In this final episode of season 8, Doug sits down with Paige Peltier of Leadership Pathway to unpack what it really looks like to develop young leaders for long-term ministry impact. Paige draws on her journey through multiple ministry roles at Chapel Street Church and shares how strategic flexibility in staffing—based on a leader’s growth and God’s prompting—can dramatically impact retention and effectiveness. Together, Doug and Paige dive into the two-year residency model at the heart of Leade...
Aug 05, 2025•37 min•Season 8Ep. 8
Sherwood Oaks Christian Church has walked through significant change in recent years—from a leadership transition after 40 years and weathering the challenges of COVID to launching a new campus. Maggie Mobley, Executive of Ministries at Sherwood Oaks, joins Erin and Doug on today’s episode of Intentional Churches to talk about how to find clarity and alignment during seasons of disruption. During their conversation, Maggie opens up about the courage it took to sunset beloved events that were no ...
Jul 22, 2025•40 min•Season 8Ep. 7
On this week’s episode of the Intentional Churches podcast, pastor Tom Kopp joins Erin and Doug to share the inspiring transformation of Kimball Christian Church in rural Minnesota. Despite being located in a town of just 800, the church has become one of the largest churches in the restoration movement in the state, defying expectations through a strong vision and a deep commitment to The Great Commission. In this candid conversation, Tom unpacks how focusing on church culture, casting a consis...
Jul 08, 2025•38 min•Season 8Ep. 6
Eric Rauch from 2|42 Church joins Doug and Erin for this week’s Intentional Churches conversation—exploring what it means to lead churches through a true disciple-making transformation. Together the three share honest reflections, practical adjustments, and philosophical shifts away from attractional church models and toward multiplying disciples. The episode explores how both 2|42 and Erin’s church, Canyon Ridge, are redefining what it means to lead congregations into spiritual maturity and mis...
Jun 24, 2025•42 min•Season 8Ep. 5
Dr. Carlos Kelly, Senior Pastor of Beulahland Bible Church in Middle Georgia, joins Erin and Doug for a candid conversation on shifting church culture from consumerism to intentional evangelism and discipleship. With over 26 years in ministry and a legacy-rich church behind him, Dr. Kelly explains how Beulahland’s engagement with ChurchOS has reignited his pastoral passion and started that culture shift away from consumer Christianity. Together the three talk about the challenges of pastoring in...
Jun 10, 2025•42 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Today Erin and Doug are joined by Drew Moore of Canyon Ridge Christian Church to talk all about how to unleash—rather than curtail—the dynamic young leaders on your church staff. Following the organizational upheaval of COVID-19, Drew and his team leaned into flexibility, collaboration, and contribution-based leadership—moving away from hierarchical systems and expertise-driven silos. The result? More than half of their staff is now made up of younger leaders. Drew walks listeners through exactl...
May 27, 2025•44 min•Season 8Ep. 3
From digital congregations to rapidly growing local churches, leaders from across the country gather in this special live panel episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, recorded at the IC Conference. Co-hosted by Erin Johnston and Daniel Goulding, Lead Pastor at Echoes Church in Phoenix, AZ, this engaging conversation digs into the real-world challenges churches are facing—from building space constraints and volunteer fatigue to measuring success and navigating cultural shifts. The panel inc...
May 13, 2025•30 min
Eduardo Rivera, a leader within Mosaic Church in Winter Garden, Florida, joins Erin and Doug to talk about what it really means to lead in a multicultural church environment. With deep roots in Puerto Rico and over two decades in Central Florida, Eduardo shares his first-hand experience of how the region has shifted dramatically in Hispanic population and diversity. Eduardo explains how his calling transitioned from planting a new church to leading existing multicultural ministries, emphasizing ...
Apr 29, 2025•42 min•Season 8Ep. 2
Don’t forget to reserve your spot for the Intentional Churches Conference in April here: https://www.intentionalchurchesconference.com/ Gregg and Leilani Sizemore, co-pastors of Creekside Church in Dallas, GA, join the podcast to share their incredible story of planting a church six months before the COVID-19 pandemic. From early momentum to massive disruption, and ultimately to realignment and spiritual renewal, they give church leaders a transparent look into the challenges and breakthroughs t...
Apr 15, 2025•44 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Church leaders often ask, "How do we reach people in places that seem anti-church or post-Christian?" Jesse DeYoung, Executive Lead Pastor of Flatirons Community Church, provides honest and actionable answers to that question in this episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast. Jesse shares his journey from a youth group kid in Kentucky to leading one of the largest churches in Colorado, all while navigating the unique cultural challenges of Boulder County and the Denver Front Range—a region oft...
