communication, a book on biblical hermeneutics.

We talk about 1 Peter's content, but also what happens from the time you get the assignment to write a commentary on a book of the Bible, until it's actually published and on the shelf!

Check out Jeannine's books here.

Check out the Stetzer Church Leaders Podcast with Karl Vaters HERE!

On the eve of Saddleback's ouster from the Southern Baptist Convention, Rick Warren marched through a long conversation with me and Jonny. Rick talks about that in this episode. It's obvious he's not happy about it, but as always he remains gracious.

Undaunted by rejection, Rick is focused on his new calling, as the leader of FTT, Finishing The Task. He is pushing ahead to see what we in the Christian and Missionary Alliance call Great Commission Completion!

Rick recently finished his pastoral ministry of 43 years at Saddleback.  I (Jeff) was at his conference in 1997, when I was 34 and he was 43.  At that time Saddleback was 17 years old and 13,000 in attendance. They would more than double in the next 25 years.

You can find everything Rick is up to, with all the links, at PastorRick.com!

Rick is a teacher, coach, and adviser of pastors - you will get A LOT out of this episode! Enjoy!

Steve Dewitt is a husband, and father of two daughters, an author, pastor, and Christian leader. This is a conversation about his most recent book, and so much more! You're going to like Steve!

Check out a lot (not everything!) of what Steve is up to below...

Steve's Radio/Podcast Ministry: The Journey

Bethel Church where Steve is Lead Pastor

Steve's First Book: Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in everything

Steve's Second Book: Enjoying God In Everything - A Guide to Maximizing Life's Pleasures

Steve's Gospel Coalition articles

Jim Cymbala for 50 years had pastored the Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn - New York City. He joined Jeff to talk about his approach to ministry, his latest book, his experience through COVID, and him opinions on ministry culture, church growth, sermon prep, and so much more!

Jim has produced TheCallingSeries.org for pastors and church leaders - a group of 30 YouTube video lessons on the calling to pastoral ministry. You can access them for FREE - THIRTY 10-12 minute video lessons to encourage and develop your calling to serve.

Check out his book, Fan the Flame: Let Jesus Renew Your Calling and Revive Your Church - just released in September 2022.

Todd Rhoades has been in the "Connecting Staff to Churches" business since the dawn of the New Millennium, the year 2000! He recently spent 10 years on the team at the Leadership Network, and almost four years ago co-founded ChemistryStaffing.com with Matt Steen.

Todd has been neck deep in ministry practice, theory, and leadership for a long time. I've seen him on websites and emails for years and have FINALLY had the opportunity to sit down with him for an hour-long conversation, which I share with you today on Episode 413! Enjoy!

If you are sensing God's call to a new ministry, or if you need to call a new staff member and need help in the search, contact Todd or Matt at Chemistry Staffing!

Roger Parrott is the President of Belhaven University in Jackson Mississippi. He has written a book unlike any book I've ever seen on leadership - it's called Opportunity Leadership - Stop Planning and Start Getting Results.

Roger told me "getting rid of planning is the single best leadership decision I ever made!" I spoke with Dr. Parrott about his university, where he has served for decades, about his family, and about his perspective on leadership.

He has a phenomenal 5-part video series called "The Real Cost of College" which would be helpful to you if you are planning on sending a kid to college this year.

Thanks again to Marc for  what he's doing to help pastors of small churches! Here’s some links for the show notes:

Small Church Media Website: https://smallchurch.media/

Link to “Podcasting for Churches” series: https://smallchurch.media/podcasting-for-churches/

Real Talk Christian Podcast Website: https://realtalkchristianpodcast.com/

If you want to hear more about Marc's story, you can listen at the link below. Marc wanted you to know this is a new age podcast, and he doesn't push it a whole lot but it was a great platform to share his story and how Jesus was all over it: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4lKMaYPG7SbdlnIn4AuxCm?si=91d10acaf0c04657 

This is a supremely practical episode as Dave Jacobs, from SmallChurchPastor.com, and I talk about leadership team meetings, and how to make them both enjoyable and productive. We cover a ton of ground in this episode!

