The Exponential 2023 Global Conference wrapped up last week in Orlando. This year, 5000+ Church Planters and Multiplication-friendly people gathered at First Baptist Orlando to pray, seek God, and learn. Leadership Network offered a Digital and a Metaverse track. And, as much fun as teaching hundreds on the power of digital discipleship…as much fun as networking with global organizations talking about the power of a digital church…the most fun I had was seeing Exponential through the eyes of som...
Mar 13, 2023•59 min•Season 4Ep. 262
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down everything in 2020, JO Saxton turned to Instagram to gather with people online. "Tea Time w/Jo" was born and a community continued to grow. Today, Jo Saxton joins us to talk about the importance of online communities, the difference between tolerating and celebrating people, and how Jo aims to gather, equip, and catalyze women in leadership with her leadership network and the Ezer Collective gatherings.
Mar 09, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 4Ep. 261
What does an IT guy with a local cable company do after hours? Video Games and Streaming on Twitch of course. Destiny 2 seems to be the game of choice if you’re curious. But AKI doesn’t stop there. He involves his wife and kids in the stream, making it a family event! AKI and Peach open up their family time to Twitch and Discord, allowing the audience to be part of a healthy, non-toxic family environment. Many of AKI’s audience don’t have a healthy environment. They’ve never seen it. AKI’s strea...
Mar 06, 2023•59 min•Season 4Ep. 260
Today my conversation is with Dr. Josh Packard, Executive Director of the Springtide Research Institute. Through their extensive research (perhaps the largest data set on the planet) on the spiritual lives of young folks, Springtide and Dr. Packard discovered some mind-blowing things. You might think you know about the spirituality of the next generation (13-25 year olds), but you're probably wrong. The "decline narrative" is way too simplistic. Yes, you might see less young people attending chu...
Mar 02, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 259
CATCH THE CHURCH DIGITAL PODCAST LIVE, THURSDAYS 3PM ON TWITCH. HTTP://TWITCH.TV/DIGITALCHURCHNETWORK As we examine gaming culture, we see more and more lack of institutional trust. This is many reasons why the church has historically struggled to connect with gamers. But Jate Earhart and others, are working to overcome this tension, essentially operating as a vocational missionary in gaming space. Utilizing Twitch and Discord, Jate’s goal is to disciple a million video gamers. How’s he doing? W...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 258
Today we Deep Dive into the platform known as BigScreen, and as usual, we will address the goods and bads of what this VR platform has to offer for churches looking to dive into VR ministry. Email us at metaversechurchpodcast@gmail.com Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/mWKBEqZ4gJ...
Feb 24, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 257
CATCH THE CHURCH DIGITAL PODCAST SEASON FOUR STREAMS LIVE ON TWITCH. THURSDAYS, 3PM EASTERN. http://twitch.tv/digitalchurchnetwork How can churches minister to the Esports industry? That was the question we ask Johno, Director of Esports for Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Johno has deep understanding of the Esports industry, as well as a vision for what ministry looks like in that space. How do we reach people in the Esports arena? How do we utilize Esports influence to reach and disciple others?...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 256
Why does Google Search matter and why should your Church or ministry pay attention to it? Find out in this conversation with Mark MacDonald.
Feb 16, 2023•51 min•Season 4Ep. 255
CATCH THE CHURCH DIGITAL PODCAST RECORDING LIVE ON TWITCH! WE’RE DOING OUR INTERVIEWS LIVE ON TWITCH, THURSDAY’S AT 3PM EASTERN. http://twitch.tv/digitalchurchnetwork Nerd Culture is growing by leaps and bounds, and we, THECHURCH.DIGITAL, are digging into Nerd Culture, and how best to reach them. To that end, we’re bringing into the conversation Bubba Stallcup, founder of Love Thy Nerd, to find out. Whether you’re a digital church, or a physical church doing digital ministry, or even a physical ...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 254
On this episode, Jason Morris and Joey Santos will chat with Mindy Caliguire from SoulCare.com . Today an increasing number of people are looking for communities using digital platforms, and Digital Pastors are on the frontlines meeting and connecting with people from all walks of life. We must pay attention to the health of our souls before going out to help others.
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Season 4Ep. 253
CATCH THE JESUS, GAMERS AND CHURCH INTERVIEWS ON TWITCH. THURSDAYS 3pm EASTERN ON http://twitch.tv/digitalchurchnetwork — How do we reach the estimated 3 billion video gamers for Christ? Great question, which sets up the focus of Season 4 of The Church Digital Podcast: “Jesus, Gamers, and Church.” In Season 4, we’re deep diving into Gamer Culture, into Nerd Culture, and a better understanding of how they think and how we can take Jesus, and the Church, into that culture. The challenge is not to ...
