Church Planter Podcast

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones talks with Ellie Oswald from Faith to Action about the connection between mission, poverty, orphan care, and the local church.

Ellie shares how her calling was shaped by a desire to act on her faith, serve vulnerable people, and understand mission as part of God’s work to restore relationships. Together, Peyton and Ellie discuss why the gospel cannot be reduced to wor...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones talks with Eric Geiger, pastor of Mariners Church and author of The Rooted Leader, about what church planters can learn from the life and leadership of Nehemiah.

Eric shares how teaching through Nehemiah shaped both ministry leaders and marketplace leaders, helping them see that faith is not disconnected from their Monday-through-Friday work. Together, Peyton and Eric unpac...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Todd Wilson, co-founder and former CEO of Exponential, to talk about church growth, church planting, multiplication, and Todd’s new book, How Did We Get Here?

Todd shares the story behind Exponential, the influence of Bob Buford and Leadership Network, and how the modern church planting and multiplication movements were shaped by leaders working behind ...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell talk about the shift from the multiplication movement to what Peyton calls the mobilization movement.

After opening with Texas fireworks, riding lawnmowers, bookstores, and unexpected mission opportunities in everyday life, Peyton unpacks why church planting and multiplication are not carrying the same energy they did a decade ago. Instead of asking how to...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, guest host Joshua Brown sits down with Sean and Patrick from Passion for Planting to talk about church planting, residency, disciple-making, and mobilization.

The conversation centers on a major shift in church planting: moving away from a consumer-driven operating system and toward churches that mobilize everyday missionaries where they live, work, study, and play. Instead of starting ...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Pete Mitchell is joined by Ed Stetzer and Corey Alderin for a conversation on artificial intelligence, church planting, and how pastors can use new tools without losing what matters most.

Ed shares why AI can help smaller churches and church planters multiply their message, especially when they do not have the same staff, budget, or media team as larger churches. Corey, founder and CEO ...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell return to the “church planter diary” format with a real-time update from The Abbey.

Peyton shares what happened on a Sunday when almost everything looked like it was working against them: most of the core team was gone, the room was smaller than usual, a disruptive visitor came in, and Peyton had very little left in the tank after a difficult w...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones is joined by Andrea Jones and Pamela Nelson for a conversation on ministry burnout, emotional health, and the inner life of a leader.

Pamela brings her experience as a pastor, biblical counselor, coach, and spiritual director to help church planters recognize the warning signs they often ignore: anxiety, numbness, overwork, isolation, unprocessed grief, and the pressure to ...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell introduce a new “church planter diary” style conversation where they discuss personal updates in the field of disciplemaking.

Peyton gives an update on The Abbey, the church plant he is leading in Carlsbad, and shares what God has been doing through house gatherings, a new meeting space, team leadership, Sunday discussion groups, communion, mic...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Dr. Michael Cooper to talk about his new book, Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement.

Building on his work in Ephesiology, Michael explores how archaeology helps us better understand the early church, the spread of the gospel, and the world Paul and the first Christians inhabited. From Ephesus to Laodicea, they discuss house churches, public gather...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell put on the tinfoil hats and talk through aliens, AI, faith, science, and why none of it has to shake a biblical view of the world.

The conversation moves from UFO files and government disclosures to C.S. Lewis, quantum physics, angels, demons, creation, evolution, and the way people interpret evidence based on the assumptions they already bring to it. Peyt...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell talk about why most churches never multiply—and why the issue usually starts long before a church is ready to plant again.

Peyton explains that churches can do a lot of things right and still fail to multiply if they are not mobilizing people on mission. Instead of building everything around Sunday gatherings, leaders need to slow down, invest in peo...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell are joined by Luke Mitchell for a special pop-culture episode on The Mandalorian and Grogu.

After seven years without a Star Wars movie in theaters, they break down what worked, what didn’t, and whether this film helped bring Star Wars back. From Mando’s upgraded fighting skills to Grogu’s loyalty, puppet effects, deep-cut Easter eggs, an...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell talk about Discipology, small groups, AI, and what it takes to activate disciple-makers in the church.

Peyton unpacks why mobilization has to come before multiplication, and why churches cannot rely on content, programs, or technology alone to make disciples. From small-group growth to leadership development, he explains how disciple-making starts when eve...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell tackle two major, yet wildly different conversations shaping the future of ministry: artificial intelligence and the growing interest in Greek Orthodoxy.

They begin by talking about how quickly AI is changing the workplace, why leaders need to pay attention, and how churches and businesses may need to adapt as jobs, tools, and opportunities shift. From the...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell talk about church marketing and how to use big days without losing sight of the mission.

Pete talks about the importance of small businesses being involved in their communities, and how churches can apply that idea to holidays like Easter and Christmas. Peyton explains the importance of Easter, Good Friday, and other high-attendance moments, as well as som...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Dave Ferguson to talk about what it really means to become a multiplier.

Dave brings decades of experience in church planting, leadership development, and movement-building, helping leaders think beyond addition and into multiplication. The conversation explores how disciple-making movements grow, why leaders have to release control, and what it looks like to...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell tackle one of the biggest challenges leaders face: bottlenecks that slow down movement.

As churches grow, leaders often become the very thing holding things back. Instead of mobilizing others, everything funnels through a few people, and disciple-making stalls.

Peyton and Pete break down how to recognize leadership bottlenecks, why they form, and how to rem...

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with members of Sexaholics Anonymous to talk about a struggle many leaders face, but few talk about.

Behind the scenes, sexual addiction, lust, and hidden sin are impacting&nbs...