S2E8 - Matt Miofsky

In this month’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Matt Miofsky. Matt is the Lead Pastor of the Gathering United Methodist Church in Saint Louis, Missouri. Since Matt founded The Gathering in 2006, it has grown into a thriving multi-site congregation with four locations scattered throughout St. Louis. With over 1500 in worship a weekend, The Gathering was recently named the 3rd fastest growing large United Methodist Churches. Matt is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where he majored in mathematics then completed his Master’s of Divinity at Emory University in Atlanta. Matt is passionate about church planting, connecting with new generations, and multi-site ministry. Matt is the co-author of "Eight Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches" (Abingdon, 2018), “Happy? What It Is and How to Find It” (Abingdon Books, April 2017), “Fail: What to Do When Things Go Wrong” (Abingdon Books, 2017), a contributor to Disciple Fast Track: Into the Word, Into the World (Abingdon, 2017), “Flipping Church: How Successful Church Planters Are Turning Conventional Wisdom Upside-Down” (Discipleship Resources, 2016), and the “Ask: Faith Questions in a Skeptical Age” DVD project (Abingdon, 2015). In this episode, Matt talks about the story of The Gathering, how a church can be both inclusive and evangelical, how to relate to other UMCs that may differ in certain areas from yours, the tension of preaching toward justice but fear decline, how to reach those who are 18-29, and his hope for the future of the UMC.