Shows
Anchor Church ILThis is The GospelIn this one-off sermon at Anchor Church, Bryan Moak takes us back to the basics with a powerful reminder: This is the Gospel. Just as Vince Lombardi began with “This is a football,” Bryan re-centers us on the simple, life-changing story of God’s love, our need, and Christ’s redemption.
2025-07-2141 min
Trinity Gospel Church sermons“Known” - Guest Speaker Bryan MoakSermon: “Known” Scripture: Psalm 139 Speaker: Guest Speaker Bryan Moak (Converge MidAmerica VP of Church Strengthening)
2024-07-2835 min
2022-08-071h 23
Healthy Church PodcastHCP - Ep. 101 - Church Strengthening with Guest Bryan Moak (Converge)HCP - Ep. 101 - Church Strengthening with Guest Bryan Moak (Converge)On this episode of the HCP Larry and Drew welcome very special guest Bryan Moak with Converge where Bryan serves as the Vice President of Church Strengthening. Much like the Apostle Paul, Bryan is helping new church communities and existing ones to become as healthy as possible. The discussion is about pastoral and overall church health, assessment, prayer and being on mission with Jesus.To find more information about The Healthy Church Podcast go t...
2022-05-3130 min
Trinity Baptist Church Sun City Center, FLTrinity SEP 12, 2021 AM Sermon - Guest Speaker Bryan Moak, ConvergeMessage: Church Strengthening
2021-09-1239 min
Life Church Horizon WestThe Gospel Every Day | August 22nd Special Guest Bryan MoakThe Gospel Every Day | August 22nd Special Guest Bryan Moak
2021-08-2443 min
AdvanceLet's Talk MoneyIt’s time for the episode that must happen. It is the episode of episodes. It’s the topic that all pastors recognize is important for church health, but cringe at the thought of talking about, let alone sharing with their congregations. It’s time to talk about money! We all know the Bible talks about money A LOT! There are more than 2300 verses that deal with topic of money. 16 of Jesus’ 38 parables talk about money or possessions. Why then, do we struggle so mightily to talk to our churches about the issues of money and gener...
2021-08-0430 minAdvanceLeadership DevelopmentIn 1990, the average age of a pastor was 41. Today, that average age is 55. Although there are several reasons you could identify for the cause of this, it is my belief that one of the main reasons for this shift is that we have lost our intentionality in leadership development. Too often, we forget that one of the big responsibilities we have as pastors given to us from Ephesians 4 is to equip the saints for the work of service. It begs the question: Where are our Timothy’s, our young potential leaders we are training to be the next generation of...
2021-07-2127 min
2021-07-1140 minAdvanceSmall Groups That WorkToday we are going to talk about a subject that on the one hand most churches generally agree is extremely important, and yet on the other hand, struggle mightily with creating effective strategies more than almost any other subject, and that is the issue of small groups. It’s not a matter of IF your church has small groups, its more a question of what those small groups look like. Are they Sunday School classes, Bible Studies, affinity groups, or the more traditional Small Group model? The simple reality is that most churches just flat out struggle with doing th...
2021-07-0724 minAdvanceDeveloping A Discipleship PathwayOne of the topics I get asked about a lot in my role in church strengthening revolves around today’s topic: “Developing a Discipleship Pathway”. Every pastor knows that it is crucial to create a way for people to grow in their faith, but struggle with a strategy that works. Most churches do a good job at helping people with the “basics” of their faith, like how to read the Bible, prayer, service, generosity, etc., but then what? How do we create effective pathways that really help people continue in a lifelong journey of spiritual growth? To help us...
2021-06-2329 minAdvanceNeed Oriented EvangelismRecently, I have read some really disturbing statistics. 95% of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ.80% of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ.47% of Millennials believe sharing your faith is wrong. 63% of the leadership of one denomination studied did not lead one stranger to Jesus in the last two years.96% of the leadership believe their churches would have grown faster if they would have been more involved in evangelism.There is no wonder why evangelism, or lack th...