Feb 06, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 252
Can we deconstruct the church and not God? Can we challenge the bride of Christ in America without questioning our faith? This is a quandary I live in. This is just one of the questions we dug into in the podcast. As we explore digital ministry and digital church, we are challenging perceived norms, and I may in the few, but I will own this statement: when done right, I believe that a digital expression of church is actually closer to the biblical model proposed. Brad Brisco is one of my favorit...
Jan 30, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 251
EP250 - Dr John Harris in Book Launch, Sharing Jesus Online Jeff and Dr John wrote a new book, and we’re celebrating right here on this podcast! Download the PDF or buy the softcover on Amazon. Check out http://SharingJesusOnline.com for more info Here on The Church Digital Podcast we are celebrating our next book launch, Sharing Jesus Online. Written by Dr John Harris and Jeff Reed, Sharing Jesus Online is a simple, reproducible framework helping people effectively share their faith online. Wit...
Jan 23, 2023•52 min•Season 3Ep. 250
Microchurches are fascinating to me. You have volunteers with an extremely high level of commitment, serving as a church. These are not fairweather volunteers by any stretch. These are people that open up their homes weekly, prepping sermons, relationally engaging week-by-week, day-by-day. How do you grow that level of commitment? How does discipleship help foster healthy accountability? As we look at the future of digital and metaverse churches, the decentralized model of digital will continue ...
Jan 17, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 249
You see, I thought I was walking into a conversation about creating and utilizing podcasts in discipleship. Instead, I walk into a conversation about empowering people digitally, and mobilizing people in the pew to start a movement. Incredible conversation. Patrick Miller was a stranger to me. We haven't really met before this podcast. I bumped into him on Twitter, and was curious about some of his tweets. Recent author, as well as a constant contributor to The Gospel Coalition, Patrick is well ...
Jan 09, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 248
2023 is upon us, and THECHURCH.DIGITAL & Digital Church Network are working hard to help pastors, planters and practitioners with their digital ministry. 2022 brought us massive opportunities; join Jeff as we celebrate 2022 and tease what's to come in 2023. He Gets Us may be the best evangelism opportunity the American church has this year. Open Office on He Gets Us - http//thechurch.digital/openoffice // signup He Gets Us - http://thechurch.digital/hegetsus Jeff's next book, with Dr John Ha...
Jan 02, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 247
SO HERE'S THE DEAL... Almost 25 years ago, as a college student, I read Leonard Sweet’s book SoulTsunami, and to say that it changed my life would be an understatement. In 1999, Leonard’s book gave me permission to digital ministry even though everyone else thought I was crazy. 20+ years later, people still think I’m crazy, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. HERE’S AN IDEA! Let’s get Leonard Sweet on a podcast, and talk with the Church Futurist about the future of the tmchurch. We’ll hit digital a...
Dec 12, 2022•55 min•Season 3Ep. 246
Faith without works is dead! How many times have you heard that challenge towards the idea of digital churches and digital ministry? James 2 isn’t wrong, of course. But it doesn’t have to apply to Digital Churches. “Jeff, how do you serve people digitally?” Well, have we got an opportunity for you. Realizing that digital is not the abandonment of gathering, but instead the opportunity to birth new gatherings… what if we applied that same philosophy to serving? What if we could equip our people t...
Dec 05, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 245
Barbecue Church? Learn how Barbecue is being used to effectively connect with people that church buildings aren’t. We’ve seen lots of unique expressions of church pop up, but Barbecue Assemblies of God? Jeff sits down with Andre Anderson, serial entrepreneur and lead pastor of Barbecue Church. Where’d the idea come from? How is barbecue being used to reach and disciple people today. Lean in as Jeff talks with Andre about how he started Barbecue Church, and how God is using it today....
Nov 28, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 244
Tis the season to get stressed out, amiright? So many departments coming together. So many volunteers serving with all their heart. The standards are set high for this year’s Christmas Services (happening on a Sunday this year BTW.) But how do you manage the creative tensions? How do you get people to work together. What does it look like to get people to focus towards an aligned direction, often meaning they would need to set aside their own desires? This is how it often feels working at a Chur...
Nov 21, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 243
Jeff published his book on churches in virtual reality! Download for FREE, or buy Kindle/Hard Copy from Amazon: http://thechurch.digital/vrbook Well, the time has come. THECHURCH.DIGITAL and Leadership Network is happy to announce the publishing of VR and the Metaverse Church, Jeff’s first book. Telling the stories of the innovation (and the innovators) in virtual reality, Jeff moves beyond the novelty of the technology, instead exploring in detail the missional opportunities the church has enga...
