Responding To Loneliness & Isolation

As a youth pastor, Matt’s priority is addressing the challenges that his students face. “With this generation, there’s been a challenge of isolation.” It may seem contradictory, but the most digitally connected generation is also the one that feels most isolated, anxious, and depressed. Matt continues that social media “is actually causing more anxiousness and more depression. It’s magnifying the insecurities of the teen years.”

Matt notes that “previous generations had the same struggles, battles, and sin.” But for students, those struggles and feelings are amplified and with social media, there’s more out there—more people to be like, more vacations to take, more news to consume.

The amount of content to see, read, and engage with online is daunting, and it grows every day. For Matt, that level of information and accessibility is the problem. “We were never created to be God. God is God. We were never created to be everywhere at once.”

Intergenerational Conversations In Youth Ministry

Matt admits “the older I get the less I like to pause.” He reflects that it’s easier to speak quickly from wisdom and life experience to students, but that’s not a way to create an open dialogue with students. Instead of abruptly answering a question or reacting with a gasp, Matt encourages following up with more questions when talking with students.

Why do you feel the way you feel? 

What led you down the road to process that way?

With these questions, it opens the door to a longer, more meaningful conversation. In preparation for tough conversations, Matt advises leaders to “listen, hear them, hear their story, and know that God wants to do a special work in them and ask God for discernment and wisdom.”

Matt notes that today’s youth and young adults “need the generation before them to anchor themselves in the word of God.” Only through that anchoring can we “create fully devoted followers of Christ and take one conversation at a time with these precious children that God has entrusted us with.”

Unity In The Church

For Matt, programming and curriculum are important, but what matters most in ministry is the people. Lead Local, the ministry he co-founded with his wife, unites local church leaders to pastor their communities with the gospel of Jesus through discipling next-generation Christian leaders. With events already happening in 9 states, including Washington and Florida, Lead Local is fostering a sense of community, and building support networks for pastors and leaders.

And with a united and connected community, we create a picture of a family.

Matt says “if we want to be a witness to this generation, they need to see a picture of family, a healthy family.”  This feeling of family is a stark contrast to the disunified culture Matt says students currently face. For a student, it’s impactful to come and see a church—multigenerational, multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-gift-mix—united.

After 13 years in youth ministry, Matt knows that “more than ever we need parents, grandparents, young adults, all those generations” to come together and use their God-given gifts to show what a church should look like. Matt notes that so many people make the mistake of feeling irrelevant at a specific age to youth ministry. But “a parent is never irrelevant in a student’s life.” The generational unity and variety of people to talk and encourage students invite more and more students to come to know Jesus. Matt believes “when you open your heart to kids, questions and answers will come, and it will flow well.”

We hope Matt’s encouragement inspires you to strengthen your youth ministry and engage the church of tomorrow. Not sure where to get started? Pushpay helps church leaders connect and unify their community with our ecosystem of church tools. Click here to learn more about how Pushpay can help you disciple the future of the church.

To listen to this episode of Pushpay’s Moving Mountains podcast, click here.

In this episode of Moving Mountains, Pastor Jenn Alexander illustrates walking the tightrope in heels and feeling torn in half by her desire to flourish in ministry, while pouring her love and attention into her children. As a wife, mother, worship leader, songwriter, speaker, and pastor, Jenn has struggled to balance all her roles and God-given gifts. Her pursuit of balance has led her to truths about ministry, motherhood, and faith.

Walking The Tightrope

What does a “balanced” life look like? Jenn thinks, “We have to laugh at that notion because that perfect place of ‘balance’ does not exist.” But, she shares, “I actually preached at a church for Mother’s Day, and I titled the message Mom on a Wire. The graphic was of a woman’s feet walking a tightrope in high heels. And that’s it. If we’re honest, that’s it.”

So for Jenn, balance doesn’t exist. She admits that the seasons may change, but the balancing act never ends. She recalls feeling torn in two and that the Lord met her there. Instead of chasing the non-existent balance, she leans on the message of Matthew 6:31-33:

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ [Where will I work? How will I balance it all?] These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Jenn felt God speak those words into her life. “The only way forward for me—and really, all of us—is to cease seeking security and affirmation and success and balance! And instead seek Him, His Kingdom and trust Him to give me everything I need.” After hearing the verses from Matthew, Jenn felt like her life integrated. She said, “I’m a mother and preacher. I’m a worship leader and a friend. I’m a leader and a follower—who simply needs to be faithful to go where The Lord leads me.” No longer looking for balance, Jenn learned that while she’s walking the tightrope, she can trust the net —God.

