Nexus Church Planting Podcast

This bonus session from ThinkNEXT 2026 features Brady Sticker from ChurchCandy.com, bringing practical insight into digital outreach and church growth. Brady shares real-world strategies for reaching people online and connecting them to your local church. You’ll learn: • How to effectively use social media to reach your city • Practical frameworks for digital engagement • Why marketing can be a tool for gospel impact This session is incredibly practical and gives you tools you can implement immediately.

This final session from ThinkNEXT 2026 begins with a devotional from Clint Burns, Director of Coaching at Nexus, setting the tone with a call to faithfulness, clarity, and dependence on God in leadership. From there, Phil Claycomb and John Honold lead into a powerful teaching on The Antioch Church and what it means for the future of church planting and multiplication. As we close out our From Maintenance to Multiplication theme, this session brings it all together by pointing back to a biblical model of sending, equipping, and multiplying leaders.  In this session: • Discover what made the Antioch church a launching point for movement • Rethink how churches develop and send leaders today • Explore what it looks like to align your church with a multiplication mindset This is a fitting and challenging conclusion to ThinkNEXT, calling leaders to step into a more intentional, sending-focused future.

Session 6 – Nexus Opportunities & Running with Scissors (Andrew Estes) In Session 6, Andrew Estes shares a leadership challenge around risk, faith, and stepping into what God is calling you to next. Using the idea of “running with scissors,” Andrew challenges leaders to examine why we often start with bold faith but drift into safety and comfort over time. You’ll be challenged to reflect on: • Where you’ve stopped taking risks in ministry • How fear subtly shapes leadership decisions • What it looks like to step back into bold, faith-driven leadership This session is both practical and deeply personal for leaders navigating growth and uncertainty.

Session 5 continues Roy Moran’s HABITS training from ThinkNEXT 2026. This teaching builds on the foundation and moves deeper into how disciple-making actually works in real life, especially in everyday environments like neighborhoods, workplaces, and relational networks. You’ll learn: • How to move from groups to multiplication • Why leadership development must be built in, not added later • How to create self-sustaining disciples who make disciples This is where theory becomes practice.

This session from ThinkNEXT 2026 features a powerful devotional from Rowlie Hutton. Rowlie calls leaders to live with urgency and eternal perspective, reminding us that our lives and ministries are about making a “10,000-year difference.” In this devotional, you’ll be encouraged to: • Live with intentionality in everyday interactions • See people through the lens of eternity • Lead with urgency, not complacency This is a timely word for any leader who feels stuck in routine and needs to reconnect with mission.

Session 3 from ThinkNEXT 2026 introduces Roy Moran’s HABITS framework for disciple-making. This session gets highly practical, equipping leaders with simple, repeatable rhythms that anyone can use to make disciples from day one. No seminary degree required. Key takeaways: • A simple disciple-making framework anyone can follow • Why complexity kills multiplication • How to create immediate obedience-based discipleship If you’ve ever felt like disciple-making is too complicated to reproduce, this session will simplify everything.

This is Session 2 from ThinkNEXT 2026, part of our From Maintenance to Multiplication series. In this teaching, Roy Moran addresses what he calls a “re-gospeling problem” in the Church. Instead of making disciples, many churches are repeatedly re-explaining the gospel without equipping people to live it out and multiply it. You’ll be challenged to consider: • Are we making disciples or just informing believers? • What actually leads to multiplication? • Why obedience matters more than information This session is a must-watch for leaders who want to see real movement, not just incremental growth.

Welcome to Session 1 from ThinkNEXT 2026, hosted by Nexus Church Planting & Leader Care. This opening session begins with a devotional from Phil Claycomb, grounding us in the heart of the mission, before Roy Moran launches into his powerful story. Roy shares his personal journey and challenges leaders to rethink how we approach disciple-making in today’s church. The theme of this year’s gathering, From Maintenance to Multiplication, pushes us to move beyond sustaining ministry and into reproducing disciples who make disciples.  In this session, you’ll discover: • Why many churches unintentionally stall multiplication • The difference between activity and true disciple-making • How the gospel spreads through simple, reproducible practices If you’re a church planter, pastor, or ministry leader, this session will challenge your assumptions and reframe your approach to discipleship.

