For this final episode of 2024, Erin and Doug sit down with First Orlando’s Tracy Bowen to talk staff culture and how to create an irresistible cultural environment based on pursuing The Great Commission. Tracy holds a unique title at First Orlando—managing director of staff engagement and culture—and she’s used the position to help align the church’s staff towards reaching the ones far from Jesus and the church.

Throughout today's conversation Erin and Doug invite Tracy to share her story—from how she finds new hires that align with the church’s culture to helping build that faithful and fruitful culture from the ground up. Together the three talk about why a healthy culture is so important on a staff team (big or small), how a pursuit of The Great Commission has changed that staff culture, and Tracy’s practical tips for building what she calls an “irresistible” place to work and serve. As we approach the end of the year, this is a conversation you and your staff team are not going to want to miss!

Thanks for another great year of The Intentional Churches podcast! We’ll see you back here in 2025!

Register for The Intentional Churches Conference 2025 here: www.intentionalchurches.com/podcast.

New to Intentional Churches? Start here:
https://assessment.intentionalchurches.com/churchos

Website: https://intentionalchurches.com
The Book: https://a.co/d/hFlz17C
The Blog: https://intentionalchurches.com/blog/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@IntentionalChurches
Facebook: https://facebook.com/intentionalchurches
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intentional-churches/mycompany/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/IntentionalChurches
X/Twitter: https://x.com/intentchurches

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Intentional Churches Podcast
03:07 Tracy Bowen's Role and Background
06:02 The Importance of Church Culture
08:46 Building Relationships and Community
12:05 Aligning Staff with the Great Commission
15:00 Practical Steps for Cultural Improvement
17:59 Staff Engagement and Development
20:53 Communication Strategies for Teams
24:11 Conclusion and Future Insights

Larry Kelley has been with New Hope Church in Houston Texas for 16 years now, and in that time he’s seen the church go from a small group gathered in a YMCA auditorium to a large multi-site church. How have Larry and the staff stayed aligned to New Hope’s greater mission amidst all that growth and change? Today’s Intentional Churches episode is all about Larry’s answer to that question.

For this super practical conversation on pursuing greater alignment on your staff team, Erin and Doug invite Larry to share his experience at New Hope—beginning as a video editor up to serving on their executive team today. Together the three discuss how New Hope’s implementation of the IC operating system allowed their staff to come together in reaching their ones, some of the challenges that still exist as the church strives to fulfill The Great Commission, and Larry’s practical advice for churches—and church staffs—of all sizes.

No matter how big or small your team is, the language you use and the mission you follow is so important to the pursuit of alignment. Don’t miss this episode!

Register for The Intentional Churches Conference 2025 here: www.intentionalchurches.com/podcast.

New to Intentional Churches? Start here:
https://assessment.intentionalchurches.com/churchos

Website: https://intentionalchurches.com
The Book: https://a.co/d/hFlz17C
The Blog: https://intentionalchurches.com/blog/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@IntentionalChurches
Facebook: https://facebook.com/intentionalchurches
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intentional-churches/mycompany/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/IntentionalChurches
X/Twitter: https://x.com/intentchurches

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Power of Personal Evangelism
03:08 New Hope Church: A Journey of Growth
05:52 Implementing the Operating System
08:53 Relational Evangelism and Community Impact
11:55 Baptisms and Personal Stories of Faith
14:48 Challenges in Alignment and Communication
18:08 Practical Advice for Church Leaders

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the way we view online church, but where most churches have gone back to physical services, some decided to go all-in on the digital space. Enter Mark Lutz and his fully-online church, Lux. Mark served as the pastor of a traditional physical church for more than a decade before he felt God calling him into full-time online ministry. Lux launched in 2021, and the lessons Mark’s learned about relational evangelism in this fully online space serve as the foundation for today’s Intentional Churches conversation.

Together Erin and Doug invite Mark to share the story behind starting Lux, his strategies for building actual engagement (not just “likes” or comments) in an online church space, and why relational evangelism and pursuing the one is so important—maybe even more important—online than it is in a traditional church setting. During their conversation Doug digs into IC’s Great Commission Engine, and Mark expands on how Lux implements these tools and others to reach those far from God. The episode ends with Mark sharing stories of usernames turning into actual, life-giving relationships, plus his advice for churches wanting to make their online services more fruitful.

Register for The Intentional Churches Conference 2025 here: www.intentionalchurches.com/podcast.

New to Intentional Churches? Start here:
https://assessment.intentionalchurches.com/churchos

Website: https://intentionalchurches.com
The Book: https://a.co/d/hFlz17C
The Blog: https://intentionalchurches.com/blog/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@IntentionalChurches
Facebook: https://facebook.com/intentionalchurches
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intentional-churches/mycompany/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/IntentionalChurches
X/Twitter: https://x.com/intentchurches

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Relevance of Digital Ministry
04:24 Launching a Digital Church: The Lux Experience
08:11 The Impact of COVID-19 on Church Dynamics
11:34 Navigating the Challenges of Digital Engagement
15:43 Understanding Ecclesiology in the Digital Age
18:31 The Great Commission Engine: Strategies for Engagement
23:52 Relational Evangelism in the Digital Space
28:55 Success Stories: Transformative Relationships Online