2021-06-0929 minAdvanceChurch Health PerspectivesI am super excited for today’s episode. I have invited two pastors to join me. Andrew Ford is one of the pastoral team at Grand Ledge Baptist Church in Grand Ledge Michigan, just outside Lansing. Kendal Anderson is pastor of The Crossing church in Clermont Florida, just outside Orlando. Both have a long and effective pastoral history. The great thing for me is that in January of 2021, along with pastoring, both of these guys became part of my church strengthening staff for Converge MidAmerica. Andrew is helping out part time to care and mobilize our pastors and churches in...
2021-05-2628 min
Experts37 – Strengthening the Church and Her Leaders – Bryan MoakGood health in any aspect of our lives requires Attention and Intention. It just doesn't happen, it must be pursued and practiced. This is especially true in ministry because there is an enemy - of our souls and of our ministry - who would have us weak, ineffective and irrelevant. How we cultivate our ministry health is as important as the ministry we seek to do! In this episode of Hope Renewed, we talk with Bryan Moak of Converge, and glean some crucial insights from how his work in the Mid-America District is helping to strengthen the Church and her...
2021-05-2400 min
Hope Renewed37 - Strengthening the Church and Her Leaders - Bryan MoakGood health in any aspect of our lives requires Attention and Intention. It just doesn't happen, it must be pursued and practiced. This is especially true in ministry because there is an enemy - of our souls and of our ministry - who would have us weak, ineffective and irrelevant. How we cultivate our ministry health is as important as the ministry we seek to do! In this episode of Hope Renewed, we talk with Bryan Moak of Converge, and glean some crucial insights from how his work in the Mid-America District is helping to strengthen the Church and...
2021-05-2448 minAdvanceMarks of a Healthy ChurchToday marks the beginning of season two of Advance, and I am so excited to launch what I hope to be an encouraging series of episodes in the coming months that will help spur your church on to greater health. We’re going to cover topics that will include discipleship pathway, evangelism, leadership development and effective small group ministry just to name a few. As always, each episode includes a guest that will share from their experience on these important topics. Today, as we start this new season, I want to get us thinking again abou...
2021-05-1218 minAdvanceThe Pastor and Social SecurityToday we’re going to do something a little differently, so I hope you hang in there as I think you will be glad you did. Two episodes ago I introduced you to Danny Parmelee, Vice President of Church planting for Converge MidAmerica where he talked with us about the topic “Healthy Churches Plant Churches”. If you didn’t catch it, I encourage you to listen to that episode. Danny shared with us in that episode his podcast entitled “101 Questions Church Planters Ask”. One of the episodes he did on his podcast was sharing about “Should a Pastor...
2020-12-2311 min
Pastor GritEpisode 2- Bryan MoakBryan Moak: Vice President of Church Strengthening @ Converge MidAmericaHost of the Advance Podcast 85% of Churches are Plateaued or DecliningWhat if we could flip the script? Before You Think About The Next Year Of Ministry: Take an Extended Break (that is more than one week). Pastors are tired and burnt out You can't fix a problem when you are worn out. How is your health? Are you becoming a "Hunk"?Are you becoming a "Chunk"?Are you becoming a "Drunk"?Tips & Trips...
2020-12-1442 minAdvanceThe Heart of the Church PlanterToday we are going to continue our conversation about church planting by trying to understand what makes a church planter “tick”. Who are these guys? Why do they decide to plant a church, and what does my church need to be looking for in a church planter when we decide we would like to plant a church? I can think of no one I’d rather talk to about this subject than Danny Flores. Danny is a church planter at “R” church in Elgin Illinois. Danny bleeds the heart of a church planter like few other guys...
2020-12-0929 minAdvanceHealthy Churches Plant ChurchesAlbert Mohler is quoted as saying, “If existing churches do not thrive, there will be no one to plant, sustain, support, and lead church planting. We cannot have one without the other.” I agree with Mohler. Multiplication must be a part of any healthy church, and church planting must be part of a healthy church’s multiplication plan. So today, we are going to press into this idea that healthy churches plant churches. In March of 2017 I began my job as Vice President of Church Strengthening with Converge MidAmerica. But I wasn’t the only hire. On...
