unSeminary Podcast

Rich Birch
  • 4.7 (105)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Are you looking for practical ministry help to drive your ministry further ... faster? Have a sinking feeling that your ministry training didn't prepare you for the real world? Hey ... you're not alone! Join thousands of others in pursuit of stuff they wish they taught in seminary. Published every Thursday the goal of the unSeminary podcast is to be an encouragement to Pastors and Church Leaders with practical help you can apply to your ministry right away.

  1. 3D AGO

    The Summit Church: Clarity, Culture & Core—Keys to Leading 13 Campuses

    Thanks for joining us for this special episode of the unSeminary podcast as we kick off All About Multisite month. In this conversation, we’re joined by Rick Langston and Daniel Simmons from The Summit Church in North Carolina. Rick serves as the Executive Pastor of Strategic Initiatives, and Daniel is the Executive Pastor of Campuses and Central Discipleship. Are you thinking about expanding your church through multi-site? Wondering how to do it effectively while maintaining mission and vision alignment? Tune in to learn powerful insights on how to grow a multi-site church that stays united, impactful, and rooted in mission. * One church with many locations. // The Summit Church began in 1961 and experienced a pivotal shift in the 2000s under the leadership of J.D. Greear. Embracing a church planting mindset, they transitioned into a multi-site model that now includes a dozen campuses throughout the Raleigh-Durham (RDU) area. Initially driven by necessity—after selling their building and meeting in a high school—they soon recognized multisite as a strategic advantage for reaching their city. * Identity and mission clarity. // It’s important for campuses to identify primarily as The Summit Church, not just their local location. While each campus has freedom to contextualize ministry to its community, all locations remain unified under shared mission, values, and vision. This alignment allows flexibility in how they bless their neighborhoods while preserving alignment in purpose. * Who is the decision maker? // In a multisite environment, there is often a tension between campus teams and central teams around decision-making. To reduce confusion and clarify responsibilities, The Summit has developed two frameworks: CORE, for central teams, and PACE, for campus teams. These dual frameworks operate as two different sides of the same coin, functioning together to achieve the vision. * CORE and PACE. // CORE is an acronym which represents: Collaborate across ministries, Own the vision and set common strategy, Resource campus teams through coaching and training and Evaluate ministry effectiveness and strategic goals. Similarly, PACE stands for: Pastor and shepherd the congregation, Advance the church’s mission and vision locally, Collaborate with central teams and peers and Execute ministries with excellence and creativity. * Build relationships and culture. // Strong relationships between teams are essential. As their staff has grown, The Summit intentionally prioritizes relational health. They host monthly all-staff meetings with worship and learning, and biannual retreats for rest and bonding. These regular touchpoints help reinforce culture and foster trust, which is vital for collaborative success across campuses. * Create a leadership development pipeline. // The Summit’s leadership pipeline has been instrumental in its growth. The church benefits from proximity to a seminary and has a robust internal development track through The Summit Institute, an apprenticeship and residency program for individuals pursuing full-time ministry. Participants raise support to work at the church and they receive hands-on training, spiritual development, and real leadership opportunities, which can lead to permanent staff roles. The church benefits from getting to know potential hires and identifying those who align with the church’s vision. * Both multisite and church planting. // While The Summit Church is deeply committed to church planting nationally and globally, its multisite strategy remains regional—limited to the RDU area. Outside of RDU, The Summit supports church plants rather than additional campuses.

