In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones talks with Eric Geiger, pastor of Mariners Church and author of The Rooted Leader, about what church planters can learn from the life and leadership of Nehemiah.

Eric shares how teaching through Nehemiah shaped both ministry leaders and marketplace leaders, helping them see that faith is not disconnected from their Monday-through-Friday work. Together, Peyton and Eric unpack why Nehemiah resonates so deeply with leaders who carry both a burden for their city and a belief that God can do immeasurably more than they can ask or imagine.

The conversation explores credibility, conviction, perseverance, capacity, and the kind of rooted leadership that can withstand the real pressures of ministry. Eric also reflects on why church planters often resemble Nehemiah: they carry vision, rally people, coordinate teams, face opposition, and keep building even when the work feels overwhelming.

They also discuss the Rooted Network, discipleship, sending well, and why church planting partnerships are healthiest when they are relational, not merely transactional.

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:

The Rooted Leader

EricGeiger.com

Rooted Network

NewBreedTraining,com

Thanks 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 sits down with Todd Wilson, co-founder and former CEO of Exponential, to talk about church growth, church planting, multiplication, and Todd’s new book, How Did We Get Here?

Todd shares the story behind Exponential, the influence of Bob Buford and Leadership Network, and how the modern church planting and multiplication movements were shaped by leaders working behind the scenes to “pour gas” on what God was already doing.

The conversation also turns toward one of the biggest questions facing the church today: What if our current operating system is not built for multiplication? Todd explains why the American church does not just have a church planting problem, but a disciple-making and mobilization problem. If churches want to see gospel saturation, they cannot rely only on programs, platforms, or Sunday-centered ministry. They need to mobilize everyday disciple-making missionaries.

Peyton and Todd also discuss the rise of consumer-driven church models, why programs do not reproduce but disciples can, and why the next generation may need permission to build new playbooks instead of simply inheriting the old ones.

If you are a church planter, pastor, or leader trying to understand where the church has been and what needs to change for the future, this episode will help you look back clearly so you can move forward faithfully.

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:

How Did We Get Here? — church-growth.org

Multipliers — multipliers.org

NewBreed Training

Thanks 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 talk about the shift from the multiplication movement to what Peyton calls the mobilization movement.

After opening with Texas fireworks, riding lawnmowers, bookstores, and unexpected mission opportunities in everyday life, Peyton unpacks why church planting and multiplication are not carrying the same energy they did a decade ago. Instead of asking how to do church better, he argues that the next movement is asking a different question: How do we mobilize everyday believers to make disciples where they already live, work, and play?

Peyton connects this shift to the post-COVID church, the limits of Sunday-centered ministry, and the need to recover disciple-making as the engine of mission. He explains why mobilization starts outside the walls of the church, why God is already at work in the lives of people around us, and why leaders need to help believers see their hobbies, relationships, and ordinary spaces as mission fields.

The conversation also moves toward prayer, dependence, and the reminder that church planters cannot manufacture movement on their own. If we want to see people reached, churches planted, and disciples multiplied, we have to trust that God is already working—and then mobilize people to join him.

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Simplify Church

NewBreed Training

Thanks 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.