Nov 14, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 242
Engagement: A Digital Missionary/Volunteer Structure for He Gets Us He Gets Us sounds like an incredible idea, but it can certainly seem overwhelming. How can your church effectively set up He Gets Us to be effective for ministry? What role should Alpha play? How do we structure volunteers? Jump on this livestream where Jeff will literally whiteboard a strategy for churches like yours to engage like never before. Looking for a Playbook for Digital Missionaries? Look no further. If you've not sig...
Nov 07, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 241
PASTOR OVER TEXT? There are plenty of ways to pastor someone digitally, through Zoom or even through Avatars in virtual reality. But text-only? Surely there’s some difficulty in that environment. Enter Jonathan Song, Director of Pastor Chat at Churchome. Churchome has leaned heavily into it’s mobile app, even to the point of pastoring people around the country via chat/text messaging. DOES IT WORK? Does it work? Does caring for a soul work via text messaging? Jonathan’s got the inside scoop and ...
Oct 31, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 240
GET THE INSIDE SCOOP What does Digital Discipleship look like? Get the inside scoop on Sprout Digital’s 2022 Digital Discipleship Research Report with Jared & Ann Roth. ONE OF THE MOST DOWNLODED PODCASTS In one of the most-downloaded podcasts in The Church Digital Podcast history, Jared and Ann Roth shared their passion for the digital church. Retired co-pastors and denominational leaders, the Roths started Sprout Digital, a research company passionate about the digital methods of church and...
Oct 24, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 239
ARE DAOS AND NFTS LEGIT? As the Church looks to Blockchain & Crypto, are DAOs and NFTs legit? Are these gimmicks, or is there a future for the church in the new technologies? Are NFTs legitimate, or is this a gimmick? In a recent Digital Church Network Roundtable we dug into the legitimacy of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Part two in the series, we’ll be exploring the idea of DAOs and NFTs. ARE THERE LEGITIMATE MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES HERE? Kingdom tools? To find out, we’re bringing in dec...
Oct 17, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 238
GET YOUR CHURCH SIGNED UP FOR HE GETS US, AND GET 12 MONTHS FOR FREE... http://thechurch.digital/hegetsus One of the largest Christian Technology Companies in America, GLOO has been helping churches figure out how to better use data. Recently, GLOO has focused on a national marketing campaign called “He Gets Us.” These ads, run online as well as other ad channels, have been un-earthing spiritual explorers and connecting them to partnering churches for relationship and even discipleship. EMBRACIN...
Oct 10, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 237
ARE DAOS AND NFTS LEGIT? As the Church looks to Blockchain & Crypto, are DAOs and NFTs legit? Are these gimmicks, or is there a future for the church in the new technologies? Are NFTs legitimate, or is this a gimmick? In a recent Digital Church Network Roundtable we dug into the legitimacy of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Part two in the series, we’ll be exploring the idea of DAOs and NFTs. ARE THERE LEGITIMATE MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES HERE? Kingdom tools? To find out, we’re bringing in dec...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 236
Christ-Centered Recovery is so important in digital and metaverse spaces, so why are churches hesitant to do Christ-Centered Recovery digitally? There is an incredible opportunity digitally to offer Christ-Centered Recovery, yet very few organizations offer recovery in digital- or metaverse- spaces. Churches are looking for the opportunity. Digital Church Network is excited to explore the topic of Christ-Centered Recovery and draw attention to the need and inspire those looking to meet the need....
Sep 26, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 235
RURAL CHURCHES HAVE STRUGGLED WITH TECHNOLOGY... Is there an opportunity to do something different? Enter Michael Beck, one of the loudest voices in America towards fresh expressions. Michael is releasing a new book “Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church” where Michael and co-author Tyler Kleeberger discuss innovative ideas surrounding the Rural Church. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF DIGITAL IN A RURAL CHURCH? What is the role of digital in a rural church? Is it possible to use the scalability of digital i...
Sep 19, 2022•50 min•Ep. 234
DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT WILL HELP US REACH DIFFERENT PEOPLE. Fortunately, God has equipped us with imagination, allowing us an opportunity to come up with different, creative ideas to connect with people. And, as a result of COVID, there is probably no better time in human history for imaginative ideas than right now. THIS IS THE HEART BEHIND MISSIONAL IMAGINATION. How can these ideas be used for kingdom purposes? How can we network or collaborate with others to make this Missional Imagination...
Sep 12, 2022•47 min•Ep. 233
