Real Church Growth Starts With Real Discipleship

Let’s be honest: much of the Church today operates with what could be called a “functional Great Commission.” It sounds more like, “Go into all the world and make worship attenders, baptizing them in the name of small groups, and teaching them to volunteer twice a month.” 

This week on the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we talk with our friend Will Mancini—author and in-demand church consultant—about why real church growth only happens through intentional disciple-making. Programs and strategies have their place, but they aren’t a substitute for living out Jesus’ original commission.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

  • Why many churches are living out a “functional” version of the Great Commission
  • How your language and phrasing reveal your real priorities as a church
  • What 3 types of church models we’ll see most over the next 20 years
  • Why people—not programs—are what attract and grow the Church

Get started here…

Split image showing a church service with a pastor preaching to a congregation on the left, and two women having a personal conversation over coffee on the right.

Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. 

Please check out this new episode and be sure to get this week’s FREE Download of the Big 3.

3 Simple Words That Will Change Your Life

If you feel like you have to have the “master plan” before ever making a decision, making disciples or getting started in something new, I want to share three simple words that will change your life forever.

Let me share this simple process that I’ve come to call “What next, Lord?”

This works the same in every area of life, really, but let me tell you a story to illustrate how we’ve come to use this in making disciples and living on mission.

[Download this as a printable transcript and also get my free personal ‘What next, Lord?’ Prayer Journal Template]

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The Missing Piece in Church Maturity w/ Alan Hirsch

When we talk about how mature our church is, we often think about its age, programs, or leadership structures. But the Church is none of those things—it’s people. And every person is a gift Jesus has given to his Church. The real question is… are your people mature? 

In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, I’m joined by my good friend Alan Hirsch, one of the most trusted voices in the missional movement. Together, we explore why so many churches remain stuck in growth and maturity—and how Ephesians 4 gives us a surprisingly simple key to unlocking both. We’ll see that this passage isn’t just about leadership—it’s about all of us, living in the fullness of life Jesus experienced with his Father and intended for his family.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

  • The overlooked “key” to unity and maturity found in Ephesians 4
  • How to see leadership and ministry through a biblical, life-giving lens
  • Why you are a gift to your church and community, given by Jesus himself!
  • What happens when churches ignore or limit the 5 gifts Jesus gave to his people

Get started here…

A middle-aged man smiling in agreement of the gospel

Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. 

Please check out this new episode and be sure to get this week’s FREE Download of the Big 3.

How To Include Your Kids In a Missional Community

The Church is a family, always has been, and it is vital that we learn how to include everyone in the mission that God has called us to. Even (or especially) our kids.

One of the most often asked questions I get is what to do with kids in a missional, or incarnational community. This can seem tough, but it doesn’t have to be. My answer usually starts off with a few questions:  (more…)

Fighting Our Preoccupation With Self

How you feel, pretty much in every moment, is connected to how you believe things are going relative to your sense of self. It is out of our identity, and perception of self, that our motives and actions flow. The Gospel answers our fallen self-obsession with a great work of grace in Christ. 

In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’ll examine what drives our pride and continual self-focus, and how the Gospel leads us to freedom and relational peace.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

  • How your understanding of God’s stance against pride may be wrong.
  • Why we spend so much time focused on self and what others think.
  • Why thinking less of yourself is not the answer to pride.
  • How the Gospel leads us to focus more on Jesus and less on ourselves.

Get started here…

A man holding a selfie stick with a cellphone attached, having awareness and sense of self

Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. 

Please check out this new episode and be sure to get this week’s FREE Download of the Big 3.

Ask Caesar #2

A few weeks ago I tried something new here, and it seemed that you all liked it and benefitted from it, so today I thought I’d try it again and answer a couple more of your questions in another segment of “Ask Caesar”.

Let’s get started… our friend Terry asks, “How do you lead complacent Christians to actually want to live on mission and make disciples? I struggle with that!”

No kidding, right Terry?!

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