In this conversation, Andrew Estes and Alan Briggs discuss the critical importance of rest and sabbaticals in ministry. They explore how leaders often overlook their need for rest until they reach a point of exhaustion, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of many leaders' health. Alan shares insights from his journey in coaching leaders, emphasizing the shift from competency to sustainability. The discussion delves into the biblical foundations of rest, the concept of sabbaticals as a gift for replenishment, and practical steps for leaders to embrace rest in their lives and organizations.

In this episode of the Nexus Church Planting Podcast, Andrew Estes hosts Phil and Barb Claycomb to celebrate 20 years of Nexus Church Planting and LeaderCare. They discuss the journey of Nexus, the importance of leader care, and the evolution of church planting. Phil and Barb share personal stories, insights on church planting, and their vision for the future of Nexus, emphasizing the significance of collaboration and leader development.

Join Andrew Estes and Drew Depler as they explore the transformative power of generosity within the church. Discover how vision and mission can inspire giving, and learn practical strategies for fostering a culture of stewardship and discipleship. Whether you're a seasoned pastor or new to ministry, this episode offers valuable insights into unlocking the potential of your congregation's generosity.

In this episode, Andrew Estes and Jacob Hoyer discuss the importance of a missional mindset in church planting and community engagement. They explore Jacob's journey in church planting, the role of Forge America in equipping leaders, and the historical context of church growth. The conversation delves into the five core principles of missional living, the significance of practitioners in ministry, and the shift from knowledge-based learning to action-oriented discipleship. Jacob shares stories of transformation within church communities and emphasizes the need for a missional mindset in today's church landscape.

In this episode of the Nexus Church Planting Podcast, host Andrew Estes welcomes Joey McLaughlin, lead founding pastor of Elevate City Church in Atlanta, Georgia. They discuss the integration of discipleship into church DNA, the challenges of church planting, and the innovative Equip and EquipX programs designed to create deeply rooted disciple makers. Joey shares his personal journey and insights on multiplying leaders across generations while maintaining the importance of Sunday gatherings.

In this episode of the Nexus Church Planting Podcast, Andrew Estes interviews Brady Sticker, founder of Church Candy, a digital marketing agency focused on helping churches grow through effective social media strategies. Brady shares his journey from youth pastor to marketing expert, emphasizing the importance of personal connections and community engagement in church growth. He discusses various strategies for utilizing social media, AI, and advertising campaigns to connect people to local churches. The conversation also touches on revitalizing established churches and the significance of targeting different community sizes. Brady highlights the role of retargeting ads and long-term strategies like SEO in enhancing church visibility and outreach. The episode concludes with resources for churches looking to implement these strategies and grow their congregations.

What can the global church teach us about making disciples right here at home? Join Andrew Estes and Cory Hartman—global voice developer at New Generations and co-author of Future Church—for a powerful conversation on disciple-making movements. Drawing from years of experience in global contexts, church consulting, and pastoral ministry, Cory will share transferable principles that fuel multiplication worldwide and can reshape how we think about discipleship in the West.About Cory:Cory Hartman is global voice developer at New Generations, the hub of a family of organizations whose workers catalyze disciple making movements everywhere. He is also an author and collaborator on multiple books on ministry leadership, disciple making, and personal calling. Cory previously co-designed training processes and tools for a church consulting group and served for 13 years as a pastor in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He earned DMin and MDiv degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Raised in central New York State, Cory now lives in central Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Kelly, have four children, one bonus child (daughter-in-law), and one grandchild.

