In this episode Jon Sanders encourages rural pastors to be faithful, and introduces Larry Kaufman as the new host of the Small Town Big Church podcast.

In this final episode of the Small Town Big Church Podcast, I share my parting challenge to small town and rural church leaders.  I remind you of your strategic and vital calling to serve in relatively small places.  I challenge you to believe God for BIG things in...

After years of being in and around pastoral ministry, after creating content for, connecting with, and coaching thousands of pastors around the country, I believe I have a really good pulse on the problems facing pastors today.  In this episode I’m going to list three...

In this episode I share a few lessons on life and leadership that we can glean from the changing seasons of nature.  I also share a huge announcement about the future of the Small Town Big Church podcast and my journey in life. If you live in an area where you...

In this episode I interview Pastor Danny Davis about his newest book, In Him You Are.  We talk about the importance of pastors having a clear understanding of their identity in Christ from which to do ministry.  You can learn more about Danny’s book at...

Pastor, how often do you preach?  Or maybe a better question is how often do you get a break from preaching?  Is it possible you’re preaching too often and too much?  If you pastor a small or rural church, there’s a good chance the answer to that question is, “YES!” ...

Most pastors report feeling overwhelmed and stressed out much of the time.  They often find themselves running from one meeting to the next or reacting to multiple interruptions and distractions most days rather than making progress on the work they really need to be...

If there has ever been a time when leadership is needed in the rural church…it is NOW!  We are living in transformational times and so much is changing right in front of us. Yet sadly, at the same time, the Church in rural America is facing a crisis of leadership.  In...

Do you feel like you are stuck in one or more areas of your life or ministry?  In this episode I share what I believe might be one of the biggest things that is keeping you there.   What if you knew you couldn’t mess up God’s plans for your life this year? Links from...

In this episode I share an inspirational challenge as we begin a new year.  Have you ever had a time when you encountered a message that came from multiple sources, but you were able to hear the voice of God speaking consistently through it?  Well, recently that has...

In my coaching work with church leaders, I often see pastors struggling with narratives they aren’t even aware are taking place in their minds.  These “voices” can come from internal and external, spoken and unspoken expectations.  They can come from years of church...

In this episode I have a conversation with Roy Yanke of PIR (Pastors in Residence) Ministries about the current status of pastoral health in the Church.  We talk about the need for pastors to implement life giving rhythms into their daily schedules.  We also talk...

In this show I’m going to label a few common areas in which churches place unbiblical and unrealistic expectations upon their pastors and I will share how you can overcome them. Time Many churches think that because they have a “full-time” pastor it literally means...

Recently I have had a number of pastors reach out to me asking questions about church discipline.  In this episode I share a few of my thoughts on the subject as well as a word of caution based on a painful experience of my own that came out of a church discipline...