    47 min

  2. 4D AGO

    Is Your Church Ready for Multisite? Avoiding Costly Mistakes Before You Launch

    Multisite churches have dramatically increased—from just a few hundred in the early 2000s to over 5,000 today. I’ve had the honor of being at the core this movement for nearly 2.5 decades, having led 13 multisite launches and coached many more. My goal in this solo episode is to share insights from my own experience to help you determine if your church is ready for multisite and how to sidestep common pitfalls that could cost your church significantly in the long run. All month on unSeminary’s All About Multisite series, join us on Wednesdays for practical solo episodes, diving deep into the essentials of successful multisite strategies. Plus, don’t miss helpful Thursday interviews featuring prevailing multisite churches that maximize this model to reach more people effectively. Episode Highlights: * Why Multisite? Multisite as a powerful method for reaching more people, engaging more volunteers, and significantly increasing conversion rates. Multisite is not a solution for declining or stagnant churches, you “reproduce what you are.” * Key Preconditions for Launch: * Healthy Momentum: Your church should already be growing faster than your local community. Only 6% of churches meet this criterion, which makes your church a standout candidate if you do. * Clear Vision & Mission: Everyone involved must clearly understand the “why” behind launching new campuses. Multisite should focus on mission-driven outreach, not simply convenience or ego-driven expansion. * Strong Volunteer Core: Aim to mobilize about 10% of your current congregation as a dedicated volunteer team for the new campus. We discuss the three-to-one ratio; for every volunteer, expect roughly three regular attendees at the new site. * Financial Margin: Greater upfront investment correlates directly with stronger initial attendance and long-term campus success. We talk about how the “launch large” philosophy leads to sustained impact. * Reproducible Model: Ensure your ministry systems—such as weekend services, children’s ministry, assimilation processes, volunteer appreciation, and financial stewardship—are standardized, scalable, and reproducible. * Mergers vs. New Plants: Approximately half of multisite campuses today come from mergers. You should consider mergers/rebirths due to their inherent benefits, including established community presence, history, and trust. Nearly 90% of merged churches report positive outcomes. * Common Mistakes to Avoid: * Fuzzy Vision and Lack of Unity: Launch only with complete leadership and theological alignment. Clear, mission-focused vision is crucial. * Underfunding: Investing adequately in the launch budget ensures stronger attendance. * Poor Location Choice: Ideal multisite locations are within a 15-30 minute drive of your original campus. We discuss “Marchetti’s Constant,” highlighting people’s willingness to travel around 30 minutes. * Weak Launch Team: Your initial volunteer core should include 50-150 dedicated adults. The health of this group significantly impacts long-term campus success. * Wrong Campus Pastor Selection: Successful campuses predominantly choose internal hires who embody the church’s culture and DNA. Prioritize internal leadership pipelines for campus pastors. * Inconsistency Across Campuses: Maintain programming consistency ...

    20 min

  3. MAR 27

    Future-Focused Churches: Why Relational Discipleship Matters with Kara Powell

    Thanks for joining us at the unSeminary podcast. In this episode we’re talking with Kara Powell, the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute and Chief of Leadership Formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. How is your church engaging with the next generation? Building connection and trust with young people can be difficult in today’s world. Kara’s work is all about helping churches equip leaders and engage young people, and in this conversation, she shares powerful insights for creating a church that truly connects with today’s youth. * Hope amidst declining trust. // One of the biggest reasons young people are stepping away from the church is a crisis of trust. Many view the church as hypocritical, unkind, and full of moral failure. However, research shows that while many teenagers are hesitant about church, they remain deeply intrigued by Jesus and His teachings. This means churches have a unique opportunity to rebuild trust by embodying Jesus’ love and authenticity. * Five keys to faith formation. // Kara outlines five essential components for fostering faith in young people and what it means to relationally disciple them. To start, young people need adults who share their faith and invest in them personally. Second, young people crave authentic spiritual practices, like prayer and worship, and need to be learning them in trusted communities. Third, this generation is passionate about justice and serving and wants to contribute meaningfully. Fourth, families are partners in shaping the faith of young people, and churches must equip them for that role. And lastly, a thriving church intentionally integrates young people into its vision and ministry. * Diversity is an expectation. // Today’s younger generations expect diversity because they experience it daily in their schools, extracurricular activities, and communities. If a church does not reflect the ethnic and economic diversity of its neighborhood, young people perceive it as out of touch. Ask yourself, does your church really reflect the diversity of your neighborhood? If not, how can you be more intentional about engaging with the broader community in authentic ways? * Love your neighbors. // Evaluate what percentage of your church’s resources are focused on yourself versus serving and loving your broader community. Too often, churches focus inward, investing the majority of their time and finances on internal programs. Seek ways to love your community through service and outreach, as these acts of love make a profound impact and draw people in. * Build a Transformation Team. // To implement meaningful change, Kara recommends assembling a Transformation Team—a group of 5 to 12 individuals from different areas of the church who are committed to driving change. This team should include young people and representatives from various ministries (for example, children’s ministry, worship, missions, etc.). By working together across departments, churches can ensure that engagement with young people is woven into the fabric of the entire church. * Four zones to help change. // Kara’s latest book, Future-Focused Church, co-authored with Jake Mulder and Ray Chang, provides a roadmap for enacting change in the church. The book introduces a four framework that includes: Who (who can help catalyze change), Here (what’s your church’s current reality), There (where is God calling you), and How (how will you actually make the change). This structured approach helps churches strategically plan for the future and avoid common pitfalls in implementing new initiatives. Visit futurefocusedchurch.

