Episode 8- Walt Tanner: Going After the 60%: Walt Tanner on Planting a Church for the City

Be the church, not just a church service.When Walt Tanner and Chris Barrineau moved into a Fountain Inn garage apartment on 08/08/08 — newborn in tow, both jobs left behind, house sold, no insurance, in the teeth of the Great Recession — people told them nobody wanted another church. Walt's answer became the heartbeat of everything that followed: "40% of the people love the churches here. There's 60% that'll never go there — and we're going after those 60."Seventeen years later, that conviction has reshaped a city.In this conversation, Josh and Walt go all the way back to the beginning — a country kid from Mauldin, an architecture degree from Clemson, and a mentor who taught him that an architect's job is "to create the vision, not build the vision."Along the way you'll hear:The Brazil mission trip and the reflection-pond moment that redirected Walt from architecture to ministryThe (very persistent) love story of Walt and Betsy — and why March 4th is "the only command on the calendar""Double Trouble," a youth ministry full of "the wrong kind of kids," and the deacon conversation that sent Walt looking for a new fieldWhy Walt and Chris gave away their sound-system money to buy a struggling family a homeThe Fountain Inn Egg Drop, helicopters, Chick-fil-A cows, and getting competing churches to actually work together"Ghetto chic": five years in a 20,000-square-foot former grocery store with curtains for bathroom doorsThe merger with 100-year-old Fairview Street Church — "Your church isn't dying. We're standing on your shoulders." — and Miss Diane's tears: "I'm just glad to see there's life here again."This one will preach. Listen, then go be the church.Join our email list at https://heartthemission.com for new episodes and leadership resources.CHAPTERS:00:00 Cold open01:33 Meet Walt Tanner - Betsy, 20 years, and the boys05:53 17 years in Fountain Inn (it all started 08/08/08)07:50 Growing up in Mauldin: the country, horses, and a blue-collar home11:26 Old Greenville stories - Five Forks, the Reedy River, a Chevy Impala14:13 Clemson architecture & Bob Ellis: "Create the vision, don't build it"17:22 Called to ministry - Brazil, poverty, and a moment at the reflection pond20:55 Clemson as a mission field: the Third Day logo and 9/1124:39 The love story: the pump fake, the long pursuit, and March 4th35:35 First youth ministry - "Double Trouble" and "the wrong kind of kids"41:53 The North Augusta plant and the seeker/attractional years43:13 Called back to plant something missional46:05 Meeting Chris Barrineau - Youth Specialties, Saddleback & a rented convertible51:04 Launching Capstone: going after the 60%53:01 "Why another church here?" - what they chose to be known for59:26 Serving the city: the school partnership that started it all1:01:34 The Fountain Inn Egg Drop - helicopters and Chick-fil-A cows1:05:16 Radical generosity: giving up the sound system to buy a family a home1:09:45 "Ghetto chic" - five years in the old grocery store1:13:23 Merging with 100-year-old Fairview Street Church1:22:14 Miss Diane: "I'm just glad to see there's life here again"1:24:16 Advice to church planters: "Where does there need to be more light?"1:27:01 Josh's gift - a 1978 Case knife and a blessing