You will hear a number of things that connect with your experience and give you some ways to improve how you are planning and leading meetings in your ministry.

Dave is offering at the start of 2023 - to all of our listeners - four FREE 45 minute coaching sessions, so that you can test drive his expertise in pastoral coaching, with no cost to you.

I want to urge you to consider asking your board to support you in one coaching call per month with Dave Jacobs.  And... I explain that in this episode. Pastors need help and support now more than ever, and with 15 years of experience coaching pastors, Dave provides quite the ministry of support to, especially, small church pastors.

You will ENJOY this episode - and it's our gift to you!

Kurt Trempert from HarvestDowntown.org in Colorado Springs joins Jeff today for Episode 409. Kurt's book, Kaleidoscope - Keeping the Church from becoming a Museum, was released in 2017, and while they talk about the message of the book, they also talk all things church ministry.

Kind of a part one to this episode would be Weekend Edition 34 of the Coaching For Pastor's podcast, Jeff's other podcast for pastors. You can google it and find it easily. On that podcast they don't talk about Kurt's book, but about pastoral life and ministry - all different content that's really interesting and challenging. Kurt's been in his church for 23 years and they talk on that Weekend Edition episode about longevity in ministry.

CLICK HERE for Kurt's book on Amazon

CLICK HERE to see Kurt's church website

Bruce and Toni Hebel join Jeff to talk about their teaching on Forgiving Forward. They counsel, consult, and coach with individuals, leaders, pastoral couples, and many more every week of the year.

What does it look like to actually forgive? What does forgiveness mean? How about repentance? Reconciliation? Healing? The impact on mental health?

Bruce and Toni talk through the full monty! You'll learn a LOT from this episode!

Forgiving Forward Website

Forgiving Forward Book

Forgiving Forward Resources

Jeff talks with Doug Parks, CEO of IntentionalChurches.com.  Doug tells a little of his own story, and how God led him to what he is currently doing, and how he helped start Intentional Churches.

ChurchOS is a theologically and biblically based Operational Plan for your church. Doug and his team helps churches every week and whether you retain them or not for your church, their links below will provide you with much inspiration, instruction, and encouragement in your role as a pastor.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/intentional-churches-podcast/id1538669562

https://intentionalchurches.com/book-resources-download/

https://www.youtube.com/@IntentionalChurches

Jeff talked with John Finkelde, founder of GrowAHealthyChurch.com in Perth, Australia about the qualities of a pastor who is emotionally healthy, unhurried, and at peace... among other things.

This is a short, quick, effective episode that will give you some fodder for ministry thoughts and initiatives, plus some healthy encouragement.

Enjoy!

Dave Ronan Ph.D. is an expert in Intercultural Studies, a pastor, a missionary, a professor, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and one who has trained Foreign Military Advisors, State Department personnel, and so much more. 

Dave is currently a pastor of a Kanto Plains Baptist Church near an Air Force base in Toyko, Japan with a congregation half Japanese people and half U.S. military personnel.

Dave is an amazing leader and will encourage you with his heart, and his insight into leadership - enjoy!

David Wilson serves as the Executive Pastor at Harvest Downtown in Colorado Springs CO. He has served in para-church organizations that brought him into close proximity with prominent evangelical leaders who wielded political influence nationally. He helped them organize and fundraise. He served with them personally. But today he is more convinced than ever that the local church is God's Gospel messenger to reach lost people.

This is David's story, about his move to full time pastoral ministry, his experience with chronic disease, and his current ministry mobilizing volunteers for discipleship and ministry.

This is an unedited conversation between Jeff and David in the front seat of Jeff's mobile studio - the 200churchesmobile!

Enjoy!

This conversation Jonny and I had with that Jonny and I had with Christena Cleveland was eye opening and enlightening. It helped us to see the world from another person's perspective.