    31 min

  4. MAR 20

    The Leadership Balancing Act: Building Trust as a Middle Manager in a Large Church with Diana Rush

    Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today, we’re talking with Diana Rush, the Senior Director of Build Community at Eastside Christian Church, a multisite church with locations in California, Nevada, and Minnesota. Are you a middle manager in a church trying to balance the pressures from both your senior leadership and your direct reports? It’s not an easy task, but in this episode of the unSeminary Podcast, Diana Rush, Senior Director of Build Community at Eastside Church, shares powerful insights that will help you manage these tensions with grace, clarity, and effectiveness. * Balancing leadership tensions. // Mid-level leadership in churches face unique challenges leading both upward to senior leadership and downward to direct reports. Managers in these roles act as translators between vision and execution, ensuring alignment while maintaining strong relationships. * Knowing yourself to lead effectively. // Effective leadership starts with self-awareness. Leaders must understand their own strengths and struggles before they can lead others well. If unresolved personal challenges go unchecked, they will inevitably affect team dynamics. Seek spiritual formation and growth, asking Jesus to shape your leadership approach. * Build Trust. // Trust is a critical component of leadership, both with those above and below you in the organization. Demonstrate reliability and transparency to earn trust, ensuring that your team feels supported while also maintaining alignment with senior leadership. Advocate for your teams while effectively translating the vision and strategy from above you. * Sell vision. // Diana believes that every leader is a “salesperson”, whether they are advocating for ideas with senior leadership or gaining buy-in from their teams. To do this effectively, leaders need to be fully committed to the church’s vision before presenting ideas. Prepare thoroughly for meetings and presentations in order to address questions and concerns while also remaining flexible and making sure people feel heard. * Make necessary shifts. // One example of how Eastside’s leadership “sold vision” includes how the church transitioned small groups away from increased on-campus meetings to more home-based settings. Although challenging at first, this shift ultimately strengthened the church’s discipleship model, reduced complexity, and allowed for more organic community growth and campus alignment. * Never waste a crisis. // Be transparent about metrics, as they tell a story about performance. Investigate declines to understand the underlying reasons. Encourage your team members to take ownership of their areas and conduct their own research to find solutions to problems that arise. Difficult situations are opportunities for creativity and improvement. * One-on-one meetings. // Consistent one-on-one meetings with your direct reports are crucial for growth and alignment. Diana suggests starting with a personal connection to build trust and open the door for candid dialogue. Next, discuss their goals and any challenges they’re facing. Wrap up by leaving space for them to provide feedback to you as their supervisor. Visit eastside.com to connect with Diana and to follow along with what Eastside Christian Church is doing. EXTRA CREDIT // Get Your One-on-One Meeting Guide for Middle Managers Looking to lead more effective meetings and build stronger relationships with your team? The One-on-One Meeting Guide for Middle Managers is designed to help you foster trust, improve communication,

