Is your church accidentally turning people away?

Before anyone hears your sermon or joins a group, they’re watching for signals:

👉 Am I welcome here?

👉 Do I belong?

👉 Is this place safe?

In this episode of Church Made Simple, we expose the hidden system that shapes those answers—your Guest Experience System. You’ll learn how to stop losing guests by accident and start building a simple, intentional, and Spirit-led system that actually helps people stay.

We walk through the G.E.S.T. Framework:

✔ Greet with Intentional Warmth

✔ Escort with Clarity

✔ Serve with No Strings Attached

✔ Track and Follow Up with Purpose

This episode gives pastors, staff, and volunteers the tools to:

• Eliminate confusion in your Sunday flow

• Equip your greeters and hosts to lead with purpose

• Build a culture that values people more than processes

• Create a guest experience that earns trust and invites people into deeper connection

🎁 Download the FREE Guest Experience Starter Kit

Includes: G.E.S.T. walkthrough PDF, volunteer training checklist, guest follow-up templates, and Sunday service flow examples

👉 https://tinyurl.com/Church-Made-Simple-Resources

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https://www.churchmadesimple.net

❤️ Support the ministry:

https://stephankilgoreministries.churchcenter.com/giving/to/support-the-ministry

Next week in Episode 12: How to Build Systems That Scale—Not Strangle.

Because what works at 100 people won’t work at 500. And what works at 500 might break you before you reach 1,000.

Until then—keep leading with clarity.

And keep making church simple.

Most churches are discipling people by accident—not through sermons or small groups, but through invisible systems that shape behavior every single week.

In this episode, we expose the unseen structures that form your church culture: how you celebrate, correct, communicate, and use time. These are the true systems of discipleship, and if you don’t name them, they’ll keep undermining your mission silently.

You’ll learn:

• How to uncover unspoken rules and default behaviors

• The 4 invisible systems shaping your team and your church culture

• Practical questions to assess and align your systems with your values

• Why what you celebrate and how you correct matters more than you think

Whether you’re a pastor, church leader, or volunteer, this conversation will help you stop leading on accident and start shaping your church on purpose.

🎁 Get your FREE Culture Audit Toolkit:

https://tinyurl.com/Church-Made-Simple-Resources

Includes 4 worksheets, a team discussion guide, and a culture health checklist.

📩 Join the weekly email list:

https://www.churchmadesimple.net

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If your systems are solid but your team still needs you to run them, you’re not leading a church—you’re running a spiritual startup. In Episode 009 of Church Made Simple, we show you how to empower others without losing control. Because building great systems isn’t enough. You need to become the scaffolding your team can build on—even when you’re not in the room.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to spot the 3 signs of bottleneck leadership, how to use the “3 Buckets of Authority,” and how to coach people to think for themselves instead of just waiting for approval. We’re giving you a 5-part Empowerment Framework to help you define decision zones, build repeatable tools, train for judgment (not just tasks), and grow leaders who can carry the mission and the culture.

🔎 Topics Covered:

• Why every approval still goes through you

• How to stop being the center of every system

• What to give away first—and what to hold onto

• Why your absence causes confusion (and how to fix it)

• How to coach leaders instead of clone yourself

• Why empowering mistakes builds trust

🎁 Free Download: Get your Empowerment Map with the 3 Buckets of Authority, a delegation worksheet, and coaching prompts.

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If this podcast is helping you lead with clarity and build healthier systems, would you consider giving? Your donation helps us equip more leaders and create free resources that strengthen churches everywhere.

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Feeling burnt out by Sundays? You’re not alone—and you’re not failing. You just need a system.

In this episode of Church Made Simple, we dive into the one system every church must start with: the Sunday system. If you’ve ever found yourself scrambling to finish your sermon, fixing slides at the last minute, or wondering if your volunteers will show up—it’s time to fix the flow.

We’ll show you how to build a Sunday that runs smoothly, empowers your team, and creates space for the Holy Spirit to move—without burnout, chaos, or confusion.

🔍 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the Sunday system is the foundation for every healthy church

• How to eliminate last-minute chaos with a clear prep process

• What to say in your pre-service huddle to set the tone

• How to build a service flow that honors both structure and the Spirit

• What to do after service to build a better team culture

• What to do when everything goes wrong—and how to turn the pain into process

When you build a simple, repeatable Sunday system, your whole church breathes easier. You don’t have to choose between order and anointing. You just need a plan.

📥 Download your FREE “Sunday System Starter Kit”

Includes a pre-service huddle script, service flow template, and post-service debrief guide:

https://tinyurl.com/Church-Made-Simple-Resources

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Sign up for the free Church Made Simple email:

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If Church Made Simple is helping you lead with clarity and build a healthier church, would you consider supporting the ministry? Your gift helps us reach more pastors and provide free tools that make ministry simpler and stronger.

Set up a recurring donation here:

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🎧 Explore more episodes and free resources at:

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Are great volunteers or staff members quietly walking away from your church—even though you thought everything was fine?

In this episode of Church Made Simple, Pastor Stephan Kilgore unpacks one of the most overlooked reasons churches lose great people: broken systems.

We’re not just talking about burnout—we’re talking about the silent friction points that push people out of ministry roles they once loved.

