Church Planter Podcast

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 gathering spaces, Christograms, the Hall of Tyrannus, and the evidence of Christian movement in the first centuries.The conversation also challenges church planters to think beyond simple church growth formulas and recover the kind of patient, contextual, culturally engaged mission we see in the New Testament. The early church adapted to real places, engaged real people, and took the time to make disciples who could carry the gospel into new spaces.If you want to understand first-century mission, think more deeply about church planting, and learn how history and archaeology can sharpen disciple-making today, this episode is for you.Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New MovementNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the Church Planter Podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton and Andrea Jones sit down with Tiffany Stein—pastor, church planter’s wife, and author of Mourning God: Grieving Loss, Wrestling with God, and Finding Your Way Back to Life.Tiffany shares her powerful story of faith, loss, and leadership after the death of her infant son, David, who lived for 53 days. As a pastor in a highly visible church context, her grief unfolded publicly, forcing her to wrestle not only with devastating loss, but with the haunting silence of God that followed.This conversation goes beyond theology and into the raw, emotional terrain church planters and ministry leaders often face but rarely discuss. Tiffany unpacks:What it means to “mourn the God you thought you knew”Why emotional doubt can be more destabilizing than intellectual doubtThe danger of quick-fix theology and Christian clichésWhy the Church desperately needs a robust theology of lamentHow leaders can grieve authentically while still shepherding othersThe humbling discipline of receiving care instead of always giving itFor church planters leading through infertility, loss, burnout, unanswered prayer, or spiritual silence, this episode offers permission to be human and a pathway back to hope.Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:Mourning GodReliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell explore a foundational idea behind Discipology: before you make disciples, you must first become one. But that doesn’t simply mean being saved, it means allowing the character of Jesus to shape your life. Peyton explains how the New Testament qualifications for leaders ultimately describe a life that reflects Christ’s character. From there, he introduces the Shalom Star, a practical tool designed to help believers evaluate whether their lives are growing in healthy, Christ-like balance across six key areas: spiritual life, honor (responsibilities), affections, learning, others, and mental health. Together, Pete and Peyton discuss why imbalance in a leader’s life can undermine their witness, how discipleship shapes character through proximity to Jesus, and why personal transformation must come before effective disciple-making.Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:TakeShalom.comDiscipologyBook.comReliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

The topic was supposed to be “Discipling the Next Generation”…and we got there, just not how you’d expect.In this episode, Peyton and Pete unpack an often-overlooked ingredient behind disciple-making movements: mentorship.Peyton shares what it’s been like to have a legend like Ralph Moore personally investing into his church plant and why having a mentor can change the trajectory of your ministry (and your life). From stories of writing letters to paying for coaching that reshaped his future, Peyton makes the case that too many church planters are pouring out without ever letting someone pour into them.They also tackle:Why Gen X leaders struggle to ask for helpThe difference between wanting mentorship and committing to itWhy skin in the game mattersThe cost (and value) of being discipledWhy you should always have someone ahead of you — and someone behind youIf you’re planting, leading, or simply feeling like you’re figuring it out alone…this episode is a reminder: You weren’t meant to. And if we’re serious about discipling the next generation, it starts by modeling what it looks like to be discipled ourselves.Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:DiscipologyBook.comReliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

What do Van Halen, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a boring radio station have in common?For Kris Langham, they were all part of the journey that led him to faith.In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell sit down with Kris Langham, founder of Through the Word, to unpack his remarkable salvation story and the vision behind one of the most accessible Bible engagement tools in the world.Kris shares how a simple audio Bible teaching format grew into Through the Word, a free app with a 10-minute audio guide for every chapter of the Bible (now approaching 1 million users).But this conversation goes deeper than technology.Together, the guys explore:Why most Christians feel anxiety when they hear “go make disciples”The critical difference between discipleship and disciple-makingHow we often reproduce the way we were discipled, for better or worseWhy disciple-making moves at the speed of relationshipHow introverts might actually make the best disciple-makersHow the new Discipology Plan inside the Through the Word app helps everyday believers follow Jesus and take someone with themResources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:DiscipologyBook.comReliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

In this episode, Peyton Jones is joined by Elliot Sands, president of Faith First, for a thoughtful and candid conversation about politics, unity, and disciple-making in today’s divided world. From his upbringing as a missionary kid in Nigeria to his work helping Christians navigate cultural and political fractures, Elliot brings a grounded, pastoral perspective to one of the most volatile challenges facing the Church right now.If you’re a church planter trying to lead faithfully without alienating half your congregation — or wondering how to shepherd people through cultural chaos without losing gospel clarity — this episode will give you language, framework, and hope.Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:LiveFaithFirst.orgReliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

In this raw and deeply personal episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell wrestle with heartbreaking news about one of Peyton’s writing heroes, Philip Yancey.What happens when a trusted Christian voice falls? How do leaders reconcile great theology with moral failure? And what does this moment teach church planters about integrity, temptation, confession, and the danger of hidden lives?Drawing from Scripture, personal experience, and years in ministry, Peyton and Pete explore why no one simply “wakes up” and chooses failure—and why isolation, secrecy, and unmanaged wounds often precede a fall. They discuss boundaries, accountability, confession, and the hard but necessary question every leader must ask: Who really knows me?Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:Reliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

Joshua Brown—known as the Pressure Washing Pastor—joins Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell for one of the most compelling conversations the Church Planter Podcast has had in a long time. From a traumatic childhood and growing up without a father, to burnout in vocational ministry, to building a multi-million-dollar pressure washing business as a platform for disciple-making, Joshua shares a raw, redemptive story of identity, calling, and obedience.In this episode, Joshua unpacks how marketplace ministry became a powerful context for evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development—training young people, forming character before competency, and multiplying leaders outside the walls of the church. The conversation explores co-vocational ministry, service-based businesses, and why pressure washing (of all things) has become a surprisingly effective tool for mission.If you’re a church planter wrestling with sustainability, burnout, or how to mobilize disciples beyond Sunday services, this episode will stretch your imagination and challenge your assumptions about what ministry can look like today.Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:Pressure Washing PastorReliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We’re here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.