Surrendering To Find Balance

In her attempt to balance motherhood and ministry, Jenn describes her approach as, “a giant game of Tetris… A piece would enter the screen, and I’d figure out how to flip it and align it, so that it would fall into the tight groove to make the line disappear. It’s crazy. But we’re making it work. Barely.”

Eventually, the game of Tetris threw Jen a piece she couldn’t quite fit. The Monday after she preached the sermon Mom on a Wire, she stood over a positive pregnancy test laughing and weeping. Jenn remembers, “I was sad in the moment! This is going to be the best gift God ever gave me. I’m going to adore this child! But I had to grieve. I had to weep, because I knew what this meant! I had lived it twice before.” Jenn felt torn in half by “my desire to flourish and to become everything that God made me and equipped me to be. And [my desire] when I became a mom, in a way to feel like I needed to be willing to give it all up, to now pour into my own children- so that they would become everything God made them to be!

For Jenn, “every birth is a death,” and in this season of her life, she didn’t want to die again. But finally, she said the words: “I. Can’t.” For the first time in her life, Jenn says she surrendered. “Surrender was painful. Dying is awful. But it’s my path to life.” This change in mindset looked like a career shift, with less traveling and working with a supportive team. Jenn says, “The older I get, the more I realize it’s best to live into the time you are in.” The people around her supported her for that new season of life, and now Jenn is passionate about making sure other women feel that support.

Supporting Women As They Seek Balance

When asked about other women in ministry, Jenn said, “My heart reaches out to women who are navigating the beautifully complex moment we’re all in.” Right now, women have more opportunities to thrive than ever before. However, Jenn recognizes that it comes at a cost.

Her solution for women is “to be patient and to move at the pace of the Holy Spirit. Time, staying faithful, growing [our] gifts and standing firm in [our] identity in Christ… has opened up the space [to thrive].” And yet, Jenn also encourages women to continue to grow and be ready when they’re called to step in to lead, speak, or whatever the Church needs.

Today, women have more opportunities to thrive than ever before. With those opportunities comes the impossible task of walking the tightrope in heels—but the balancing act is only for a season. Sometimes we fall off the rope entirely, but, as Jenn said, we can trust the net. Her final encouragement is that in these seasons of change, “God is working… He is pruning, cleansing, and igniting his church for a new season. We’re in it together. We’re not alone. And with the Lord, the best is always ahead.”

Stream this episode of our Moving Mountains Podcast for encouragement and wisdom from a woman who has tried to walk the tightrope, and found the path to balance.

Andi Andrew, co-founding pastor of Liberty Church and author of She is Free, Fake or Follower, and Friendship – It’s Complicated, isn’t afraid to analyze the common denominator in her failed friendships: herself. In this episode, Pastor Andi candidly shares what she’s learned through her own mistakes and offers tools for creating meaningful and lasting relationships, including humility, confrontation, and boundaries—all of which starts with self.

Going First

When it comes to healthy relationships, Andi says the best place to start is to go first. That looks like forgiving and saying sorry, working to uncover issues, starting the healing process—and doing all this even if those gestures are never returned.

Other times, it’s giving grace instead of judging, blaming, putting up walls, and cutting people off. Going first means we choose to initiate peace with one another. And yes, sometimes we choose to go first by accepting the ending that has come in a friendship or relationship.

The best model of going first for Andi is her mentor, Maria Durso. After being born prematurely, her mother dying during her birth, her father becoming an alcoholic, and being sexually abused, Maria faced a world of hurt and hardships. But instead of being a victim of her circumstances, Maria was saved, planted a church, and continues today to open the door or encourage someone else. Andi says, “She has shown me the power of going first no matter the pain that you have faced in your past.”

Handling Confrontation With Love & Truth

We were all made for connection and relationship. Yet too often, as Andi points out, friendships are marked by drama, competition, betrayal, or unforgiveness. Confrontation is a crucial part of growing and strengthening genuine relationships—the key is doing all of that with truth and love.

When done right, Andi says that confrontation can be healing and can strengthen a relationship. The challenge is having a confrontation in a healing way. According to Andi, “We have the most unhealthy confrontational culture that we probably have ever had… we can be faceless, and we can cancel people, cut them down, and say things we would never say in a loving way to someone’s face.” Instead of canceling or cutting people off, confrontation is best delivered with truth and love. Andi encourages having conversations by saying things like, “Are we okay?” “What are your expectations of me?” and, “I need to let you know that what you did hurt me.” And the sooner we start these conversations, the better.

To learn more about how we’re to love one another and build relationships that last, tune into this episode of our Moving Mountains Podcast.

