![Planting a Church [The Everyday Pastor - Ep. 54] @thegospelcoalition](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oMY9ZaTAeIs/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What does it actually take to plant a healthy church?
Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan discuss the joys, challenges, and realities of church planting. Drawing from Matt’s experience planting River City Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, they explore everything from assessing a call to church planting and gathering a core team to fundraising, developing leaders, and cultivating a healthy church culture.
🔗 MENTIONED
▫ Planting by Pastoring by Nathan Knight - amazon.com/Planting-Pastoring-Vision-Starting-Healthy/dp/1433588110?tag=thegospcoal-20
▫ Church Planting Thresholds by Clint Clifton - amazon.com/Church-Planting-Thresholds-Gospel-Centered-Guide/dp/1985441845?tag=thegospcoal-20
▫ Why Plant Churches? by Tim Keller - s3.amazonaws.com/rpc-download/Why_Plant_Churches.pdf
▫ New Churches Podcast | ”Zero Year” | Season 1 | Episode 655 - newchurches.com/podcasts/new-churches-podcast/the-zero-year
▫ Church Planting Journals by IX Marks - 9marks.org/journal/church-planting
If you're ready to go deeper, Southern Seminary's PhD program is where that begins. Visit bit.ly/SBTS-TEP to learn more.
00:00 Why every church should care about church planting
03:30 Church planting in the Book of Acts
06:30 How Matt became a church planter
08:00 Building a sending team
10:30 Church planting and gospel partnership
12:00 Assessment and preparation
13:30 Conversion growth vs. transfer growth
16:00 Why church planters need pastors
21:00 Knowing when you're ready to plant
24:00 Core team meetings and membership process
27:30 Raising support and fundraising
29:30 Starting simple and avoiding program overload
33:00 Developing elders and leadership
37:00 Recommended church planting resources
39:00 Final encouragement for church planters
———
🎁 Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together
📫 SIGN UP for exclusive content and updates for pastors: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/pa...
🎧 Don’t miss an episode of “The Everyday Pastor” with Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan!
▫ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-everyday-pastor/id1772922853
▫ Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2oCDMJFvOI5P3yB2RlKhJy
✅ SUBSCRIBE:
▫ YouTube: / @thegospelcoalition
▫ TGC Updates: thegospelcoalition.org/newsletters
What does it actually take to plant a healthy church?
Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan discuss the joys, challenges, and realities of church planting. Drawing from Matt’s experience planting River City Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, they explore everything from assessing a call to church planting and gathering a core team to fundraising, developing leaders, and cultivating a healthy church culture.
🔗 MENTIONED
▫ Planting by Pastoring by Nathan Knight - amazon.com/Planting-Pastoring-Vision-Starting-Healthy/dp/1433588110?tag=thegospcoal-20
▫ Church Planting Thresholds by Clint Clifton - amazon.com/Church-Planting-Thresholds-Gospel-Centered-Guide/dp/1985441845?tag=thegospcoal-20
▫ Why Plant Churches? by Tim Keller - s3.amazonaws.com/rpc-download/Why_Plant_Churches.pdf
▫ New Churches Podcast | ”Zero Year” | Season 1 | Episode 655 - newchurches.com/podcasts/new-churches-podcast/the-zero-year
▫ Church Planting Journals by IX Marks - 9marks.org/journal/church-planting
If you're ready to go deeper, Southern Seminary's PhD program is where that begins. Visit bit.ly/SBTS-TEP to learn more.
00:00 Why every church should care about church planting
03:30 Church planting in the Book of Acts
06:30 How Matt became a church planter
08:00 Building a sending team
10:30 Church planting and gospel partnership
12:00 Assessment and preparation
13:30 Conversion growth vs. transfer growth
16:00 Why church planters need pastors
21:00 Knowing when you're ready to plant
24:00 Core team meetings and membership process
27:30 Raising support and fundraising
29:30 Starting simple and avoiding program overload
33:00 Developing elders and leadership
37:00 Recommended church planting resources
39:00 Final encouragement for church planters
———
🎁 Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together
📫 SIGN UP for exclusive content and updates for pastors: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/pa...
🎧 Don’t miss an episode of “The Everyday Pastor” with Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan!
▫ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-everyday-pastor/id1772922853
▫ Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2oCDMJFvOI5P3yB2RlKhJy
✅ SUBSCRIBE:
▫ YouTube: / @thegospelcoalition
▫ TGC Updates: thegospelcoalition.org/newsletters
![Planting a Church [The Everyday Pastor - Ep. 54]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oMY9ZaTAeIs/mqdefault.jpg "Planting a Church [The Everyday Pastor - Ep. 54]
What does it actually take to plant a healthy church?
Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan discuss the joys, challenges, and realities of church planting. Drawing from Matt’s experience planting River City Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, they explore everything from assessing a call to church planting and gathering a core team to fundraising, developing leaders, and cultivating a healthy church culture.