2020-11-2527 minAdvanceChurch Revitilization - A Cultural RevolutionStatistics state that 85% of churches in America are either plateaued or declining. For most plateaued churches, that means declining. That is a depressing statistic that doesn’t give much confidence that a church can “turn things around”. Well, I happen to believe that it can happen, that churches can turn things around, and I get up every day to help churches do just that. I believe God wants to restore churches that are broken or lost, sick or even dying, and I firmly believe your church can be one of them. So in this episode, I wanted...
2020-11-1128 minAdvanceSmall Church - Big DealIn our last episode we talked about what a healthy church looks like in a small town. In this episode we are going to talk about how to make a big deal about a small church. Not every church will be a mega church. As a matter of fact, most churches will not be mega churches. Some would even say that small churches have a unique ability for gospel movement that the mega church will struggle to accomplish. So how do we make a big deal about small churches. To help us talk about this imp...
2020-10-2827 minAdvanceHealthy Church - Small TownStatistics state that approximately 80% of people in America live in metropolitan areas and there is evidence that those percentages are growing. As a result, small towns and rural communities are shrinking across America as people increasingly move to these city centers. That population shift is certainly affecting the church in these small towns. As we do pastoral placement in our movement, more and more pastoral candidates are NOT interested in pastoring in a small town or rural area, and if they do say yes, it is a “stepping stone” to a church in the big city. And yet at leas...
2020-10-1425 minAdvanceReaching Out DigitallyTo help us talk about using digital platforms as a tool for reaching especially young people with the gospel, I have asked Cory Ball, one of our new Converge Midamerica pastors, planting a church in St. Louis. I knew I wanted to have Cory share with us when he shared at a meeting I was at, that Generation Z (under 25 year olds) will not come to our church personally, until they come to our church digitally. That statement really hit me. But here is what I’ve learned about Cory. He isn’t just good at technology, he sees tech...
2020-09-3029 minAdvanceThe Guest ExperienceNow before you write this episode off as another church growth “numbers” thing, let me encourage you to hang in there. The spiritual reality is, if we don’t work on creating an environment of welcome and follow up in our churches, we will severely limit our opportunity to reach those who don’t know Jesus, giving them an opportunity to even hear the gospel. To help us talk about the guest experience and follow up, I have asked Chris Highfill, one of our Converge Midamerica pastors, pastoring just outside the St. Louis area to join us. Chr...
2020-09-1626 minAdvanceWorship Part twoThe great pastor, A.W.Tozer wrote in his book “Whatever Happened to Worship” the following. “We are brought to God and to faith and to salvation that we might worship and adore Him…Yes, worship of the loving God is man’s whole reason for existence. That is why we are born and that is why we are born again from above. That is why we were created and that is why we have been recreated. That is why there is a genesis at the beginning, and that is why there is a regenesis, called regeneration. That is also why t...
2020-09-0233 minAdvanceWorship Part OneThe great pastor, A.W.Tozer wrote in his book “Whatever Happened to Worship” the following. “We are brought to God and to faith and to salvation that we might worship and adore Him…Yes, worship of the loving God is man’s whole reason for existence. That is why we are born and that is why we are born again from above. That is why we were created and that is why we have been recreated. That is why there is a genesis at the beginning, and that is why there is a regenesis, called regeneration. That is also why t...
2020-08-1925 minAdvanceThe Church BoardTo help us talk about the issue of the Church board, I have asked Dr. David Clark, theology professor at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul Minnesota to share with us. Not only has Dr. Clark done extensive study and research regarding church boards, he has lived them in his own church experience as a pastor and leader. Dr. Clark has and is a great help to our movement of churches in this area of Church boards, among many other topics, so it is an honor to have him join us today. Dr. Clark, thanks for being on the podcast...
2020-08-0526 minAdvancePastor Self CareToday we are going to address the issue of “The Pastor and Self Care”. It is my firm belief that the single most important aspect to having a healthy church is a healthy pastor. Unfortunately, unhealthy pastors are becoming an epidemic. Even as we are recording this podcast today, the Christian world is reeling once again with the news that another pastor has taken his own life. Sadly, this is not an isolated case. Over the last 12-18 months, several stories have surfaced of pastors who have done the same. Why is this happening, and why does pastoral ministry seem...