    40 min

  5. MAR 13

    Right People, Right Seats: Rethinking Church Staffing for Growth with Amy Anderson

    Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Amy Anderson, the managing director at The Unstuck Group. Unstuck helps pastors grow healthy churches by guiding them through experiences that align vision, strategy, team, and action. Is your church feeling stuck or overwhelmed by its growth? Wondering if you have the right people in the right roles to move forward? Tune in as Amy shares valuable insights on how to assess and rethink your church staff and structure to enhance growth, productivity, and alignment with your vision. * Assessing and restructuring for growth. // Unstuck provides resources like podcasts, webinars, and quarterly reports to help pastors identify growth areas. However, their core work is on-site assessments that pinpoint where churches are stuck and how they can move forward. By conducting staffing and structure reviews, they help churches organize and leverage their most valuable resource: their people. * Create a staffing plan. // Many churches struggle not because of ministry but due to ineffective structure. They unknowingly hinder growth by keeping staff in the wrong roles or overloading certain areas. Evaluate your staffing strategy and proactively plan for future expansion. Create a staffing plan to strategically shift where people will be placed as your church grows. * Key indicators to watch. // Two primary warning signs suggest a church may need structural changes. The first is your staffing budget. If more than 50-55% of a church’s budget is allocated to staffing, a strategic review is needed. Second, look at how many staff you have per average attendance. A best practice is one full-time staff member per 75 attendees. As this number drops, overstaffing becomes a concern. * Common areas of overstaffing. // Churches often fall into the trap of hiring more staff to compensate for inefficiencies rather than developing existing team members. Overstaffing in next gen and adult ministries is a common problem area. These ministries frequently see unnecessary staff increases due to ineffective volunteer mobilization. * Leadership and span of care // The number of direct reports a leader should have depends on leadership capacity and style. Leaders should maintain a manageable span of care to ensure effectiveness. Balance strategic oversight with personal engagement, ensuring you are working on the ministry rather than only in it. * Building strong lead team relationships. // The relationship and trust built between the lead and executive pastor is crucial at any church. The executive pastor is responsible for executing the lead pastor’s vision and ensuring that strategic goals translate into action. If an executive pastor disagrees with their lead pastor, the executive pastor should echo what matters to the lead pastor before presenting alternative solutions. It’s also critical that the lead pastor engages with the senior leadership team regularly. These leaders need to hear the heart and perspective of their lead pastor because that’s how culture gets transferred. * A free roadmap PDF. // Amy and her team have created a free PDF, How to Restructure Your Church Staff for Growth, offering a step-by-step roadmap. This guide covers assessment strategies, staffing evaluations, decision-making frameworks, and structural planning to help churches navigate staffing challenges effectively. To learn more about how The Unstuck Group can help your church with a staffing and structure review, visit theunstuckgroup.com. Plus download How to Restructure Your Church Staff fo...

    42 min

  6. MAR 6

    Seven Days, Not Just Sundays: Using Technology to Engage Your Church All Week Long with Tyler Vance

