Everyone Is a Leader: Rethinking Influence and Building Kingdom Impact Where You AreÂ
Leadership is not reserved for the loudest voice in the room, the person with the biggest following, or the one with the most impressive title. It is not unique to a certain personality type, birth order, or position. I believe everyone is a leader because God created every one of us to influence, shape, and […]
EP 105: From Table to Impact
Exponential NEXT Podcast Episode 105 Series: From Soil to Forest: The Practice of Networked Ministry Description: In this episode, Patrick O’Connell is joined by guest Corey Garris to explore the foundational role of networks in church multiplication. Garris, a leader with the Front Range Multiplication Network (FRMN) in Denver, shares insights on shifting from isolated […]
From Urban Islands Project to Next Wave Community
The Original Burden: When the Church Didn’t Follow the People Urban Islands Project was the label of the mission in the first Exponential Shark Tank experience. This is the story of the unfinished journey from Urban Islands Project to the Next Wave Community and beyond. The origin of the Urban Islands Project was not theoretical. […]
The Network Flywheel: Start, Sustain, Send, And Scale
There is a pattern beneath every lasting movement. It’s not complicated, but it is demanding. It resists control, rejects isolation, and refuses to remain small. It is a cycle – one that begins in relationships, matures through collaboration, reproduces with intention, and multiplies beyond itself. Most leaders experience parts of this cycle, but very few […]
EP 104: Pruning for Maturity
Exponential NEXT Podcast Episode 104 Series: From Soil to Forest: The Practice of Networked Ministry Description: In this episode, Patrick O’Connell speaks with Eric Metcalf, a leader with Exponential and the Chicagoland Collective, about the vital role and challenges of network leadership in church multiplication. Host: Patrick O’Connell, Networks NEXT, Director Guest: Eric Metcalf, Partnerships […]
Don’t Just Send a Pastor – Send a People
Every church planting conversation starts with the pastor. But what if the real engine of a healthy church plant is a group of ordinary, unpaid people who reorient their entire lives around a mission? To be clear, finding the right pastor to lead a new church is critical. We need God to raise up and […]
Transitioning a Traditional Church to a Microchurch Network: One Pastor’s Journey
For 15 years, my success was measured by things like attendance, budgets, and buildings. If the auditorium was full, we were a success. If the giving exceeded the mortgage, we were faithful. If we raised the capital campaign for a new building, God had blessed us. Hi, I’m an American church pastor. Beneath the surface of […]
EP 103: Designed for Pollination
Exponential NEXT Podcast Episode 103 Series: From Soil to Forest: The Practice of Networked Ministry Description: In this episode, Patrick O’Connell and Rodrigo Cano explore the transition from isolated to collaborative ministry through the power of networks. Rodrigo shares his extensive experience managing microchurches and leading the Chicagoland Collective, highlighting how shared Kingdom vision can […]
Beyond Rhetoric to Results
Christians today are being discipled by fear, outrage, and ideological reflexes faster than by scripture. Pastors, too, are not immune. Many suggest the United States is in a prolonged season of political crisis. Perhaps that is true. But scripture presses us to look deeper. What we are experiencing is not merely political; it is ecclesial. […]
Your Church Needs an AI Policy, and Here’s How To Start
The 2026 State of AI in the Church Survey found that 78% of church leaders now use AI weekly or daily. Your staff is using it for sermon prep, email drafts, volunteer communications, social media, and pastoral care follow-ups. That’s true whether you have guidelines in place or not. Here’s the number that should stop […]
EP 102: Soil Before Seed
Exponential NEXT Podcast Episode 102 Series: From Soil to Forest: The Practice of Networked Ministry Description: In this episode of the Networks NEXT Series, Patrick O’Connell is joined by Selena Freeman, Church Multiplication Catalyst for the Church of the Nazarene. Patrick and Selena dive into a conversation that helps leaders see that networks don’t start […]
The Thing Churches are Totally Missing Online
Meet BootsStrapsBoots. We call him Boots. He’s in his 20s, trying to figure life out like so many others. He’s in a relationship, but it isn’t healthy. He’s working, but his job doesn’t provide much purpose or fulfillment. Each day carries the quiet pressure of survival – keeping a roof over his head, food on […]
You Belong to a Tribe Much Bigger Than You
Somewhere along the way, many women leaders begin to believe they are supposed to carry leadership alone. The ministry demands. The team dynamics. The emotional labor. The expectations – spoken and unspoken. Women often lead while simultaneously holding families, communities, workplaces, and spiritual responsibilities together. And while leadership can be deeply meaningful, it can also […]