If you would like to hear more from Andi or check out her fantastic resources, go to andiandrew.com.

Irving Bible Church has been intentional about becoming a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse church that reflects God’s vision for his kingdom. In this episode of Moving Mountains, Pastor Jeremiah shares how one of the ways they began this journey was by starting conversations around race and ethnicity, so they could learn and grow together—these discussions were not always easy, but so worth it!

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Creating a Multi-Ethnic Movement

Jeremiah sees the need for the Church to create a space with real diversity. He believes people come from all walks of life, all different cultures, and it’s up to the Church to constantly adapt how they interact with those different cultures and experiences. Jeremiah asks, “Does our church meet the needs of this culture?” as Irving Bible Church works to adjust and meet the needs of the community that God placed them in.

For Jeremiah, Church is a place where people are cared for, where they can learn about God, and share questions about their faith. At IBC, church leadership has established its mission to, “become a multi-ethnic movement of missionary disciples who are formed in the way of Jesus for the sake of the world.”

But becoming a multi-ethnic movement of missionary disciples doesn’t happen overnight. For Jeremiah and his congregation, it’s been a journey of learning and being intentional. He admitted that he needed to learn that some people don’t experience life the way he does as a white man, and shared his heartache after discovering how his friends endured very different challenges. Jeremiah said, “There is a lot in my life that I need to change, and I’m still growing. Our church is still growing in terms of understanding how to be a multi-ethnic church.”

As he learned, he wanted his church to learn too. So Jeremiah and other leaders within the church created space for members and guests from other cultures to step into leadership positions. They were empowered, shared their personal experiences, and felt safe doing so. Jeremiah also advises that other churches going down the path of becoming more diverse need to be prepared. Churches will face a lot of hard conversations, learning, studying, and hard work. But on that journey, there will also be moments of joy and times to celebrate.

Teaching Inclusivity & Generosity

Creating a diverse and inclusive church comes down to two things for Jeremiah: learning and heart.

One area that Jeremiah leaned into, as his church learned how to be more diverse, was how to create a safe space. It was important that everyone, whether they had a different cultural background or a different skin tone, knew that this was a church where they could be themselves. His goal is that everyone knows and has the opportunity to join in on leadership, express their culture, and not feel shame.

Jeremiah challenged people throughout this learning process to ask, “Where is my heart?” The heart ties everything together, and for Jeremiah, everyone’s hearts should be modeled after God’s. The heart and generosity of God inspired Jeremiah to make changes in his own life. “Whether it’s my time, my energy, or my finances,” Jeremiah said, he was called to, “give up those things to help meet the needs of others and care for others.”

For Jeremiah and Irving Bible Church, it’s important to bring ethnic groups together in their building. The multi-ethnic worship IBC is creating is just a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. Jeremiah said, “Heaven is going to be full of people from all different backgrounds and we want to see a little bit of that here in our church.” In Texas, IBC reflects the love of God on Earth, like it will be in heaven.

When the church is intentional about diversity, a safe place is created where church members can easily invite anyone from their community to be a part of the fellowship. If you want to discover more about creating a diverse and multi-ethnic movement, listen to the entire interview with Jeremiah. And for additional resources about these questions, go to irvingbible.org/becoming becoming to access their video series.

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Have you found yourself in a place where you’ve struggled to love well and lead faithfully? In this episode, Pastor Glenn Packiam addresses the most pressing questions for today’s leaders, and shares personal experiences and practical strategies pastors can use to become resilient and avoid burnout in a rapidly changing world.

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Resiliency During Challenges

New Life Church went through a difficult stretch 15 years ago—between leadership changes and tragedies, New Life Church leadership experienced a lot of pain in a short period. What helped was digging into their first love, and returning to worship and prayer.

During the journey towards healing, Glenn was surprised by how many people stayed with New Life and rallied to weather the crisis together as a community.

When responding to challenges, new directions and transitions ultimately lead to fatigue. Glenn’s most important lesson in resilience was to be followers of Jesus. Glenn recalls that when Jesus returns and visits Peter, he asks, “Do you love me?” three times—he doesn’t call Peter back through love for a mission, teaching, people, or miracles in this story— instead, it’s a love for Jesus. For Glenn, that love is what sustains and gives strength during difficult times.

Responding To Burnout

When people go through a crisis, Glenn points out that it stretches them to find creative ways to keep going. But after a while, the initial adrenaline rush from the crisis wears off. The surge of energy vanishes, leaving issues or hurt in its place. That is burnout.

Glenn advises responding to burnout by changing the mindset from consumer to community. In a consumer mindset, individuals want their needs served first. With a community mindset, however, the focus is instead on taking care of each other and lasting through the long haul. When communities work together, serve each other, and put others’ needs in front of their own, they can truly thrive.