🔗 MENTIONED
▫ Planting by Pastoring by Nathan Knight - https://www.amazon.com/Planting-Pastoring-Vision-Starting-Healthy/dp/1433588110?tag=thegospcoal-20
▫ Church Planting Thresholds by Clint Clifton - https://www.amazon.com/Church-Planting-Thresholds-Gospel-Centered-Guide/dp/1985441845?tag=thegospcoal-20
▫ Why Plant Churches? by Tim Keller - https://s3.amazonaws.com/rpc-download/Why_Plant_Churches.pdf
▫ New Churches Podcast | ”Zero Year” | Season 1 | Episode 655 - https://www.newchurches.com/podcasts/new-churches-podcast/the-zero-year/
▫ Church Planting Journals by IX Marks - https://www.9marks.org/journal/church-planting/
If youre ready to go deeper, Southern Seminarys PhD program is where that begins. Visit https://bit.ly/SBTS-TEP to learn more.
00:00 Why every church should care about church planting
03:30 Church planting in the Book of Acts
06:30 How Matt became a church planter
08:00 Building a sending team
10:30 Church planting and gospel partnership
12:00 Assessment and preparation
13:30 Conversion growth vs. transfer growth
16:00 Why church planters need pastors
21:00 Knowing when youre ready to plant
24:00 Core team meetings and membership process
27:30 Raising support and fundraising
29:30 Starting simple and avoiding program overload
33:00 Developing elders and leadership
37:00 Recommended church planting resources
39:00 Final encouragement for church planters
———
🎁 Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Lets Build Together: Donate Today at https://tgc.org/together
📫 SIGN UP for exclusive content and updates for pastors: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/pa...
🎧 Don’t miss an episode of “The Everyday Pastor” with Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan!
▫ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-everyday-pastor/id1772922853
▫ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2oCDMJFvOI5P3yB2RlKhJy
✅ SUBSCRIBE:
▫ YouTube: / @thegospelcoalition
▫ TGC Updates: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/newsletters/")
![Overcoming Fear and Perfectionism in Bible Reading (with Tara-Leigh Cobble) [The Deep Dish - Ep. 44]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rPH2bFzBzr0/mqdefault.jpg "Overcoming Fear and Perfectionism in Bible Reading (with Tara-Leigh Cobble) [The Deep Dish - Ep. 44]
Courtney and Melissa talk to Tara-Leigh Cobble about how she got over her lack of desire to read the Bible, and how, over time, reading the Bible made her fall in love with its author. They talk about the transformative impact that can come from giving just 20 minutes to Bible reading each day, and they recommend free tools to help readers understand difficult parts of the Bible.
📝ON THIS VIDEO:
0:00 Experience Ultimate Comfort With Cozy Earths Bamboo Sheets
1:57 Overcoming Perfectionism to Foster Spiritual Intimacy
3:28 The Transformative Power of Consistent Bible Reading
11:09 Finding Joyful Guides for Spiritual and Scriptural Growth
15:49 Free Online Tools for Bible Study and Research
18:26 Overcoming Perfectionism and Finding Joy in Bible Reading
25:23 Embracing the Complexity and Depth of Biblical Understanding
29:34 Understanding Gods Revelation Through Language and Scripture
31:47 The Journey of Rediscovering God Through the Bible Recap
40:27 The Grueling Journey of Creating a Podcast and Book
44:57 Balancing Personal and Group Bible Study for Spiritual Growth
47:49 Finding Assurance and Joy Through Knowing God
51:22 Exploring the Joy of Playing Fishbowl with Friends
Resources Mentioned:
The Bible Recap (Podcast) - https://www.thebiblerecap.com/podcast
The Bible Recap (Book) - https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Recap-One-Year-Reading-Understanding/dp/0764237039/?tag=thegospcoal-20
ESV Study Bible - https://www.amazon.com/ESV-Study-Bible-Bibles-Crossway/dp/1433502410/?tag=thegospcoal-20
Free Tools for Studying the Bible:
Faithlife Study Bible - https://faithlife.com/store/product/36338/faithlife-study-bible
The Bible Project - https://bibleproject.com/
Blue Letter Bible - https://www.blueletterbible.org/
TGC Bible Commentary - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/
Desiring God Sermon Archive - https://www.desiringgod.org/messages
Look at the Book - https://www.desiringgod.org/labs
Related Resources:
Read the Bible - https://readthebible.tgc.org/
My Favorite Bible in a Year Reading Plan - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/melissa-kruger/my-favorite-bible-in-a-year-reading-plan-2/
Easy Schedule for Bible-in-a-Year Rookies - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/schedule-bible-year-rookies/
For more resources, visit our website.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/deep-dish/
———
🎁 Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Lets Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together
📫 SIGN UP for exclusive content and updates for women: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/tgcwomen/#subscribe
🎧 Don’t miss an episode of “The Deep Dish” with Courtney Doctor and Melissa Kruger!
▫ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deep-dish/id1794426491
▫ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1DQPjm9wmcZn63RtxrMFGL?si=ryUMMcdeRcWIII3VMX8FVg
✅ SUBSCRIBE:
▫ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegospelcoalition
▫ TGC Updates: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/newsletters/")