As a church planter, you carry a deep calling—and a heavy load. You lead with vision, hustle, and heart. But in the middle of managing volunteer leaders, discipling spiritual infants, and constantly wearing multiple hats, it’s easy to lose focus or settle for surviving instead of truly thriving.This webinar is your invitation to pause… and ask a better question.Not “How can I be the best?” but “What am I truly capable of?”Join us for a special Nexus webinar with Joseph King Barkley, former church planter and now world-renowned executive coach to high-capacity leaders at Netflix, Intel, and beyond. Joseph works with the Meta Performance Institute (the team behind Jason Jaggard’s Beyond High Performance) and helps leaders stretch beyond competency into calling—beyond success into significance.In this session, Joseph will bring both pastoral empathy and world-class coaching tools to help you:• Shift your mindset from managing chaos to unlocking capacity• Reconnect your day-to-day grind with your deeper God-given calling• Recognize the limits you didn’t know you placed on yourself or your team• Learn how to focus on the right things—especially when everything feels urgentWhether you’re thriving or barely holding it together, you’ll walk away with clarity, challenge, and renewed confidence that God has more for you—and through you.You were never meant to just perform. You were meant to lead boldly, grow continually, and multiply the Kingdom beyond what you thought was possible.About Our Guest:Joseph King BarkleyExecutive Coach & President of the Meta Performance InstituteMeta Performance InstituteJoseph King Barkley is a Los Angeles-based leader and coach who has been married to his wife, Katie, for over 20 years. Their most important and exciting work is raising their two daughters, Tessa and Marlow.Joseph is a former church planter, as well as a television and film songwriter who became a nonprofit and for-profit entrepreneur. He now dedicates his professional energy to helping accomplished individuals and teams who long for more discover what they are capable of and generate the clarity and courage to experience it.Drawing from a background that spans ministry, the music industry, large-scale nonprofit leadership, and global coaching, Joseph has helped grow organizations from dozens to thousands and coached leaders from startup pastors to executives at Netflix and Intel. He’s spoken to audiences as large as 20,000, developed high-performing teams, and walked with leaders through seasons of transition, burnout, and breakthrough. Whether building culture, crafting vision, or guiding personal growth, Joseph brings a rare combination of creative instinct, pastoral wisdom, and high-performance coaching to every room he enters.

Your brand is more than a logo—it’s how people experience your church or ministry.In this Nexus Webinar, host Andrew Estes sits down with Alex Holt, Co-Owner and Creative Director of CRTR Studio, to explore why branding matters for church planters and ministry leaders. With over a decade of experience in brand strategy and visual storytelling, Alex helps organizations communicate their mission clearly and meaningfully.Whether you’re launching a new church, leading a growing ministry, or simply trying to reach your community more effectively, this conversation will equip you with practical tools to build trust, clarify your message, and lead with purpose.What You’ll Learn: • Why your brand already exists (even if you haven’t defined it yet) • How to align your visual presence with your mission • Tips for digital presence, social media, and first impressions • Why clarity is more valuable than creativity🔗 Learn more about CRTR Studio: https://www.crtrstudio.com🌱 Learn more about Nexus: https://www.nexus.us#ChurchBranding #ChurchPlanting #NexusWebinar #CRTRStudio #AlexHolt #ChurchMarketing #Storytelling #ChurchLeadership #BrandStrategy

Join us for this webinar with Roy Moran, author of "Spent Matches," for an insightful discussion on Hybrid Church strategies and disciple-making movements. Roy shares his journey from planting Shoal Creek Community Church to pioneering a model that combines attractional church elements with robust disciple-making practices. Explore how this innovative approach not only attracts attendees but empowers disciples to multiply beyond traditional church walls.Discover how Roy’s personal experiences led to a significant shift in his understanding of disciple-making, prompting him to rethink the church's role in fulfilling the Great Commission. Gain valuable insights from a decade of practical application and global observations through Roy’s leadership at Shoal Creek and New Generations.Whether you're a pastor, church planter, or someone passionate about disciple-making, this webinar will equip you with actionable ideas and a fresh perspective on nurturing disciple-making movements in your own context.#HybridChurch #DiscipleMaking #ChurchLeadership #SpentMatches #ChurchPlanting

Join us for an exclusive webinar featuring Mark Moore, author of The Master Leader: 12 Ways to Lead Like Jesus. In his insightful book, Mark unpacks the key leadership strategies modeled by Jesus, showing how His example offers timeless principles to guide today’s leaders.

