Welcome back to the podcast! Join us this week for a special episode, highlighting the updates to our website in 2026!

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The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you’re looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

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In this episode, Bryan wraps up 2025 and gives us a clear snapshot of what God has been doing through PursueGOD—and what’s coming next in 2026.

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The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you’re looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

Donate Now

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Check out our YouVersion reading plans

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Hey leaders, welcome to the PursueGOD Training Podcast. Today we’re going to give you a complete roadmap for leading the SALT program—from the big picture 9-month journey to the nightly flow that makes every meeting meaningful, fun, and spiritually powerful.

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The PursueGOD Training podcast helps pastors, small group leaders, and everyday Christians to make disciples through healthy biblical churches.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/training.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

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If you’re leading SALT, this is your playbook.

SALT is a 9-month student leadership program that helps high school students:

• Grow in their faith,
• Serve consistently, and
• Lead by example in their local church.

It comes straight from Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth.” SALT students learn to be distinct, purposeful, and impactful in a world that needs Jesus.

The program centers on three core habits:

1. Read daily through the Bible plan.
2. Serve weekly on a ministry team.
3. Meet monthly for teaching, discussion, and accountability.

Your job as a leader? Guide students through these habits, cheer them on, and make it relational, consistent, and fun.

Here’s the program flow:

• Boot Camp (Weeks 1–6):
• These first weeks set the tone. Students meet each other, start the Bible reading plan, find a serving role, and learn the rhythm of SALT.
• Monthly Meetings (Months 2–8):
• After Boot Camp, you meet once a month for a leadership lesson, Bible and serving check-in, group discussion, and prayer.
• Graduation (Month 9):
• The final meeting celebrates growth, shares stories, and launches students to keep living out their faith.

Every meeting follows a similar rhythm—but the first few weeks focus on relationships and introductions, while later months focus more on leadership growth and consistency.

Here’s what leaders should do before every SALT meeting:

• Watch the lesson video/podcast and review the Talking Points and discussion questions.
• Listen to this leader podcast so you feel confident about the plan.
• Set the atmosphere: Whether you meet at someone’s home or the church, make it welcoming. Play music, have snacks ready, maybe even start a game while students arrive.
• Plan the fun: Bring icebreakers or simple games like Uno or Play Nine to make it easy for students to connect.

The goal is for students to show up feeling like this is their space—a place they want to be.

Okay, let’s get practical. Here’s a simple outline for each SALT night:

1. Food and Fun:...

In today’s leadership episode, we talk about how small group leaders can create a culture of care where everyone participates. We’ll explore why care starts with the leader, how to move your group from consumers to contributors, and practical ways to equip others to carry both spiritual and practical burdens—so your group becomes a true family that reflects Christ’s love.

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The PursueGOD Training podcast helps pastors, small group leaders, and everyday Christians to make disciples through healthy biblical churches.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/training.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

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• Create a Caring Group | pursueGOD.org

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Find it here: https://www.pursuegod.org/create-caring-small-group/

Welcome back to the podcast! In today's episode we'll finish up our Oversee Training series, discussing the responsibilities of a church leader.

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The PursueGOD Training podcast helps pastors, small group leaders, and everyday Christians to make disciples through healthy biblical churches.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/training.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

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Responsibilities

• Pray for your campus regularly
• Prayer doesn’t get us ready for the bigger work. Prayer is the bigger work.
• Swan - If we haven’t prayed we haven’t started.
• All overseers should be on campus prayer team
• Be an active participant in overseer meetings
• Come prepared, review agenda doc beforehand
• Be ready to give an update on the serving teams you’re overseeing
• Listen to any podcasts, read any articles that are going to be discussed in the meeting
• Monitor progress of the campus
• Attendance
• Mentoring handoffs
• Giving
• Small Group attendance
• Decide on issues of church discipline
• Decide on issues of benevolence
• Financial Help Request Form
• Assist campus pastor in leading the discipleship efforts at the campus
• connections/handoffs
• Baptism requests, prayer requests, wedding requests are all opportunities to make a handoff for mentoring
• Tracking them in Planning Center
• Being diligent in following up
• Oversee at least one serving team/serving team leader at the campus
• Check in monthly
• Report needs and health of team during monthly overseer meetings
• Assist in recruiting volunteers for teams you oversee

Welcome back to week two of our Overseer Training series!

