Listen Now

We know church looks different right now for all of us during the corona virus pandemic.  On this podcast, we cover finances, outreach, and other key insights to keep your church thriving through the pandemic.

Get an inside look at a day in the life of an executive pastor at a large church.    ECFA's VP of Research and Equipping, Dr. Warren Bird, sits down with Danny de Armas, Executive Pastor at First Baptist Orlando.  Danny also just finished serving on the ECFA Board as board chair.  They discuss the inspirations and challenges of both roles. https://www.firstorlando.com/leader/danny-de-armas/

Get answers to YOUR top questions on ministers’ taxes. Plus, get access to 2 helpful new resources from ECFA on ministers’ taxes made easy.   

ECFA is now over 2,400 members strong! Join in the celebration today as we sit down with Todd Wilson, President and CEO of Exponential – ECFA’s 2,400 member.  Exponential describes itself as the Chamber of Commerce for the church planting world, partnering with over 100 denominations and providing resources to strengthen church planters around the world. Find ECFA at the Orlando Exponential conference and come say hi!  https://exponential.org/

Having the emotional intelligence to lead others is a learned skill, as Jenni Catron explains in the conversation with ECFA's VP of Research, Dr. Warren Bird.  Developing self awareness and pursuing self leadership carry over into how leaders can best serve those around them.  Jenni breaks down these ideas and concepts that will benefit your personal growth as a leader! Learn more about Jenni Catron at her website: http://jennicatron.com/

ECFA's Dan Busby and Michael Martin dive into more of the densely packed resource, Board Tools and Templates! This ECFA resource gives you practical tips, steps, outlines, and more in one book! You need to check it out, get your copy today! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1949365182/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1949365182&linkCode=as2&tag=e0b1e-20&linkId=bdd9f35cb00435f1356cd11716d9df08

Your Church leaders can now get one of the most densely packed resources ECFA has ever produced.  Board Tools and Templates gives you practical tips, steps, outlines, and more in one book!   You need to check it out, get your copy today! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1949365182/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1949365182&linkCode=as2&tag=e0b1e-20&linkId=bdd9f35cb00435f1356cd11716d9df08

David King is the executive director of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, where they just published a report on Congregations’ Economic Practices.  Download the report here: https://www.nscep.org/  Warren and David discuss the results of the research and the resulting trends we see in churches today.  

Data can be one of the greatest tools we use to grow generosity.  From analyzing data we can identify where God is working, we can steward our resources better, and we can measure effectiveness of our efforts.  Life.Church's Rodney Ross shares insights in how one of the largest, creative churches in America uses data to shepherd its flock.

Starting conversations with congregants about generosity actually starts with building relationship!  Rodney Ross of Life.Church shares 4 hesitations people have on living generously.  It's already within everyone to walk generously in their life, and disciplining our churches to live like this takes intentional action(and conversations) to build trust and point others towards God's authorship on ownership.  

Do guests use your Church's wifi? Does your church have password policies?  Keep your WiFi equipment commercial grade, make sure firewalls are setup correctly, and don't write your password on a sticky note!  Nick Nicholaou continues to give practical insights to leaders about keeping your church's data secure!

Churches posses valuable data about their congregation.  It is so important to understand and protect it!  Nick Nickolaou shares wake-up call stories and practical advice encouraging you and your church to have high standards on I.T. policies and procedures.  A topic that will become only more important in years to come!

Compensation strategy is so much more than a simple paycheck!  Listen in as Michael interviews Elaine Sommerville, author of the new book Church Compensation: From Strategic Plan to Compliance (2018).  While Elaine devotes much of her time on IRS issues and compliance with churches and nonprofit organizations, she saw a need for practical insights for churches and their compensation practices. 

There are standards a church is held to organizationally, but what about the pastors?  Boards can protect the leader's soul with conditions and a pastor can be willing to allow "spinach in his teeth" to be pointed out.  No matter the strategy, Carey points out, a leader must have character.  

Executive Pastors have the right mix of vision and execution, America is arguable already Post Christian, and workplace culture starts with, yes, the leaders!  Warren Bird and Carey Nieuwhof speak to Leaders about the pulse of the Church and a leader's role in this two part podcast. Carey has an annual blog post about the disruptive trends he sees for churches in the upcoming year. Check it out at CareyNieuwhof.com   

When church pastors fail morally; the church body, the community, and the church leadership are all looking for answers.  Calvary Chapel in Ft. Lauderdale experienced this, and their current lead pastor, Doug Sauder, shares how the church recovered and started rebuilding trust with their congregation and community.

What about the Pastor's soul care?  Caring for the soul of the congregation is a given, but church leadership needs to guard one another's hearts as well.  It's not obvious at times, determining the condition of your pastor's soul, but Dan and John give practical advice in what to look for and, most importantly, how to help! Dan Busby and John Pearson have served 100's of hours on nonprofit and ministry boards over the years.  In their book, Lessons from the Church Boardroom, they explore 40 lessons for the church governing body.   See more from their book here: http://ecfa.church/LessonsChurchBoardroom/Default.aspx

Hear Matt Chandler's thoughts on accountability as a large church pastor and how the Village Church implements their system of accountability for three lead pastors. http://www.ecfa.church/ https://thevillagechurch.net/

Having a second set of eyes is always a good idea when it comes to reviewing something important. Undergoing an audit can be great protection for your church and encouragement for your congregation. Tune in for best practices and how to best determine the needs of your ministry.

As connection to church becomes more of a title and less of a relationship, impacting lives requires individual Christians living on mission. Tune in for a dive into what relational evangelism looks like today and how to effectively reach out and speak into our culture.