Apr 01, 2025•46 min•Season 7Ep. 7
Albuquerque presents both deep challenges and incredible opportunities for ministry. Pastor Nate Bush of New City Church shares how his team navigates the complexities of serving a city with both high levels of poverty and a large population of PhDs. He discusses the importance of balancing justice work with evangelism and how New City Church has shifted to ensuring every member owns the Great Commission. Nate outlines how initiatives like the Shine School Partnership and Getting Ahead have help...
Mar 18, 2025•32 min•Season 7Ep. 6
The future of the church in America is increasingly multicultural—compelling leaders to be intentional about fostering environments where diverse cultures can thrive together. Juan Carlos Heredia, Spanish Ministry Pastor at Houston’s Sugar Creek Baptist Church, joins Doug for this eye-opening episode of The Intentional Churches podcast to discuss the evolution of Hispanic ministry, the importance of personal ownership in evangelism, and how churches can strategically integrate different cultural...
Mar 04, 2025•42 min•Season 7Ep. 5
The Intentional Churches Conference is not your typical church leadership event—it's a movement. In this week’s special bonus episode, Erin sits down to interview Doug all about how The Intentional Churches Conference is evolving and what attendees can expect this year. Doug explains that IC is about more than just content—it's a collaborative network where church leaders learn from one another in real-time. Last year’s conference highlights included a hands-on coffee-making experiment, a panel ...
Feb 20, 2025•12 min
What does it mean to cultivate a “missional mindset?” In this week’s episode of the Intentional Churches Podcast, Momentum Christian Church’s Sheryl Riggins sits down with Erin and Doug to share her personal journey of moving from a traditional church background to a mission-driven approach to faith. During their conversation, Sheryl opens up about her early years as a preacher’s kid, her career at Coca-Cola, and her unexpected path to leadership at Momentum. She also dives into how Momentum is ...
Feb 18, 2025•44 min•Season 7Ep. 4
How can churches move beyond an internal focus to reach their cities with the Gospel? Mark Ashton—lead minister at Christ Community Church in Omaha, NE—joins Erin and Doug on this week’s episode of The Intentional Churches podcast, sharing how his church—and a network of 60 churches in Omaha—is making relational evangelism a top priority. During their conversation, Mark introduces the concept of the "fat fringe"—individuals who self-identify as Christians but lack a genuine faith in Jesus. He ex...
Feb 04, 2025•44 min•Season 7Ep. 3
We’re back this week with another powerful conversation, this time with pastor and church planter Lou Pizzichillo of Long Island, NY! Lou and his wife planted Community Church in Long Island back in January of 2020 (ideal timing, as any church leader would know!), and he’s sharing with us the many lessons he’s learned in the five years since. Together Erin and Doug invite Lou to share his unique story of growing up Catholic in Long Island and how he eventually came to plant an evangelical church...
Jan 21, 2025•39 min•Season 7Ep. 2
Welcome to a new year and a brand new season of The Intentional Churches podcast! We’re switching things up in 2025—shifting from a weekly release schedule to releasing longer, more in-depth conversations with leaders from around the country every other week. We’re so glad to have you along for the ride in Season 7! To kick things off, Erin and Doug are joined by Jim Sheldon, the Executive Pastor of Mission Church in Ventura, CA. Jim helped plant Mission in 2011 along with a team of other minist...
Jan 07, 2025•44 min•Season 7Ep. 1
For this final episode of 2024, Erin and Doug sit down with First Orlando’s Tracy Bowen to talk staff culture and how to create an irresistible cultural environment based on pursuing The Great Commission. Tracy holds a unique title at First Orlando—managing director of staff engagement and culture—and she’s used the position to help align the church’s staff towards reaching the ones far from Jesus and the church. Throughout today's conversation Erin and Doug invite Tracy to share her story—from ...
Dec 10, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Larry Kelley has been with New Hope Church in Houston Texas for 16 years now, and in that time he’s seen the church go from a small group gathered in a YMCA auditorium to a large multi-site church. How have Larry and the staff stayed aligned to New Hope’s greater mission amidst all that growth and change? Today’s Intentional Churches episode is all about Larry’s answer to that question. For this super practical conversation on pursuing greater alignment on your staff team, Erin and Doug invite L...
Dec 03, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 14
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the way we view online church, but where most churches have gone back to physical services, some decided to go all-in on the digital space. Enter Mark Lutz and his fully-online church, Lux. Mark served as the pastor of a traditional physical church for more than a decade before he felt God calling him into full-time online ministry. Lux launched in 2021, and the lessons Mark’s learned about relational evangelism in this fully online space serve as the ...
