What does it actually take to plant a church that reaches a city?

In this episode of the Lead With Vision Podcast, Nolan sits down with Pastor Jason Taylor of The Vertical Church in Yuma, Arizona.

Jason shares the honest story of parachuting into Yuma, shrinking from 54 people to 18, learning his city the hard way, and watching God build a thriving, evangelistic church over the last two decades.

This conversation is packed with practical wisdom for church planters and pastors:

• How to contextualize without compromising
• How to build a culture of evangelism
• Why every leader needs coaching
• Why humility may be one of the greatest predictors of fruitfulness in ministry

If you want to reach people, lead through growth, and stay hungry without losing humility, this conversation is for you.

Follow Pastor Jason:
https://vertical.church/
https://www.instagram.com/jasontayloryuma
https://www.instagram.com/theverticalchurch/

Join us for a free Vision Arizona event:
We can’t wait for the next Vision Arizona Start & Strengthen Gathering!

This is a networking event for starting and strengthening churches and church leaders. Join us for free lunch and free leadership training. Invite your teams!

Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Cornerstone Chandler
1595 S. Alma School Road
Chandler, AZ 85286

Register here:
https://vision-arizona-473523.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3730345

You can also sign up for Pre-Event Breakouts beginning at 9:30 AM.

Speaker: Chris Hilken

Dr. Chris Hilken is the Senior Pastor of College Avenue Church in San Diego, where he leads a multi-generational congregation in one of the most complex cultural and ideological environments in the country.

He also serves as a professor of theology, training future leaders to think clearly, biblically, and critically in a confused age.

Chris collaborates with the Dad Tired Podcast, engaging honest conversations surrounding masculinity and Christian fatherhood.

Shaped by a heartbreaking story of grief and loss, he is known for clear, direct teaching, biblical depth, and unfiltered realism.

Interested in planting in Arizona?
https://www.visionarizona.com/

Some leaders fold when the pressure hits. Others get forged by it.

In this episode of Lead With Vision from Vision Arizona, we sit down with a Vision Arizona church planter named Tim Birdwell who faced obstacle after obstacle and refused to let adversity have the final word. What looked like setbacks became setup that humbled him, shaped his leadership, and helped their church lock in to the mission of the Gospel. What should have slowed the mission down actually sharpened the vision, strengthened his leadership, and helped build a thriving church culture.

Tim planted Phoenix Bible Church in Phoenix out of the ashes of another movement. He established a fresh vision, created unified language, and led against some pretty incredible odds. Tim also led one of the most impressive church mergers and obtained a beautiful building on 10 acres in the heart of Phoenix.

Whether you're a church planter, revitalizer, or church leader--Tim's story and insights are going to help you navigate hardship and break down barriers. This conversation is about more than surviving hard seasons: it's about leading with resilience, seeing opportunity where others see obstacles, and learning how God can use resistance to produce resilience, clarity, and momentum. If you are planting, leading, rebuilding, or fighting to stay faithful when the odds feel stacked against you, this episode will hit home.

📱Follow Tim: https://www.instagram.com/timbirdwell/

⛪️ Learn more about Phoenix Bible: https://www.phoenixbiblechurch.com/

📝 GROW WITH US! Come to a Vision Arizona Gathering Featuring Mark Clark: https://vision-arizona-473523.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3557215

✅Subscribe to get more content like this + help other leaders lead with vision. 👉Plant a church with Vision Arizona! https://convergeplanting.com/

What do you do with the years before your calling comes to fruition? Nando Mejia is a church planter who launched who accomplished impressive feat: planting a dual-lingual church with two services--one in Spanish and one in English--with nearly 700 people. He's an incredible preacher in both languages, has an impressive men's leadership pipeline, and something extremely unique and effective in ministry. He's real, Spirit-filled, and strategic. How did he pull it off? Nando would say it's not him. God was forming him long before a platform. We'll hit some very interesting leadership topics in this episode:

👉How can aspiring leaders lean in an leverage the long and lonely seasons before they are used mightily?

👉How can you develop humble leaders?

👉How do you contextualize effectively in two different cultures?