Digital ministry is more than just streaming—it's a powerful tool for real discipleship throughout the week. With the average churchgoer attending a little more than once a month, there’s an incredible opportunity to engage people beyond Sunday services. How can churches overcome the stigma that online ministry is “fake” and creatively reach people in meaningful ways?In this webinar, we’ll explore how to build a digital strategy that aligns with your mission and extends beyond your church walls. Jay Kranda, Online Community Pastor at Saddleback Church, will share proven insights on how to creatively disciple people online with intentionality and purpose. Learn how to take advantage of this cultural reality and move beyond just streaming to hybrid disciple-making!About JayJay Kranda is the author of Online Church is Not the Answer. He's also the Online Community pastor at Saddleback Church. Jay graduated from Biola University, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in Christian education with a minor in biblical studies and a master’s in theology from Talbot School of Theology. Jay was hired as one of the first online pastors in 2010, and is now one of the longest-running online pastors in the world. With over a decade of experience of figuring out what online church connected to a local church strategy looks like for his church, he has helped tens of thousands of other churches with his website, ebooks, podcasts, articles, and conference talks. Jay oversees a weekly crowd of thousands that attend Saddleback Church’s online experiences, offers Zoom discipleship classes monthly, launched hundreds of online groups and in-person groups, and helps start house church expressions connected to their Online Community. Jay is married to his wife, Jody, and they live in Southern California with their three kids.

Every remarkable mission deserves a remarkable team. But building a remarkable team is no easy venture. As leaders, we must be extremely intentional in how we craft the cultures of our church leadership and staff. Slingshot Group has served churches for decades to do just that. Tim Foot recently stepped into the CEO/President role of Slingshot and he is helping churches thrive as he encourages leaders to reach for the remarkable. We're excited to dive into his story and experience as we unpack what it takes to build remarkable teams.

Patrick Lencioni's The 6 Types of Working Genius is a revolutionary new team leadership model and assessment that has invaded the marketplace and ministries. It's designed to help everyone understand their gifts and frustrations to better experience fulfillment and dignity in their work.Our friend Kerry Snyder, who was with Nexus earlier this year for ThinkNEXT, is certified in the Working Genius. Utilizing this powerful model, Kerry coaches church leaders better understand the unique makeup of their staff and teams. Knowing the unique strengths and weaknesses a particular leader brings to a team is invaluable.Kerry serves churches all over the country as a strategist for Gloo. Gloo is an innovative organization serving churches and helping them grow with remarkable tools. Their online platform is bursting with opportunities for church, and Kerry will give us a sneak peek into how we can utilize this resource.This will be an incredible time to acquire much-needed content and opportunities for you and your leaders!Kerry SnyderGlooKerry Snyder serves at Gloo, a new kind of outreach platform designed to help your church reach your city in a way that saves you time, activates your team, and increases your impact. Our goal is to help your church serve more new people and see more lives changed – each week. With decades of pastoral experience, Kerry has incredible insights into bringing innovative outreach strategies to churches.

Jesus told his followers, “Go and make disciples of every nation,” but a lot of us stop before we start―because we feel like we don’t have what it takes. But Jesus didn’t ask spiritual superstars to make disciples. He invited ordinary people into the adventure of following Him.Jessie Cruickshank learned how to be a disciple-maker in the wilderness. When she connected her outdoor adventure ministry training with her Harvard neuroeducation degree, God showed her a pathway for ordinary disciples of Jesus to experience profound spiritual growth.You can help someone choose to go somewhere they have never gone before and be brave enough to choose to change.You can model a new way of living.And you can share your own hard-fought wisdom on the journey of faith. In her book Ordinary Discipleship,Jessie Cruickshank helps you navigate the terrain, be inspired by the vast sky, and move toward the hope to which you are called. With Joseph Campbell’s iconic hero’s journey framework as a guide, you’ll discover how a spirit of adventure, brain science, and passionate faith can equip you for the greatest adventure of all.Jessie holds a Master’s from Harvard in Mind, Brain, and Education. She is an ordained minister and a nationally recognized expert in disciple-making and the neuroscience of transformation. She has spent two decades applying neuroeducation research to discipleship, ministry training, experiential learning, and organizational development. Jessie is respected globally as a missiological thought leader and as a church and denominational consultant. She is the founder of Whoology, the co-founder of 5Q, and currently serves as a Movement Leader with V3. Jessie lives and adventures with her family in Colorado. For more information, visit OrdinaryDiscipleship.com