Nov 26, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Most, if not all, churches have a mission that drives what they do, but how often are we making radical alignment to that mission the main thing? Today on The Intentional Churches podcast Erin and Doug sit down with Travis Kaiser, lead pastor of Florence Baptist Church in Florence, Kentucky. Travis is passionate about fostering a Great Commission-driven mission in every aspect of his church’s culture. How does he do it? Erin and Doug ask him exactly that. Given Florence Baptist’s historical root...
Nov 19, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Welcome to season 6 of The Intentional Churches podcast! For this season of the podcast, we’re talking all about inviting and preparing for that next big event on your church’s calendar in light of The Great Commission. With Christmas right around the corner, this is the perfect time to talk about the invite potential of an event that will ultimately draw people closer to Jesus. On today’s episode Erin and Doug are joined by Doug’s good friend (and fellow Steelers fan!), Mark Weigt. Mark is the ...
Nov 12, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 11
On the final episode of season 5, Erin and Doug invite Intentional Churches’ president and co-founder, Bart Rendel, to the show to outline the differences between intentional and unintentional churches. Bart has a heart for helping church leaders take personal ownership of The Great Commission, and that passion bleeds through every part of this conversation. Since Bart is Doug’s partner in crime at Intentional Churches, Erin invites Doug to share his expertise too, and together the two outline e...
Nov 05, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 10
This week on The Intentional Churches podcast, Doug and Erin sit down with Mission Church’s Sarah Cole. Sarah serves as the Ventura, CA church’s welcome team lead—focusing on creating a volunteer culture that welcomes in everyone and anyone. Why is creating that culture of hospitality important to The Great Commission? How do we recruit and inspire leaders with the “why” behind welcoming new people? The three dive into these questions and more in today’s conversation! In her time at Mission, Sar...
Oct 29, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 9
This week on The Intentional Churches podcast, Doug and Erin sit down with Mission Church’s Sarah Cole. Sarah serves as the Ventura, CA church’s welcome team lead—focusing on creating a volunteer culture that welcomes in everyone and anyone. Why is creating that culture of hospitality important to The Great Commission? How do we recruit and inspire leaders with the “why” behind welcoming new people? The three dive into these questions and more in today’s conversation! In her time at Mission, Sar...
Oct 22, 2024•32 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Reaching the next generation is a concern for any institution, especially the church. With Gen-Z leaving traditional religion in droves, how do we disciple this next generation and build up faithful, fruitful leaders? Today on The Intentional Churches podcast, Doug and Erin chat with THINQ’S Next Gen director, Grant Skeldon, to break down how exactly to reach young people for Jesus. As a young leader himself, Grant is on the front lines when it comes to discipling the next generation. Together D...
Oct 15, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 7
First Orlando’s Haley Malone never envisioned herself in ministry, but little did this former math teacher and volleyball coach know, she was already doing ministry just by building relationships with those around her. Now Haley serves as First Orlando’s groups director, overseeing all adult groups at the 150 year-old church. Doug sits down with Haley today to talk about how her passion for building authentic relationships translates to mobilizing group leaders, and how anyone—no matter your chu...
Oct 08, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Radical alignment with The Great Commission is a great goal to shoot for, but how do we actually take discipleship and make it personal? On this week’s episode of The Intentional Churches podcast, Doug sits down with Calvary Chapel’s executive pastor, Duane Roberts, to talk about authentic relationship-building, organizational alignment in a multi-campus church, and co-creation among teams. As a 10-campus church in ethnically diverse South Florida, leading Calvary Chapel has its own unique chall...
Oct 01, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 5
For this week’s episode of The Intentional Churches podcast, Doug sits down with Chris Palmer, dean of ministry and theology at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, to talk all things Christian consumerism. Doug and Chris have both witnessed the church’s slow evolution towards a more consumeristic, programmatic institution in recent decades. But how can we as church leaders combat that tendency to simply give people another thing they want rather than what they need—the cross of Christ—...
Sep 24, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 4
A church can be considered an “institution” but that doesn’t mean our churches should have institutional mindsets focused on programs over people. For today’s conversation on radical alignment with The Great Commission Erin and Doug sit down with Chad Booher, the community engagement minister at his local church and an individual passionate about inviting, discipling, and empowering God’s people. During their conversation Erin and Doug ask Chad to outline how he went from being a consumer in the...
Sep 17, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 3
