Leading Conversations

Getting “uninvited” from a church is the kind of story leaders whisper about, not the kind they process out loud. JD Pering sits down with Dustin Bannister, a North Carolina pastor and denominational leader, to talk candidly about what that moment felt like, what he learned from it, and how it reshaped his passion for clergy support, church renewal, and healthier ministry.We start in Dustin’s hometown of LaGrange, where returning after years away becomes an unexpected gift. From there, Dustin shares his faith journey, his Free Will Baptist background, and how his call to ministry formed through small steps rather than a single dramatic experience. Along the way, he explains key theological distinctives in plain language and connects belief to the everyday pressures pastors carry.Finally, Dustin brings us into the real world of church planting in rural communities: the anxiety, the lack of a blueprint, the slow foundation work no one applauds, and a two-year vision for developing planters and strengthening congregations. If you care about rural church health, sustainable pastoral leadership, and practical pathways to planting and renewal, this conversation will give you language and next steps.Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs encouragement, and leave a review so more planters and pastors can find these stories.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

One small decision on a Thursday night at UCLA nearly sent Scott Perring down a completely different path, and a surprising conversation outside a Starbucks pulled him back. We talk through that tipping-point story in detail, including what it felt like to drift from Campus Crusade, wrestle with doubt, and then feel known, seen, and redirected through a timely friendship. If you’ve ever wondered how faith survives a season of questions, this part will stay with you.From there, we trace Scott’s journey from growing up as a church planter’s kid to stepping into a “non-ministry” calling that still serves the Church. He shares how he discovered Christian financial planning through mentorship, what it was like to launch a business with almost no revenue, and the moment things finally turned when he became a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider and started teaching in churches through Financial Peace University settings. We get specific about the grind, the risk, and the real numbers behind building something sustainable.If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more leaders and families can find it. What’s the money question you want answered next?Originally Posted November 30, 2022Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

A church plant can look bold from the outside, but from the inside it often feels like slow trust, long commutes, folding chairs, and prayer that has to turn into action. We sit down with Chad Wilson, a pastor and church planter in Longmont, Colorado, to trace the full arc: growing up third-generation in ministry, running hard in rebellion, and then finding his way back when a dusty Bible and the book of Proverbs finally became personal. Chad shares what changed internally before anything changed externally, and why that shift gave him joy, hope, and a reason to keep moving forward.We also dig into the real mechanics of parachute planting a church with no launch team. Chad explains going bivocational, building community through everyday life, and learning how a transient city can make people cautious until you prove you are staying. You will hear honest takeaways on church planting leadership, second-time guests, early discipleship, baptisms, and the hard wisdom of building a safe kids ministry and a sustainable volunteer bench.If you care about church planter health, bivocational ministry, and starting a church that becomes a true local community, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a church planter, and leave a review so more leaders can find these stories.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

A seventh grader shows up at a church revival alone, terrified of what surrender might cost, and walks out with a peace he cannot explain. Then his sister follows. Then his parents. That kind of chain reaction is rare, and it sets the tone for a conversation that keeps circling back to one question: what happens when you say yes to God even when you feel wildly unqualified?We sit down with pastor and church planter Jim Kennan to trace the road from basketball-first childhood to an unexpected call to ministry that arrived while he was counting road signs on the back roads of Ohio. Jim talks candidly about the pressure of leading tough, dysfunctional turnaround churches, the toll that long-haul stress can take, and the moment he stepped out of pastoral leadership because he was empty. If you care about sustainable ministry, church leadership health, and honest stories behind the platform, this one goes there.If you want practical church planting insight, fresh thinking on ministry to baby boomers, and leadership advice that actually holds up under pressure, press play. Subscribe, share this with a pastor or church planter, and leave a review with the lesson you’re taking into your week.Originally Posted February 1, 2024Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