Many pastors today preach a gospel that makes converts but not disciples. This results from "non-discipleship gospels," which exclude the necessity to follow Jesus from their message. Making disciples requires intentionality, starting with the foundation of what we teach those in our care. How we present the message of Jesus has powerful implications. There are many differing "gospels" in the Church today. We need to reclaim the power and responsibility of the Kingdom-focused, Discipleship Gospel. In this webinar, Ben Sobels author of The Discipleship Gospel, walks us through the key elements of Jesus' Kingdom Gospel, what our response must be, and the implications in our church's discipleship strategy. If you're interested in learning more about The Bonhoeffer Project, go to https://nexus.us/bonhoeffer/

The Apostle Paul was a veteran church planter who "laid a foundation like a wise and master builder" and there is much we can learn from his example. Paul indicated that there were basic skills and experiences required to successfully plant a church. From training and sending teams to bi-vocational ministry, fundraising, and so much more. During his time in prison, Paul spent much of his time writing to Titus, Timothy, and others who'd served alongside him in the trenches to complete their training as church plantings. We can continue to apply these time-tested, proven methods, following the pioneering example of the early church. In his book, Church Plantology, Peyton Jones traces the biblical, historical, and modern-day practices needed to plant healthy, multiplying churches. As an experienced bi-vocational and serial church planter, Peyton brings a wealth of wisdom in the world of planting churches.

Lifeway did a research project that discovered 94% of the people who meet Christ were brought to Christ by someone less than two years old in their faith. Moving past year two of faith, most Christ-followers do not share Christ. Their research also showed that more than half of people who follow Christ have not shared Christ in a meaningful way in the past six months. The average church in the USA is between 70-90 people but the average church sees one person from outside the church meet Christ every 12-14 months. Churches as a whole are not seeing many people come to Christ. Christians are not sharing Christ in meaningful ways, yet, this is the mission of the church - to make disciples. We so strongly desire to see the fruit that lasts. We want disciples to make disciples and we hunger for God’s will to be done here like it is in heaven. Disciples making disciples is God’s answer to these desires.

For decades the church has adopted a come-and-see approach to discipleship establishing itself as a teaching center. But that omits a pretty large part of Jesus' ministry as he trained his disciples for years and regularly sent them out proclaiming the Kingdom and evaluated their progress. We need to transform our churches from teaching centers into training centers! To intentionally raise up disciple-making leaders in your church, you have to have a clear plan to train them. Join us as Dave Rhodes, co-founder of Future Church Co., shares how they help churches make this pivotal change.

Getting into a building can be extremely difficult for a new church plant. But the bill doesn't have to rest on your shoulders 100%. In this webinar, we're joined by two incredible leaders from The Solomon Foundation. They're going to help us think of creative ways of partnering with local businesses or schools in order to create and share a space for your community. The Solomon Foundation is a non-profit financial organization connecting churches and investors within the Restoration Movement community – those who attend Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Their mission is to "provide profitable investment opportunities to individuals, congregations, and parachurch organizations and turn them into innovative loans for growing churches” ultimately providing an avenue for greater ministry and expanded impact.

Let’s talk all things children’s ministry! Your children's ministry is one of, if not the most important ministry in your church plant. This life-giving ministry is foundational in the success of your church, and your team needs vision and clarity to do it at a high level. Join us for this conversation with pastor and coach, Craig Wilson, as we talk all things Children's Ministry! From mission and philosophy to identifying key leaders, intentional community outreach, and everything in between. Craig has 30 years of children’s ministry experience and is still in the trenches currently at Denver First Church. He has been fortunate to have planted a church from the ground up and has led children’s ministry in small, medium, and large churches. His leadership growth comes from being coached and mentored over the years by seasoned leaders and he has a passion to do the same for others.