Preventing Burnout Before It Happens

Henri Nouwen said, “Burnout might be the psychological phrase for spiritual death.” There are layers to burnout within our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Spiritual burnout happens when we find ourselves giving and giving, and not taking time to be renewed ourselves.

So what can leaders do to prevent burnout?

First, leaders need to take responsibility for their own spiritual life and health. Glenn advises that leaders sometimes need to drink from a different wellin crisis years. For modern evangelical churches, a refreshing drink could be a visit to a traditional church, or a day of solitude. Glenn explains that there is only one “water table,” one Holy Spirit, and one Jesus Christ, but everyone receives refreshment in different ways.

Another way that Glenn discovered to prevent burnout is by establishing rhythms and routines for sabbath. A practical way to apply this is to create a team of pastors who share the role of teaching at the church. With a team of teaching pastors, each pastor can come into a sermon with renewed energy and fresh ideas instead of one pastor churning out new sermons week after week.

Using Tools To Reduce Burnout

Glenn believes that most people tend to think of technology as a tool to do something with. But technology has evolved so much that it’s no longer just a tool—it’s a place.

For example, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are places where people gather. People are on these platforms constantly (an average of 2 hours a day!), and leaders have an opportunity to reach people and meet people where they already are.

Some people fear that technology can have a depersonalizing effect, but leaders have the power to shape technology and how it’s used to be more human. Perspective matters: Church systems aren’t data management, they’re about shepherding people. Instead of seeing the notes as cold facts and figures, leaders can view them as names and stories.

We Have Hope Beyond Burnout

When faced with burnout or stress, Glenn reminds leaders that we all have hope for this life and beyond. The reason for hope is that Jesus has risen from the dead.

After studying the Word, Glenn found that we are never truly in an unprecedented age. In every season, there are echoes of familiarity from other eras. The risen Jesus is still at work in His church. He is still active. So it is up to us to trust in Him and steward our moment and our community faithfully.

Listen to this episode of Pushpay’s Moving Mountains podcast and get inspired!

For more resources and help around burnout in the Church, visit:

glennpackium.com

Pastor Carey Niuewhof on Burnout

Can Technology Solve Church Staff Burnout?

How ChurchStaq Can Help with Pastor Burnout

What does it mean for us to be created in the image of God? In this episode, Pastor Will Marotti with New Life Church, Connecticut, shares his heart for the differently-abled community, discusses how God sees His children, and how digital giving has empowered the church to serve differently-abled children and their parents.

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How It All Started

Will’s life changed when he heard the sound of his son crying when he was born. Although doctors hadn’t known it yet, Will’s second child was born with Down syndrome and a critical heart defect. When Will shares the story of his son and the impact he’s made on their family, he admits that having a child with special needs changes your life, but that he wouldn’t change anything about his life.

His son, also named Will, has brought so much joy to their family and the church congregation’s lives. Experiencing parenthood firsthand with a child with special needs and connecting with families in their community taught Will these kids are just like everybody else. They have the same dreams, the same goals, the same aspirations. And from that personal experience, Will wanted to create an environment where these children could be who they wanted to be.

First, it started with hosting a ‘Night To Shine’—a nationwide event and worldwide movement that celebrates people with special needs. Then, after seeing New Life Church’s enthusiastic response, Will began looking for more ways to help bless families with kids who are differently-abled or have special needs; their church has recently repurposed an unused wing of its building for sensory rooms and started a buddy program.

Communicating To Inspire Giving

Pastor Will also shared why communicating about giving is essential for sustainable ministry, even through a pandemic. He shared that New Life Church decided to prioritize electronic giving around five years ago. The benefits of this decision and the consistent communication of online giving are seen today.

78% of the church’s annual giving comes in electronically, and it stayed consistent through the pandemic. “Pushpay helped sustain and allow our church to continue functioning and functioning strong.” Despite facing a pandemic, their church was still able to host a blood drive and open enrollment for summer camp. Will says, “Because we were able to be sustained during those really dark times during Covid, we’re still able to continue to offer the ministries to the community that we have done, and we didn’t have to pull back anything.” Now that the pandemic is ending and those ministries are launching again, Will is focusing on growing their special needs ministry even more.

New Life Church continues to impact its local community, from sharing the gospel to providing resources to families of children with special needs. One of the tools that streamlines their ministry is Pushpay. Click here to learn more about how Pushpay can help your church’s ministry.

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In this episode, Jeff Whye, Online Campus Pastor for Sandals Church, shares how they grew from 2,000 people watching online sermons to having tens of thousands of people connected and in-community through online church and Church Anywhere.