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The PursueGOD Training podcast helps pastors, small group leaders, and everyday Christians to make disciples through healthy biblical churches.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/training.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

Donate Now

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From the Job Description: An overseer must qualify according to 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 and PG’s profile of a healthy leader.

He must affirm Alpine's doctrinal statement, the Alpine Way, and Alpine’s Statement on Sexuality and Gender. - reference back to the unity we mentioned last week. It’s imperative your elders/overseers can affirm your philosophy of ministry.

• 1 Timothy 3:1-5 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader,[a] he desires an honorable position.” 2 So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife.[b] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker[c] or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
• Overseer, elder, bishop, pastor - words used interchangeably in NT- to oversee, to care for - caring for the flock is at the heart of the calling of an overseer
• Several translations say, “He desires a good work.” Many people desire honorable positions, but how many desire to work for the Lord?
• What is the use of a lazy minister? He is no good either to the world, to the Church, or to himself. He is a dishonor to the noblest profession that can be bestowed upon the sons of men.” (Spurgeon)
• Ashamed of the low expectations I placed on Overseer Team in Logan for the first four years I was campus pastor. Men often rise to the level of expectation. I saw that first hand in the years I coached and I’ve seen it in ministry.
• Above reproach
• Literally means “nothing to take hold upon” - It is a metaphor of a boxer who so skillfully defends himself, it is impossible to hit him.
• It can’t mean perfection or there would be no overseers. Is there a pattern of sin in your life someone can point a finger at? Not just sins of...

Part 1 of 3 in the Overseer Training series. Go through this with a mentor (or mentors) from the existing pastoral team at your church or campus.

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The PursueGOD Training podcast helps pastors, small group leaders, and everyday Christians to make disciples through healthy biblical churches.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/training.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

Donate Now

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In the New Testament, you’ll find the authors use three different words to describe the office of elder, pastor, overseer, or bishop.

• Episkopos - overseer
• Philippians 1:1 I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. (NLT)
• NIV, NASB, ESV - overseers
• KJV, NKJV - bishops
• Poimen - shepherd/pastor
• Ephesians 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (NLT)
• NIV, NKJV, KJV, NASB - pastors
• ESV - shepherds
• This term is the least used term of the three in referring to the official position in the church. Jesus uses this term throughout the book of Matthew; sheep without a shepherd, I am the good shepherd, the sheep know the shepherd, etc.
• Presbyteros - elder
• 1 Timothy 5:17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. (NIV)
• NLT, ESV, KJV, NASB, NKJV - elders

Alpine Way - At Alpine Church, we understand and take into account the culture that surrounds us in this moment of time. This helps us to wisely contextualize our ministry practices, so that we can be more effective in fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in the arena where God has placed us.

Our primary field of engagement begins with the Wasatch Front of Utah, and extends to other areas throughout the Intermountain West where the culture of Mormonism is most rooted. We share the Gospel with all those we encounter, but our target audience is disaffected Latter-day Saints and others with a Mormon background. As God gives opportunity, we are open to serving in areas beyond the Mormon cultural domain, but we are especially interested in areas where Mormonism is common.

• Because of this we use the terms “overseer” and “‘pastoral team” as “elder” and “bishop” carry meanings in the LDS culture that could be confusing to our attenders.

Functions of pastor, elder, overseer, bishop according to scripture

1. Oppose False Teaching/Proclaim the Gospel - 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer. 1 Timothy 4:6, 1 Timothy 4:11, 1 Timothy 4:16, 1 Timothy 6:2-3
2. He is to be a teacher - “able to teach” is listed as a qualification. According to 1 Timothy 5:17 there are elders/overseers whose role is not primarily

Excerpt

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The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you’re looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.

Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.

Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.

Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.

Donate Now

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Notes