Churches often miss the mark with silver-bullet strategies that promise to multiply Kingdom impact. More than 2,000 years later, it’s time to get back to the basics it’s time to get back to the basics of reaching His people, His way! If you want to reignite your passion for the local church and see your congregation live out the Great Commission by growing and making disciples you have to be intentional. https://intentionalchurches.com/ About Doug Parks CEO & Co-Founder @Intentional Churches Doug Parks is the CEO and Co-founder of Intentional Churches. Over the past decade, Doug, along with Co-founder Bart Rendel, have developed a biblically-based leadership system called ChurchOS. The system is now in use by hundreds of churches around the world. They are the authors of Intentional Churches: How Implementing an Operating System Clarifies Vision, Improves Decision Making, and Stimulates Growth (Harper Collins / Thomas Nelson / Leadership Network). Doug’s love and commitment to help churches comes from his own experience of being eternally impacted as a teenager by a committed church leader. He served for seventeen years as the executive pastor at Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. Doug and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Las Vegas with their two children, but he still finds time to follow sports, including his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes.

Pastors care for a soul in the way a doctor cares for a body. In a time when many churches have lost sight of the real purpose of the church, The Care of Souls invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their care. Harold Senkbeil helps remind pastors of the essential calling of the ministry: preaching and living out the Word of God while orienting others in the same direction. And he offers practical and fruitful advice—born out of his five decades as a pastor—that will benefit both new pastors and those with years in the pulpit.

Is it possible to reshape the day-to-day ministry of your church to multiply the number of disciples of Jesus you’re releasing into the world? Absolutely. Future Church will show you how. The church in North America is dramatically over-programmed and under-discipled. Most church leaders know this to be true. The problem is—the generally accepted way of doing church, the current paradigm for how to organize church ministries on a weekly basis—is designed to produce exactly these results. If we want to move beyond simply adding more attenders of programs, we need to shift our paradigm for what it means to be the church today and in the future.

Explorers Lewis and Clark had to adapt. While they had prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves in the Rocky Mountains. You too may feel that you are leading in a cultural context you were not expecting. You may even feel that your training holds you back more often than it carries you along. Drawing from his extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory. He offers a combination of illuminating insights and practical tools to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. If you're going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind canoes and find new navigational tools.

The Church continues to grow through Disciple Making Movements all over the world. The Church in India has been growing rapidly seeing thousands of churches planted and Central India Christian Mission is on the frontlines. Their Director of Leadership Training, Josh Howard, has been leading many of our bi-vocational and co-vocational church planters to develop simple reproducible disciple-making strategies. Josh desires to raise up disciples who make disciples, leaders who create leaders, and churches that plant churches.

Would you believe me if I told you, "Your digital location is now more important than your church’s physical location?” Or that, "Your Photography Team is now as important as your Worship Team?” When someone walks into your building for the first time, you want them to feel welcomed, loved, safe, inspired, etc. We take great care of our meeting spaces and buildings to present ourselves well and engage with guests. So why doesn't that same care and attention get put into our digital location!? People are searching for depth, spiritual guidance, and a community to connect to in your area RIGHT NOW! In the U.S., over half a million people search Google for 'churches near me' every month. There is a digital mission field to which most churches are oblivious. Ryan Wakefield and his team from Church Marketing University are passionate about seeing people come to Christ. Tune in as he challenges us to Prioritize Your Digital Presence.

Have you ever found yourself saying, "We need more leaders?" Most pastors are facing that very struggle and their frustration is growing because they cannot seem to find a solution. Meanwhile, the shortage of leaders decreases the impact of their ministry and increases the stress on their staff. The leadership pipeline process guides you through a framework to build an intentional leadership development strategy that will result in a continual flow of identifying and developing new leaders. Join us as Mac Lake introduces us to this incredible leadership tool!