Creating an online experience

With 14 campuses, including one online, Sandals Church is not afraid to experiment. Their leadership paved the way for online ministry when other churches weren’t even thinking about online. So when Sandals Church needed digital ministry most during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was already a pathway.

Being Real Online

Sandal’s aspires to be authentic as a church, embodied by their vision statement “We are all about being real with ourselves, God, and others.” For Jeff, that vision is what brings success and growth—from how they talk, to how they bring the fullness of Church to online. Everything offered in person at Sandals Church is also offered to the online community, like a Soul Care team and Prayer team. Their intention in every action and offering is to seamlessly mesh in-person church with online.

Creating Community Anywhere

With the power of digital tech online, it’s possible to reach every corner of the Earth. For Jeff, that motivates him and his team to reach everyone they possibly can. What starts with a one-time video view online can transform into someone becoming a connected member of the community.

So that when campuses shut down due to a crisis, the community is still alive.

The online campus, Sandals Church Anywhere, delivers a Church experience in your home no matter where you live. It’s a combination of a house church and community group that’s entirely supported and resourced by Sandals Church.

Tools For Creating Church Anywhere

With 14 campuses and plans to continue expanding, Jeff acknowledges that teams and tools are crucial to achieving their goals.

One of the ways Sandals Church has created an amazing online community is by using Roku’s streaming platform for Sandals Church Anywhere. When a new house church opens, they send a stick with the Sandals Church Anywhere app installed and ready to go.

Other resources they use are the Forms and Processes in Pushpay’s ChMS. They’ve created a six-step process within the ChMS which helps them connect and engage with their community through software, digital giving, and custom apps.

According to Jeff, “It is our hub for everything we do. It’s a tool to help us know where you are on your path to Christ and how we can help you… It’s making ministry tangible, because in a church our size, we have to have that system… to make sure all of that happens.”

Being Fishers of Men

Jeff compares the church’s outreach efforts to the disciples’ fishing. “And he said to them, ‘”Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'” Matthew 4:19 ESV

Will the Church stay with the same bait and the same pond, even when there are no more fish? Jeff encourages leaders to go where the fish are and use the right bait, because that’s what good fishermen do. Just like them, the Church needs to go to the places where the most attention is being paid, and use new ways to invite people to get connected.

Just get out there and try it! Launch your digital campuses and plans as soon as possible, and allow yourself the freedom to learn as you go. To see how you can profoundly impact people’s lives and become fishers of men, click here.

If you want help setting up digital streaming for your church, contact the team at Resi, the leading providers in hassle-free, lag-free live streaming.

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Whether you want to make a lasting impact on a generation or discover fresh ideas for your ministry, this episode will inspire you. Damon Strom, Children’s Pastor at Churchome in Washington, shares how vitally important having a vision, taking risks, and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit is for creative innovation in ministry. Why not check out their newest technology and see for yourself? Simply say, “Alexa, enable ChurchKids Story.“–you’ll be glad you did!

The Start of ChurchKids Stories

What started as an idea between a parent and a children’s pastor has grown into a globally available app on Amazon Alexa. ChurchKids Stories invites parents to share and participate in a faith-based story that teaches kids about the love of Jesus, and prepares them for bed. With a simple, “Alexa, open a ChurchKids Stories,” parents can end their kids’ day with a story that brings faith and encouragement, and at the end,transitions to relaxing white noise. Damon believes, “When technology is leveraged as a tool to [help people], that’s when meaningful innovation happens.” That’s the motive behind ChurchKids Stories—innovating and helping families.

Investing In The Future

the best time to invest [in stock is] when it’s a tiny small thing, at the beginning of the company,” says Damon. He compares investing in stocks to the way we all invest in kids. “Kids ministry is a long game. When you decide to invest your best into children’s ministry, you are playing the long game. You don’t get immediate results. It’s an investment and seed that gets sowed in a person’s life.” Damon notes that with this investment mindset, kids ministry becomes one of the greatest opportunities to invest in human beings.

Embracing Change & The Future

According to Damon, the Church, “can’t afford to do things the way we’ve done in the past.” So his team approaches each new challenge or event with the question,” What is going to serve the kids the best?” And with that question in mind, they build out plans and structures. The flexibility and acceptance of risk in new ventures help ChurchKids innovate and continue to impact the Kingdom.

PRESS PLAY RIGHT NOW ON THIS EPISODE OF OUR MOVING MOUNTAINS PODCAST FOR ENCOURAGEMENT AND IDEAS FOR INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF BELIEVERS.