    Welcome to the unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Tyler Vance, the COO of Apollos, a digital platform designed to help churches thrive by using technologies for personal growth. Despite being more digitally connected than ever, people lack deep, meaningful relationships. Gen Z has often been called the loneliest generation in history. However, churches are uniquely positioned to solve this problem. Tune in to learn how you can leverage technology to foster authentic community in your church and help people grow in their faith. * Daily habits that drive discipleship. // Healthy habits are a necessary part of growth. Apollos prioritizes daily time with God, prayer, and gratitude. These three habits are the most transformative for a person’s spiritual development. When consistently practiced, they not only strengthen individuals’ faith but are also leading indicators of increased church engagement, generosity, and attendance. * Prayer connects the church. // One of the most impactful features of Apollos is its ability to facilitate prayer within a church community. The app allows users to submit prayer requests in about 60 seconds and receive immediate prayer from others in the congregation. Prayer connects the hearts of believers in a powerful way and this real-time interaction fosters a deeper sense of belonging and community. * Leveraging data for ministry impact. // Church leaders often want as much data as possible, but many struggle to effectively use it. Apollos not only collects data but also helps churches interpret it to guide ministry decisions. For example, understanding common prayer requests can help pastors equip the church by developing sermon series, courses and other resources to address their congregation’s needs. * Be customer-centric. // Tyler emphasizes that a great digital product is not the solution, but rather churches need a comprehensive strategy to integrate digital engagement with their overall mission. By encouraging profile creation, the app functions as the new connection card, helping churches identify felt needs and track engagement. But churches must provide real value to members rather than just using apps as donation portals. Just because you think something is valuable doesn’t mean that your congregation will. Be customer-focused and demonstrate how the app benefits your people. * Apollos as a strategic partner. // Rather than merely providing a platform, Apollos functions as a team behind the scenes, ensuring that churches have a seamless, high-quality digital experience. Unlike many church apps that are merely content repositories, Apollos integrates engagement, community, and discipleship. With a white-label approach, churches maintain their own branding while benefiting from the expertise and support of Apollos’ team of developers and strategists. Visit apollos.app to learn more about how they can help your church thrive. Plus, listen to the episode Beyond Sundays: Liquid Church’s 24/7 Ministry Model with Lauren Bercarich here. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unseminary-podcast/id686033943?

    36 min

  7. FEB 27

    Building Bridges, Not Barriers: A Gospel-Centered Approach to Immigrant Ministry with Rick & Patti Love

    Welcome back to the unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Rick and Patti Love, founders of the organizations Love New Canadians and Love New Internationals. These ministries equip churches to serve new immigrants, refugees, and international students in their neighborhoods. Since 2014 Rick and Patti Love have worked with more than 700 churches and ministries in 20 countries around the world, helping churches develop pathways to Jesus for immigrants in their neighborhood. Is your church eager to make a meaningful impact in your community, but you’re unsure where to start? Have you considered reaching out to the immigrants living right in your neighborhood? Tune in to learn how your church can be more intentional and welcoming to this often-overlooked group of people. * Do the research and know your community. // Many churches either fail to recognize the growing immigrant population in their community or feel overwhelmed about where to start. Others may be hesitant to reach out to immigrants due to cultural differences or fear of unintentionally offending newcomers. Do the research and get to know the community around you. Intentionally engage with immigrants by offering structured programs rather than relying solely on casual personal connections. * Start with friendship. // Rick and Patti developed a three-stage model which helps churches create structured pathways through which they can connect with and serve immigrants. Stage one focuses on friendship and helping immigrants settle into their new communities through social programs with little to no spiritual content. It might include offering programs such as ESL classes, employment classes, citizenship classes, cultural celebrations and field trips. Consider the skills and hobbies of your church members and how they could be used in classes or events. The key is to create environments where immigrants feel welcomed and supported. * Use the life and teachings of Jesus. // Stage three focuses on more spiritual elements like church worship service, Alpha, small groups, and ESL bible studies. But bridging stage one and stage three is stage two, a class for the spiritually curious. Stage two is a weekly pre-evangelistic class in which immigrants study something about culture, read a gospel text, do a vocabulary lesson based on words read from that text, and then participate in discussion questions. The class uses the life and teachings of Jesus to help us understand the immigrants by asking them about their lives and how it connects with what they are reading in the gospel text. * ESL and hobbies. // Churches can get creative about how they want to connect with immigrants. Aside from focusing on needs such as citizenship or employment, consider hobbies and common interests that could also be used in conjunction with ESL, such as baking, music, gardening, weddings and more. * Leading an effective immigrant ministry. // The need for ministries serving immigrants will continue to grow and churches can play a vital role in making their communities more welcoming and supportive. Remove barriers such as complicated registration processes. Don’t turn people away because a program is full or because of how they look or dress. Be respectful of different cultural backgrounds and language proficiency levels. Small-group discussions, rather than large lectures, foster friendships and create opportunities for the students to talk and interact. Many of the best volunteers are immigrants themselves, offering empathy and firsthand experience. Visit Love New Internationals or Love New Canadians...