Inside this episode, you’ll discover:

✅ Why commitment isn’t a personality trait—but a reflection of your church systems

✅ How to spot the three hidden system breakdowns that cause people to leave

✅ A full breakdown of the S.T.A.Y. System (Start Strong, Touch Points, Advance the Individual, Yield with Grace)

✅ How to design onboarding experiences that keep people connected from day one

✅ When and how to have 1-on-1 check-ins that build emotional safety and loyalty

✅ Why most churches confuse busyness with health—and how to fix it

✅ How to create graceful off-ramps that preserve dignity instead of causing guilt

✅ Practical steps to implement a people-first volunteer strategy this month

If your team keeps turning over—or if you feel like you’re constantly rebuilding your leadership core—it’s time to stop praying for commitment and start designing for it.

This episode will give you real-world strategy, language, and tools you can use right now to build a volunteer culture where people stay, grow, and multiply.

🎁 Download the FREE STAY SYSTEM STARTER GUIDE (worksheets + templates):

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uP_t4Mqo_jvZlcSWoBIzeXHZQdUMlg_1

📬 Sign up for the weekly Church Made Simple email at https://churchmadesimple.net

Get free leadership tools, clarity-building strategies, and exclusive downloads sent straight to your inbox.

Ever had a great volunteer or staff member just disappear?

They didn’t burn out.

They didn’t cause drama.

They just quietly… faded.

In this episode of Church Made Simple, we’re tackling a painful but common reality in ministry: when high-capacity people walk away—not because they stopped loving Jesus, but because your systems didn’t support them.

If you’ve been wondering why great people are leaving, this episode will show you:

✅ The silent warning signs that someone is drifting

✅ 5 broken systems that unintentionally push people out

✅ What volunteers and staff wish they could say before they leave

✅ Why your team might feel more like cogs than contributors

✅ How to build a system that helps people stay, grow, and thrive

This isn’t about adding more policies. It’s about fixing the invisible gaps that cause frustration, isolation, and burnout across your team.

📥 Grab the free resource from this episode:

• Systems Audit Worksheet

• Team Discussion Guide

👉 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uP_t4Mqo_jvZlcSWoBIzeXHZQdUMlg_1

📬 Get our weekly tools and insights for healthy, effective ministry—straight to your inbox:

👉 https://churchmadesimple.net

This episode is for pastors, executive leaders, and team builders who know that clarity, connection, and care are essential for long-term health in any ministry. Don’t just build teams—build systems that keep great people.

You don’t need more meetings—you need clear ownership.

In this episode of Church Made Simple, we tackle one of the biggest reasons your systems still aren’t working: no one knows who’s actually responsible. Even when your vision is clear and your strategies are sound, without ownership, everything still falls apart.

You’ll learn:

• Why clarity without responsibility leads to chaos

• How to spot the “Ownership Gap” in your team

• The RACI Framework (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed)

• How to stop assigning tasks to “teams” and start assigning them to people

• Practical steps to create visible, empowering systems that work

📥 Download the free RACI Ministry Ownership Template:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pnKYIZdyMioAi3uHRJMAVtbvYH-8EHtE?usp=drive_link

📩 Want weekly tools to build healthy systems in your church?

Subscribe at https://churchmadesimple.net

Churches thrive when everyone knows what to do and why it matters.

This episode will help you stop the confusion and start moving your mission forward with confidence.

If Church Made Simple is helping you lead with clarity and build a healthier church, would you consider supporting the ministry? Your donation helps us reach more leaders and provide free resources that make ministry simpler and stronger. Setup a recurring gift ⁠here⁠.

If your team can’t repeat it, it’s not vision—it’s noise.

In this episode, Pastor Stephan Kilgore tackles a subtle but destructive leadership trap: confusing goals, values, or announcements for vision. If you’ve ever said, “Our vision is to get 500 people at Easter,” this episode is for you.

Most churches don’t need a new vision—they need to make their current one unforgettable. Repeating a message doesn’t dilute your leadership—it defines it. And if your systems aren’t built to serve the vision, they’ll eventually drain your team.

—

What You’ll Learn in Episode 004:

• Why most churches mistake wins, values, and asks for vision

• The reason vision leaks—and how to reinforce it weekly

• How to know if your vision is sticky, forgettable, or just vague

• The connection between systems, repetition, and purpose

• Practical strategies for embedding your vision into church culture

• Real examples of visionary language that inspires and mobilizes teams

—

This episode is for you if:

• You’re tired of repeating yourself and still being misunderstood

• You want to lead with long-term purpose, not short-term panic

• You’ve built good systems, but don’t know what they’re aiming toward

• You feel like your team hears your heart but doesn’t carry the message

• You’re done letting vision get drowned out by announcements and events

—

3 Questions to Ask with Your Team This Week:

• 1. Can your team articulate the church’s vision without reading a document?
  2. Are your “vision moments” actually about values, wins, or asks?
  3. Where in your weekly rhythms can you reinforce the real vision?

—

Free Resource:

We’ve created a downloadable team discussion guide to go with this episode. It’s designed to help your staff or volunteers identify your real vision, clarify what it’s not, and build a culture where everyone knows the direction you’re going.

Download the free guide here.

—

Coming Up Next:

We’re talking ownership—because when everyone owns everything, no one owns anything. You’ll learn how to stop burnout by giving your team the clarity they need to own their lane.

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Like what you hear?

Be sure to follow, share, and leave a review so we can continue helping more churches move from confusion to clarity.

If Church Made Simple is helping you lead with clarity and build a healthier church, would you consider supporting the ministry? Your donation helps us reach more leaders and provide free resources that make ministry simpler and stronger. Setup a recurring gift ⁠here⁠.