He trained to be a nuclear engineer, got recruited into the Navy’s elite nuclear world, and ended up overseeing thousands of people far earlier than most leaders ever will. Then Todd Wilson made a move that looked irrational on a spreadsheet: he walked away from upward mobility and into ministry with no seminary track, no desire to be a lead pastor, and a deep sense that God was saying, “Trust me.” What followed wasn’t a tidy career change, it was a decades-long run of building practical infrastructure for church planting and multiplication.We talk through Todd’s “two conversions” story, how a small and unimpressive local church still became the place where truth landed, and why the earliest clues to calling often show up in childhood. From there, Todd explains how his engineer mindset turned into ministry entrepreneurship: creating Church Marketing Solutions as a business-for-mission, launching Passion for Planting to take administrative weight off planters, and learning firsthand why planters must stay focused on people, not endless tasks.If you care about church planting, leadership development, personal calling, and disciple making that reproduces, this conversation will challenge your scorecard and give you fresh language for what you’re sensing. Subscribe, share this with a leader who’s at a crossroads, and leave a review with the one takeaway you don’t want to forget.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

A church business meeting can either harden you or forge you. Paul Mints watched his father get publicly attacked in a toxic church setting and walked out thinking, “I will never do what my dad did.” Years later, after God’s relentless pursuit and a hard-won surrender, Paul finds himself stepping into the very calling he feared, with a story that blends early faith, family wounds, and the kind of clarity that only comes after obedience.Paul offers practical leadership coaching for church planters and lead pastors that applies far beyond church work. He breaks the leader’s job into four verbs: do, lead, lead leaders, and resource leaders and explains how shifting your time across those priorities helps a church (or any organisation) grow without getting stuck. If you care about church planting, leadership development, healthy teams, and sustainable ministry, this conversation delivers both story and strategy. Subscribe, share with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.This episode originally posted February 15, 2022Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

Northern Colorado is booming, but growth doesn’t automatically mean spiritual connection. We talk with Jeremy Cleveland, lead pastor of Zeal City Church, about what it looks like to plant a life-giving, gospel-centered church in the NoCo corridor near Fort Collins and Windsor, where hundreds of thousands have little or no relationship with Christ. Along the way, we laugh about the quirks of a fast-growing region, then quickly get honest about the real reason we plant churches: people need Jesus.Jeremy shares the deeply personal story behind his leadership, including his family’s early ministry roots, his dad’s turnaround through the grace of the gospel, and how a devastating car accident shaped his path toward vocational ministry. We trace the practical steps too: training, early pastoral years in Houston, and the worship-night moment when Jeremy and Brittany sensed a clear call to church planting.Subscribe for more church planting and leadership conversations, share this with a pastor or leader who needs encouragement, and leave a review to help others find the show.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

As a church planter or leader, this thought has probably crossed your mind; my work would be much easier if my church were located on a beautiful island paradise in the Pacific. It turns out the opposite is true. Stefen and Amber Fussle launched Awakening church on the island of Maui. Beyond all the typical challenges faced when planting a church, they needed to find a way to navigate a resilient island culture. They established a healthy church community through their dedication to God's mission, involvement in their community, and overcoming personal setbacks. Listen and be encouraged.Originally posted January 31, 2022Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

A church planting assessment tells a couple they have no business planting, and the punchline is they’re already doing it. That’s where JD sits down with Joemel Delossantos, a San Diego local raised in a small Filipino church, to trace the real path of ministry calling, early mistakes, and the kind of support that actually keeps leaders healthy.The conversation turns toward church planting in National City: launching with a tiny team, almost no funding, and a rented space that felt like a miracle until reality set in. Jomel unpacks the disappointment of a Zoom-based church planter assessment, the role of mentors and networks like Excel Leadership Network, and the turning point that came through a church planter residency offer from Shelton Markham. The biggest takeaway is simple and costly: love people, people over programs, souls over systems, because pastors are shepherds first.If you’re leading a church, planting one, or trying to rebuild after a setback, you’ll find language for what you’re carrying and practical clarity for what to do next. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs encouragement, and leave a review with your biggest church planting lesson so far.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. 

Chris Hall is the Lead Pastor at Catalyst Church Ventura. His passion for church planting and church planting pastors is only matched by his skills as a professional inline skater. Chris' experience has developed him into a valuable resource as a mentor and a coach for new church planters. You will be encouraged by his story.Originally Posted September 30, 2021Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.