    34 min

  8. FEB 20

    Healthy Things Grow: Building a Unified and Thriving Staff Team with Chad Bickley

    Welcome to the unSeminary podcast. Today we’re talking with Chad Bickley, the executive pastor at Skyline Church in California. Is your church experiencing growth, but you’re struggling with how to maintain a healthy team culture? Wondering how to create a culture that drives growth while ensuring your staff remains aligned and healthy? In this episode of the unSeminary podcast Chad shares valuable insights on building a staff culture that defines how to achieve the church’s vision while maintaining health. * Keep your team focused. // Skyline Church has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing churches in the U.S. and has ambitious goals under its 10/10/10 Vision—reaching 10,000 people in 10 years in 10 campuses or church plants. The growth of a church requires more people on the staff, but it’s critical to hire people who are the right fit. Fast growth with an unhealthy staff can be disastrous. Be intentional about clarity and health in your team in order to keep them focused on your church’s mission. * Six core behaviors. // Churches often create vision statements but they don’t identify the behaviors required to achieve their vision. At Skyline Church there are six core behaviors that they look for in their staff and constantly drill into them. These are: attitude, commitment, work ethic, accountability, trust, and love. Skyline actively reinforces these behaviors through cultural spotlights in weekly staff meetings, hiring processes, and performance reviews. * Start with the right attitude. // The number one core behavior Skyline’s staff focuses on is level one: attitude. The standards surrounding the right attitude are humility, gratitude, and being a teammate. A person’s attitude is foundational because it affects all of the other core behaviors. * Your work ethic is like a traffic light. // The level three core behavior is work ethic. It emphasizes working more enthusiastically with grit and with a mindset of how you can be more efficient and better today than yesterday. Think of your work ethic as a traffic light with each color representing your mood. If you’re in the yellow, you’re getting frustrated and need to think about what is going on inside you. In the red? You need to step all the way back to level one and work on your attitude. Skyline emphasizes to start every day in the green. * Pastor/director meetings to stay healthy. // To keep staff aligned and pulling in the same direction, Skyline Church has a weekly pastor/director meeting with about 20 staff. The meeting includes a cultural section, an awareness section, and a discussion section. The cultural portion involves cultural spotlights where team leaders highlight stories from the past Sunday. They also report “wins” as well as “stucks” which they are trying to work through. The awareness segment highlights what the team is hearing and seeing, and they wrap up with a discussion which covers any other items of note. To learn more about Skyline Church and connect with Chad, visit www.skylinechurch.org. Plus, to see how Skyline uses its six core behaviors, download their core identity book here. EXTRA CREDIT // 10-10-10 Vision Planning Retreat Overview Do you want to inspire your leadership team to dream big and align around a unified church vision? The 10-10-10 Vision Planning Retreat O...

    33 min
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    About

    Are you looking for practical ministry help to drive your ministry further ... faster? Have a sinking feeling that your ministry training didn't prepare you for the real world? Hey ... you're not alone! Join thousands of others in pursuit of stuff they wish they taught in seminary. Published every Thursday the goal of the unSeminary podcast is to be an encouragement to Pastors and Church Leaders with practical help you can apply to your ministry right away.

    Information

    • Creator
      Rich Birch
    • Years Active
      2013 - 2025
    • Episodes
      300
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Copyright
      © unSeminary & Rich Birch
    • Show Website
      unSeminary Podcast

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