Before Tamir Rice, George Floyd, and so many others - we had this conversation with Christena. We know you'll be encouraged and learn...

Christena's book - DisUnity In Christ - Uncovering the hidden forces that keep us apart...  is HERE.

Paul and Peggy Schlieker are lay people who have never let that status keep them from committed service and ministry for Jesus! They are disciples who make disciples in their church and community, and they challenge and empower regular people toward the highest levels of commitment and calling for Christ.

Paul shares his discipleship philosophy, and believe me, any pastor who listens will be challenged by the depth of thought and strategy that the Schliekers have put into their approach to raising up followers of Jesus.

They have provided FREE resources for you at 200churches.com/402. They are ebooks from their four volume discipleship series titled "Open Your Heart". Books 1, 3, & 4 are free downloads, and there is a link to Book 2 for purchase on Amazon.

You're going to love Paul's style - a financial services guy with a heart for ministry, and the sweat equity to match it... Enjoy!

This episode is with Andy Dykhouse, the Executive Director for Camp Rivercrest in Nebraska. If you are not involved in the summer camp world, this episode is for YOU! Enjoy it, and then get your kids involved in something that will be absolutely life changing!

Check out Camp Rivercrest below, or a great Christian Camp in your neck of the woods.

Camp Rivercrest

Jeff and Jonny are LIVE together on this episode, catching up after a long summer, reminiscing over the last 400 episodes, and recalling some of the very memorable guests over the years, with cameo appearances by John Lynch, Kay Warren, Vinny Provenzano, and N.T. Wright.

This was a blast to record, and you will enjoy this CLASSIC episode!

Here are the links to the full episodes we reference in Episode 400:
John Lynch - Episode 61
Kay Warren - Episode 226
Vinny Provenzano - Episode 286
N.T. Wright - Episode 200
Vinny's Website - We Chose Love.com

He is a church communications and branding episode, who is actually the REAL DEAL. He has the heart of an evangelist, and has a craving for churches to reach people for Jesus. Sometimes us pastors can't get out of our own way - my words (Jeff) not his!

But Mark MacDonald helps us say less so our community will listen more. As a corporate communications and marketing guy - who was also a Christian - Mark realized that church leaders did not understand how to, in a ministerially and spiritually appropriate way, market their ministries. He wondered how he could help them get more of what people need (the Gospel) to the actual people who need it (the community).

Mark's organization is called, BE KNOWN FOR SOMETHING.

Mark did not seek me out, I found him online, and realizing he was the real deal, asked him to join me on the podcast. 

You are going to LOVE this!

You can check out Mark's book, Be Known For Something, right HERE!

Dave Jacobs and I talk about some things that pastors might want to reconsider. They come from his book, Second Thoughts - 100 things small church pastors need to reconsider.

Dave recommends we

• reconsider the length of our sermons
• reconsider the value of wasting time
• reconsider our bias (ouch!)

The standard for this podcast is twofold: 1) helpful, and 2) encouraging. I think we hit both targets squarely! 

Enjoy!

The church was waist deep into a Capital Campaign for a major church renovation, and mere weeks from engaging all the construction work... and then the pandemic hit. Ugh.

They had over a million dollars already contributed with millions more pledged. The vision had been cast, all the hard work of strategic planning finished - they had waded into the pool.

Shutdown.

What to do? "God!!?? What do we do?!"

Here's what the lead pastor did of this multisite church...

(Suzanne was also on Episode 242, if you want to hear some real back story exactly five years ago to the week!)

Andrew Root, Ph.D. is a professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul MN, and an author who writes about pastors and churches in the secular age for Baker Academic Publishing.

Jeff and Andy talk about his passion and message - that churches don't really have a relevance or resource problem, it's a very different challenge they are up against. Andy lays it out - you WILL enjoy this and grow from it!

Find Andrew here!  And Check Out His Podcast Here!

Jeff talks with Paul Golden, on staff at Clarks Summit University, founder of Post Game with Paul Golden - A Sports + Faith Podcast and owner of PaulGolden.org.

