In the Sandbox Season 3 : Episode 7 with Matt Miofsky from The Gathering

On the In the Sandbox podcast, hosts Matt Rawle and Rachel Billups interview Matt Miofsky, founding pastor of The Gathering in St. Louis (launched around 2006) and author of The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer. Miofsky describes starting a church in a declining city and fusing passionate, relevant worship and strong ministries with a more open theology as both opportunity and risk. He recounts personally struggling in the first 18 months—overwork, strain on marriage and family, possible depression—and nearly quitting before a district superintendent helped him pursue healthier habits, mentoring, and therapy. He explains choosing a collaborative, multi-site model to develop leaders and ensure long-term sustainability, using growth, finances, and volunteer support as criteria. He emphasizes measuring ministry with both quantitative and qualitative indicators, normalizing risk-taking and learning from failure, and closes with a lightning round and prayer. 00:00 Welcome to the Sandbox 01:35 Why Start the Gathering 03:58 Fusing Two Church Worlds 05:49 Early Success Personal Strain 08:50 Quitting and Turning Point 11:43 Leading with Boundaries 14:14 Multisite Collaboration Vision 17:31 Sustainable Sites and Staffing 20:25 Failure as Innovation Fuel 21:12 Doing What Others Wont 21:32 When to Pivot 23:10 Risky Church Moves 26:32 Measuring Ministry Success 29:51 Where to Find Matt 31:44 Lightning Round Fun 36:09 Calculated Risk vs Reckless 37:39 Prayer and Sendoff