The Unstuck Church Podcast with Amy Anderson

The Unstuck Church Podcast with Amy Anderson

With THE UNSTUCK CHURCH PODCAST, we invite you into the real-time conversations our team is having about church leadership every week. Hosted by Amy Anderson, this podcast explores common challenges in ministry and practical steps for tackling them. It’s like getting to be a fly on the wall of our staff meetings. Tune in weekly for: Insights, observations and trends for church leaders from the Unstuck team. Benchmarks in church growth and health from The Unstuck Group’s work serving hundreds churches across North America each year. Practical advice to help you lead your church towards sustained health. We think that after listening to The Unstuck Church Podcast, you’ll want to start these discussions with your own team at your next staff meeting. Add your thoughts to the conversation on social media using #unstuckchurch.

Episodes

October 15, 2025 23 mins

When it comes to numbers and metrics, churches sometimes say things like, “Our culture has never talked about numbers; we’re not a business,” and “Numbers are too impersonal.”

This topic seems to create anxiety in church staff members. But what if numbers actually weren’t the enemy? What if you could use metrics and value people simultaneously? What if you could listen to the Holy Spirit and use data to support your vision and miss...

Mark as Played

Being a part of the Body of Christ means we each have different roles. 

If we’re going to be a healthy body, we need to talk to one another, communicate with one another, watch one another’s back and grow in our abilities to play the role He has placed us in.

We ALL need honest feedback on what we are doing well a...

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People-oriented people are often the ones who end up in ministry. And as people-oriented people, we’ll do anything to protect our relationships with our staff (or, rather, we’ll avoid anything that would disrupt them).

And yet, we are called to lead each person God has placed in our care. And part of leadership is management.

We’re starting a new series called “Management Is Not a Dirty Word,” where we’ll share practical tools ever...

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"Where did all our momentum go?"

We hear this question often from the multisite churches we serve. It is so common for a multisite church to get stuck at three locations. Having three locations is amazing and exciting, but if you are continuing to grow, it can suddenly feel very frustrating if your multisite model becomes the barrier to making room for new people.

In this episode, Sean and Amy break down a growth barrier that isn’t...

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Crossing the 2000 barrier isn’t just about adding more seats on Sunday.

This barrier represents a significant shift in how a church needs to operate. At this size, it’s common to see ministry silos develop and a realization that your leadership structure needs to evolve. As the leaders of the church, you have to make some changes to your mindset and to how you lead.

...

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"I've never led a church this size before..."

If you are a senior pastor, executive pastor or board member, you’re not alone in thinking this. We hear church leaders say it all the time, as they wonder how they’re going to break through the next growth barrier.

We’re continuing our series on breaking common growth barriers, specifically helping church leaders in key ...

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You know the story: the numbers rise then stall. Two steps forward, one step back. Maybe your church has a history of hovering around a number—a familiar attendance line you just can’t seem to cross. Or maybe a rapid growth season occurs, but eventually, something—people, systems, culture—plateaus the momentum and drifts you right back to where you started.

Sound familiar?

In this new series, we tackle the real reasons churches sta...

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The newest edition of The Unstuck Church Report is here!

Over the past few years, our Unstuck Church Reports have told a pretty encouraging story. On average, churches are seeing double-digit growth. In fact, if you look back at the last 13 quarters, attendance growth has landed somewhere between 13% and 30%. Incredible!

But let’s be honest: not every church is experiencing that kind of momentum. Some are still stuck or even losin...

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As followers of Jesus, we're called to reach people outside of the faith. But doing so requires a strategy—both in the church and in your personal life. 

We're wrapping up our series on communication challenges for churches with a conversation about communicating with outsiders—people outside the church and outside the faith.
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We’re getting into that busy back-to-school and ministry ramp-up season. If you have communication issues as a ministry, they will start showing up big time this time of year. 

When it comes to church communication, most leaders just try to reach everyone. But the truth is, you a...

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When you think August, you think busy.

For most churches, the ministry season ramps up as people return to church after the summer. It’s back-to-school for families, and people are getting overloaded by communication—from the schools, teachers, doctors, teams and YOU.

In this series, we’re tackling three areas where we believe churches could take it up a notch and be the best-in-class organization when it comes to how you communica...

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This summer, we’re changing things up. You’re on vacation; we’re on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month.

But ministry and leadership are still happening!

So this month, we are replaying the “hits” from the last six mont...

Mark as Played

This summer, we’re changing things up. You’re on vacation; we’re on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month.

But ministry and leadership are still happening!

So this month, we are replaying the “hits” from the last six months: the best episodes. We’ll be back with fresh content in August, and we know you’ll be gearing up for back-to-...

Mark as Played

This summer, we’re changing things up. You’re on vacation; we’re on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month.

But ministry and leadership are still happening!

So this month, we are replaying the “hits” from the last six months: the best episodes. We’ll be back with fresh content in August, and we know you’ll be gearing up for back-to-...

Mark as Played

This summer, we’re changing things up. You’re on vacation; we’re on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month.

But ministry and leadership are still happening!

So this month, we are replaying the “hits” from the last six mont...

Mark as Played

This summer we’re changing things up. You’re on vacation; we’re on vacation. We all know how this goes. You probably have road trips, plane trips, maybe a sabbatical or some conferences to attend this month.

But ministry and leadership are still happening!

So this month, we are replaying the “hits” from the last six months: the best episodes. We’ll be back with fresh content in August, and we know you’ll be gearing up for back-to-s...

Mark as Played

When a church slips into the maintenance phase, pastors often wrestle with all kinds of fears—worrying about rocking the boat, messing up, dealing with conflict or just burning out.

But what if those very fears are the thing standing between your chu...

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It’s easy to focus on what the church needs to change when growth slows—programs, strategies, systems. But often, the real breakthrough starts with the leader.

A particularly challenging part of leading through the maintenance phase? Adjusting your leadership approach.

In Part 3 of our “Just Maintaining” series, Sean and Amy discuss what churches need to be thinking about when it comes to their leadership team, key responsibilities...

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Your church isn’t declining … but it’s not growing either. You might be stuck in “maintenance mode.”

Many aspects of ministry look healthy, but growth has slowed. You’re not really reaching new guests, and fewer people are crossing the line of faith. What now? 

In Part 2 of our "Just Maintaining" series, Sean and Amy talk about what you actually need to do to change course. They’ll cover what it means to have a maintenance mindset,...

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Has your church’s growth slowed down or hit a plateau? Maybe you're financially stable, and everything seems fine on the surface, but something feels off from your perspective as the leader.

There are telltale signs your church is drifting away from sustained health. In this candid series, we'll explore why churches unconsciously slip into “maintenance mode,” what it costs them and, most importantly, how to break free.

In Part 1 o...

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