Paul grew up in a pastor's home, attended Bible College and Seminary, has an M.Div., is the Chaplain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hockey Team, and has literally spent his entire life in and around ministry.

Paul talks about the coaches and athletes he's interviewed on his podcast, training pastors and Christian workers in the 21st century, and so much more. You're going to enjoy this conversation!

Thom Rainer, from the Rainer On Leadership Podcast, and ChurchAnswers.com joins Jeff to talk about issues that pastors face today.

Thom is a research guy, a data guy, or as he says, "a data nerd", and shares a lot from the perspective of actual research data and not just anecdotal evidence.

Thom works with pastors almost every day, and is a wealth of information and coaching on this episode - which you will... enjoy! And, check out the links below! You're welcome.

Rainer On Leadership Podcast
Church Answers.com
Thom's book: I Am A Christian 
Become a Church Answers Member!

Jonny Craig talks with Pam Dykstra about Crucial Conversations.

Pam is an Experienced Master Trainer working in the professional training & coaching industry. Skilled in Customer Service, Coaching, Organizational Development, Team Building, and Public Speaking, she is on the team at VitalSmarts.com.

Take your free Style Under Stress Assessment here!

Don't listen to this episode with taking a few minutes after it to jot down some critical next steps you need to take in applying what you've learned!

Chuck Fenwick is the lead pastor of the New Haven United Methodist Church in New Haven IN. Chuck talks with Jeff about his approach to:

• staffing
• sermon prep
• message delivery
• digital ministry
• and more!

You can find Chuck's church here: https://www.newhavenumc.com. 

This is an interesting and thought provoking episode - enjoy!

Zach and Allison Zehnder can be found at RedLetterChallenge.com, and you can get for FREE with no shipping cost Zach's book The Red Letter Challenge!

Zach is our guest today and he tells his story, a 4th generation pastor who took a circuitous route to get there. Zach is fantastic and you are going to totally LOVE this conversation - which is helpful and encouraging.

Danny Garrido is our guest today and is the pastor of The Crossing Church in Colorado Springs CO. Danny works for the State of Colorado full time, and pastors his church full time on the side.

Pastor Danny trains and deploys a lot of volunteers and generously shares his ministry responsibilities with his staff.  He was with us on Episode 299, but today he talks about succession planning with his associate pastor, the reality of the immigration crisis as it affects his church family and community, and bivocational ministry generally.

Danny and I serve together on a denominational team and get to see each other a couple times each year - where we have a TON of fun together.

Lee writes for Christianity.com on their Preaching Today site - for pastors. That's where I bumped into Lee, and began to appreciate his perspectives on ministry and pastoral life. 

Finally after reading his articles for a couple months, I decided to reach out to him and welcome him to speak to our 200churches pastors, which he has done, with amazing insight and compassion.

Lee shares, almost uncomfortably at times, his own weaknesses and struggles in ministry, and it was encouraging to me to hear them!

You're going to be inspired by what Lee has accomplished in life and ministry, and it will allow you to aspire to all that God is calling your to do as well. Enjoy this wonderful conversation with this retired, yet very active, pastor!

Dave Jacobs says that the most common challenge that the pastors he coaches have is that of getting enough volunteers in the post Covid era. So today Jeff and Dave talk about that - and Dave makes a great and generous offer to our 200churches pastors at the end of the episode - so don't miss it!

Dave is at SmallChurchPastor.com, and on the Small Church Pastor Facebook Group, where there are almost five thousand members! You can reach Dave at scpcoaching@gmail.com.

(Spoiler Alert: Dave is offering our 200churches family of pastors a very special offer... Four 45-Minute Coaching Sessions absolutely free!) Dave wants to help pastors who have never had a coach before to experience the benefits of coaching, especially at this crucial time in the life of the church, and in the challenging environment pastors are in. 

