In The Trenches Church Planting Podcast

This week Jared make a big announcement which then turned into a spontaneous, unplanned episode topic. Matt and Jared talked about how to transition well from one ministry role to the next, specifically when you are transitioning away from the church that you planted. There are lots of factors that come into play. Who are you handing the church off to? How do you know when your church is ready? How do you know for sure when it's time to go? What steps need to be taken for a smooth transition so that your church is setup for success moving forward?  The guys talk all of that and more in this week's episode!  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you thi

God doesn't keep score the way that we do. So often, we get fixated on the kinds of metrics that the world celebrates and church planting becomes like a project we are doing for God. In this episode, Matt and Jared talk about what REAL success in church planting looks like and how we need to start celebrating that more often rather than simply highlighting the church plants with exploding numerical growth.  The book that Jared mentioned in the episode, The Gospel Driven Church by Jared Wilson, can be found and purchased here. Make sure to check out the NEW website!  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can rea

This week we interviewed Dino Senesi. Dino is the Coaching Director of the North American Mission Board’s Send Network (SBC). He has led congregations and encouraged leaders for over thirty years. He has served local churches in Louisiana, Ohio, and South Carolina, and his ten years of denominational leadership have provided hands-on experience with hundreds of churches and leaders.  Matt and Jared talked with Dino about the importance of having a coach as a church planter and why so many planters don't have one. Then they talk through some of the common mistakes that happen in coaching relationships as well as some good practices for coaching relationships.  Pick up Dino's book, Sending Well, to learn more about how to implement great church planting coaching into your church or network! Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also

We're living in a time in which the nations are coming to us in North America. There's a vast array of religious beliefs and worldviews all around us. How can we effectively engage people with the Gospel when so many have different objections and barriers to belief? That's what Matt and Jared are talking about on this week's episode.  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can reach Jared at jared@fellowshiposhawa.com Head to http://www.thefellowships.ca to learn more about what Matt & Jared are up to in Canada with their

Matt is back after a 3 week hiatus and we're talking about one of our favourite subjects: Multiplication! This week we talked about how your church plant can start planting churches early on. We give you some specific steps you can take that will create an environment in your church where multiplication can happen.  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can reach Jared at jared@fellowshiposhawa.com Head to http://www.thefellowships.ca to learn more about what Matt & Jared are up to in Canada with their church planting org

How do you handle running your own business while living on mission and helping to start churches? This week Jared sat down with Jermaine Wall, a church planting resident with the Fellowships Network, to talk about his experience running his own business while simultaneously labouring to help plant churches on the east end of Toronto, Ontario.  Jermaine does an incredible job of engaging people with the Gospel out in the community and I think you’ll come away with some excellent practical examples of how you can engage people evangelistically “as you go” in the community.  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you th

Because life is getting a bit crazy, Matt and I haven't had time to get together to record an episode for this week, so we're reposting one of our most popular episodes from early in season 1. Arrica and Jen love to remind us that the episode where we had them on is the most listened to, and we're happy to acknowledge that it's because, well, our wives make us look good!  If you haven't heard this one, or even if it's been awhile since you've listened, then it may be a good idea to sit down and listen to it with your spouse. The insight that Jen and Arrica give from their vantage point as planter wives is incredible!  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask

What is it like to be a lay elder in a church plant from the very beginning? This week Jared sat down with Mike van't Slot, one of the elders at Fellowship Oshawa, the church that Jared planted outside of Toronto. Mike has been at Fellowship Oshawa from the very beginning and the story of how he found his way into a church is pretty incredible.  In this episode Jared and Mike talk about what exactly a lay elder does in a church plant, including the most challenging aspects of lay eldership and the most rewarding aspects of lay eldership. If you want to find yourself some incredible elders, or if you are an elder or aspiring to be an elder, then listen to this episode!  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes

Easter is an important time of year for church plants. Many people in your community are more open to coming to Gospel conversations or visiting your church on Easter, even if they don't fully understand why we celebrate Easter. So how can you prepare to effectively reach people on Easter weekend?  In this episode Matt and Jared talk about their experiences doing Easter outreach as church planters, some of which went well and some of which did not go well at all! They also discuss some potential outreach ideas you could implement this year and then cover some "Do's and Don'ts" for your Easter service.  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question o

More pastors and church planters are struggling with depression and anxiety than ever before. Church planting magnifies every difficulty and struggle in the personal and family life of the planter. Is there a way to address this growing problem? Could the way we plant churches be contributing to it? In this episode, Matt & Jared share from personal experience and then they talk about ways we can deal with this growing problem, as well as what you can do right now if you are struggling with depression or anxiety.  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshipp

Spiritual warfare is real, and when you sign up to get in the trenches and make disciples of Jesus Christ, you are putting yourself right in the thick of it. In this week's episode Matt and Jared talk about how to handle spiritual warfare in church planting. How much of what goes wrong in church planting do we attribute to the devil? Is it possible to have an unhealthy overemphasis on spiritual warfare? What do you do to prepare yourself for spiritual warfare? We cover these questions and more in this episode! Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca

In this episode, Matt & Jared have a conversation with three of the residents in The Fellowships church planting network about what it's like being apart of a church planting network. The guys also talk about why we need to start more residencies and how you and your church can get started doing so!  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can reach Jared at jared@fellowshiposhawa.com Head to http://www.thefellowships.ca to learn more about what Matt & Jared are up to in Canada with their church planting organization, t

 Church planting is exciting, especially when lots of people are getting baptized, you are growing, leaders are being developed, and disciples are maturing. But what do you do when those things aren’t happening?  Let’s be honest, every church plant goes through difficult seasons where it feels like you are regressing. So what do you do when people aren’t coming to faith in Christ and key leaders from your core team are leaving? That’s the subject of this week’s episode!  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can reach Jared a

Brad is one of the best thinkers out there in the church planting world today. He is the Director for Bivocational Church Planting for the North American Mission Board. In this week’s episode, Matt & Jared talk to Brad about why covocational and bivocational church planting is the future of North American Missions.    Download ReThink Here: https://www.sendinstitute.org/rethink-9-paradigm-shifts-activating-church-e-book/  Download Covocational Church Planting Here: https://www.namb.net/send-network-blog/ebook-covocational-church-planting/?fbclid=IwAR1UtnGvaIfy-8CBrPWXddQTp6AlA0d4y5LtpbskCnY5_XM1qthd51zTI9k  For more excellent material from Brad head to his blog at http://missionalchurchnetwork.com/  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a

Perhaps nothing gets debated more than church planting models. Is there one model that’s better than all the others? Are all church planting models biblical? Is there just ONE church planting model that’s biblical? That's what Matt & Jared are unpacking in this week's episode!  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can reach Jared at jared@fellowshiposhawa.com Head to http://www.thefellowships.ca to learn more about what Matt & Jared are up to in Canada with their church planting organization, the Fellowships Network.

You only get so much time during the week with your core team or staff. Most church planters struggle to really maximize and get the most out of that time. So how can you be more efficient and run productive meetings that get the most out of the team you have? That's what Jared & Matt tackle in this week's episode!  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can reach Jared at jared@fellowshiposhawa.com Head to http://www.thefellowships.ca to learn more about what Matt & Jared are up to in Canada with their church planting

This is part two of a two part episode! For The first 5 things that church planters say (that they shouldn't), check out last week's episode! There are all sorts of lies that pastors and church planters tell themselves that they shouldn't. This week, Matt and Jared cover five of the ten things that church planters say that they shouldn't!  "People just don't want the Gospel here. The soil is too hard" "I don't have any leaders in my church"  "If God were really blessing our church we would have grown more by now"  "We need to focus heavily on evangelism leading up to our launch"  "I'm not going to preach on controversial issues" Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to

There are all sorts of lies that pastors and church planters tell themselves that they shouldn't. In part 1, Matt and Jared cover five of the ten things that church planters say that they shouldn't!  "I don't need a mentor or coach because God has already given me a clear vision"  "People aren't coming back to our church because our worship is poor/ we don't have our own building / etc"  "Our church would grow if we could hire some more full time staff"  "When we reach 'X' number in attendance or 'X' number in our budget we will plant a church"  "My church is only going to reach the lost, it's not for believers."  Make sure to check out the NEW website!  https://getinthetrenches.com/  Also, sign up for our weekly e-mail so that you can be the first to get new episodes and blog posts! When you sign up, you will also unlock our FREE e-book "30 Of The Best Quotes For Church Planters", a curation of 30 of our favourite church plant quotes!  We’d love to hear

Ministry burnout has become more and more common over the past several decades. In this week's episode Matt & Jared discuss the difference between burnout and just simply being tired, the signs of ministry burnout, how to avoid ministry burnout, and what to do if you or someone you know is in the midst of ministry burnout.  “When we lose all sense of motivation, perhaps because we’ve derived it for too long from the wrong things, we may be in a state of pastoral burnout. The wind that used to fill our sails has faded away. The love of Christ has become an empty idea. The promises of God and the edification of the church feel distant. The things that used to push us out of bed in the morning just don’t push us anymore.” - John Henderson HELP US spread the word about In The Trenches! Head over to iTunes and subscribe to our podcast and then leave us a written review! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-trenches/id1372585523 OR subscribe and leave a review on Google Play! https://p

If women aren't being equipped to be sent out as a part of church planting teams then we are leaving half of our missions force behind! To kick off season 2 Matt & Jared talk about why we need to do a better job of equipping women for leadership on church planting teams and how to make it happen. HELP US spread the word about In The Trenches! Head over to iTunes and subscribe to our podcast and then leave us a written review! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-trenches/id1372585523 OR subscribe and leave a review on Google Play! https://play.google.com/music/m/Io2allwcg3pxknbdshk44uj4ruu?t=In_The_Trenches_Church_Planting_Podcast We’d love to hear feedback! Feel free to ask us a question or just let us know what you think about the podcast. You can reach Matt at mhess@fellowshippickering.ca and you can reach Jared at jared@fellowshiposhawa.com Head to http://www.thefellowships.ca to learn more about what Matt & Jared are up to in Canada with their church planting organization, the Fellowships