2020-07-2225 min
Unfiltered: Real Church Planting ConversationsChurch healthBryan Moak, vice president of Church Strengthening for Converge MidAmerica, joins Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee to discuss how your church plant can start healthy and stay that way.1:18 Bryan recommends guarding the vision. "We start adding stuff that makes sense at first, and all of a sudden, we’re adding stuff that no longer makes sense to the vision. Once you start something, it is really hard to get rid of it. And things become sacred cows really quickly."2:16 Bryan says to be careful about who you put in leadership. "Test...
2020-07-2012 minAdvanceAll AmericaThe purpose of All America is to mobilize millions in the Body of Christ to pray for and connect with their neighbors until all 127 million households and every school campus in America is adopted for the purpose of praying for the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ and the Gospel. I believe with all my heart, that if we want to see a Spiritual Awakening happen in America, if we want to see the Church of Christ revived, if we want to see Justice reign and rule in our cities, it won’t happen until we get serious about pr...
2020-07-1322 minAdvanceVisionToday we are going to address the issue of vision. It’s a term that gets bounced around all the time. We all can quote the scripture in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there Is no vision, the people perish.”, but how it effects us is very different. Some of us get super excited when we hear that term, and others want to run the other way. So how important is vision really? And if it is so important, how should we go about defining it, and pursuing it as a church? To help us work through this topic of vision I am thr...
2020-07-0823 minAdvancePrayerToday we are going to be addressing the issue of prayer in relationship to a healthy church. Last episode we said that preaching the Word was one of the foundational pillars of the church in Acts 2. Another of those foundational pillars is prayer. In Acts chapter six, pastors and elders are encouraged to focus on prayer and the Word in their ministries. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5 to “pray without ceasing.” In Ephesians 6, the armor of God is put on with the covering of “all prayer and supplication.” I could go on and on. Prayer is essential for church health. Unfortun...
2020-06-2425 minAdvancePreachingScripture is clear that the proclamation of the Word is one of the most important things we do as a church. Acts two speaks of it as one of the foundational pillars of the church. Paul encourages Timothy to not shrink away from preaching the truth of scripture, just to name two. However, in the midst of a myriad of things we need to be doing as pastors, sometimes the preaching ministry has taken a backseat. To help us talk about the issue of preaching, I have asked Pastor Jeff Dryden, Pastor of a multi-campus Converge MidAmerica church in...
2020-06-1023 minAdvanceThe Church LifeCycleThis is episode 2 of the podcast, and today I’m grateful to welcome back Dr. Bruce Hopler, Executive Director of Church Strengthening with Converge.Today, let’s talk about evaluating the health of the ministries within the church. How do church leaders go about evaluating that?How does the church cycle bell curve work?How do you need to lead a ministry depending on where it is on the bell curve? We’ve talked a lot about individual ministries - how about evaluating the church as a whole this way? Bruce shares how listeners can contact him for coac...
2020-05-2523 minAdvanceTrailerAn introduction to the Advance Podcast. Each episode will have an interview with a pastor or leader who will be encouraging us with content that God has specifically used through them in significant and effective ways. The content will be rich, yet concise enough that it can be shared at staff meetings, board meetings, or with other pastors you are connected with. I believe we are better when we are learning together, so see these episodes as conversation starters that will help your church, and the churches you collaborate with to be increasingly fruitful for the gospel of Jesus...
2020-05-1304 minAdvanceWhat Is A Healthy Church?This is our first official episode of the podcast, and we’re kicking it off by dealing with the question all other episodes will be trying to answer, “What Is A Healthy Church?” To help us answer this 30,000ft question, I am excited to welcome our first guest, Dr. Bruce Hopler. Bruce is the Executive Director of Church Strengthening with Converge, our parent organization. Not only is Bruce an experienced and gifted leader in our movement, he is also my friend. This episode answers the following questions.What is Converge, and what is Dr.Hopler's role within Converge.85% of chu...
2020-05-1324 min