Take Dave up on his offer! No obligation to continue, no pressure, just love, wisdom, and encouragement from Dave. Pastor, if you are a little lonely, and a lot isolated... Dave is your guy! Email him at scpcoaching@gmail.com.

Rohan and Jill Bell pastor the C3 Church in Thirroul NSW Australia, and Rohan is our guest on this episode!

In ministry since 1992, Rohan and Jill have been involved at almost every level of pastoral ministry, while raising five children and now enjoying two grandchildren. Their church is in three locations, and it's like pastoring three 200churches at the same time.

Rohan is gifted administratively, and it's great to hear how he is staying in his lane, while training and deploying others to use their ministry gifts to grow the Kingdom of God.

I met Rohan in John Finkelde's HUB over at GrowAHealthyChurch.com, which you should absolutely check out! John is a frequent guest on the podcast. 

Enjoy this great conversation with a pastor who is on the journey... just - like - you!

Happy Saturday! This is a Bonus Episode that I recorded with David Bush.

The very first Coaching For Pastors Cohort will launch soon, and this episode is somewhat of an introduction to it. I wanted to share it with you and invite our 200churches Pastors to consider being a part of this very first ever cohort group of pastors. 

If you want to hear me talk about it more after this episode, listen to Episode 87 of the Coaching For Pastors Podcast. 

Enjoy this weekend Bonus Episode!

Alex Regets is a 30-year-old Presbyterian pastor from Manteno, IL. He pastors Community Presbyterian Church, a great church in the heart of America's heartland.

Alex is also the founder of the HomeTown Pastor Podcast, and HomeTownPastor.com, where you can find great resources and a truckload of encouragement as a small church pastor.

As a young pastor, Alex is really showing the way for his generation - loving and caring for God's people in a smaller congregation, where the Gospel is shared and lives are transformed.

You are going to enjoy this episode!

Our special guest on episode 385 is Bob McNabb, from SpiritualMultiplication.org and LaunchGlobal.org, and the author of Spiritual Multiplication in the Real World - Why some disciple-makers reproduce when others fail.

Bob has been involved in disciple-making ministries for 40 years, both in the U.S. and overseas, and has done extensive research on why some are effectiveness when others are not. Here's what straight outta his bio page:

"He has done extensive research into contextual and behavioral factors that influence effectiveness in disciple-making."

Can you guess the secret sauce Bob discovered that produces the greatest amount of effectiveness in disciple making? It's right in this episode! Enjoy!

This will go down as one of Jeff's absolute favorite episodes! Not because Jonny wasn't on the call, but because TJ was. Here is TJ's bio from his website, KidsOutdoorZone.com:

TJ is the founder of KOZ or Kid's Outdoor Zone! 

TJ is an award-winning outdoor travel and adventure writer, radio show host and past President of the Texas Outdoor Writers Association. He published a Texas lifestyle magazine with his wife Sandra for more than 25 years from their former home in Austin, Texas.

If you ask TJ his passions he would tell you. Jesus Christ, his family including dear friends, the ministry of KOZ, writing, coffee, hiking and the cool air of the mountains. He is involved daily working with KOZ leaders, creating materials, fundraising and mentoring.

TJ & Sandra have three adult children, two amazing grand-daughters and one grandson! They now live on a small hobby farm in Smithville, Texas and loving the country lifestyle!

This is one inspirational, encouraging episode! Thanks TJ! Check out his website and see if your church can be used by God to help rescue this next generation of boys!

Melanie is an International Worker and Missionary with her husband and children in a foreign country that will remain unnamed. Jeff gave her permission to speak freely to pastors and clue them in on what it's like for a young missionary family to come off the field for a year and visit churches.

What do they need from pastors? From church members? How does this home assignment year affect their personal lives and their children? How can churches help and truly minister to the needs of a missions couple or missionary family? Melanie breaks all this down in this episode! It's a timeless evergreen 200churches classic! Enjoy!

And... Jeff and Jonny are in rare form in the introduction and conclusion - please excuse them...