When people discover their gifts, they begin to feel more connected and fulfilled. But few churches know how to help people discover the unique wiring God has given them—and fewer still have a plan to help people leverage those gifts once discovered.

We wrap up this series on "Serving as Spiritual Formation" with an interview with Pastor Chris Hodges from Church of the Highlands to unpack the success they've had with "Growth Track," which has inspired thousands of churches across the country, and the overall importance of helping people serve with their gifts as part of their spiritual formation journey.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode359.

If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X. Or you can join in on Facebook.

It is possible to integrate serving into your spiritual formation strategy in a practical and effective way. We’re seeing churches all across the country do it.

In recent years, churches we serve have been telling us they love The Rooted Experience.

So, in part four of this series on Serving as Spiritual Formation, Tony interviews Pastor John Thomas from Mariners Church in California about The Rooted Experience. John shares how Rooted is helping people connect to faith and the church, why it is so effective and how Mariners Church encourages people to engage in serving opportunities as part of their spiritual formation.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode358.

If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X. Or you can join in on Facebook.

Spiritual formation is less about what we ask people to do and more about who we’re equipping people to become.

In this episode, Tony interviews Pastor Daniel Im, author of The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World, about the role serving has in helping people grow closer to Jesus.

If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X. Or you can join in on Facebook.

Before the pandemic, we typically saw 45% to 50% of all adults and students serving on a volunteer team at least monthly. Our most recent data shows churches reporting only 35% are serving today.

In the first episode of this series on "Serving as Spiritual Formation," we talked about some of the most common mistakes churches make with their volunteer engagement strategy that are contributing to that shortage of volunteers. But in this second episode, we’re going to look at the structural mistakes churches make that lead to low volunteer engagement.

Tony and Amy talk about the structure of churches that engage the most volunteers in serving roles, and specifically, how this needs to be considered a spiritual formation issue.

If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X. Or you can join in on Facebook.

Most churches say they need more volunteers. But answer this honestly: What is your theology of serving? How well is your church discipling people to offer their spiritual gifts as part of the Great Commission?

Many churches have gotten further away from viewing serving as an integral part of spiritual formation than they’d likely admit.

In this series, Tony and Amy and special guests will share best practices on the strategy side of engaging people in serving, as well as critical elements of team-building and structure to engage more people using their gifts in the mission of your church. 

In the first episode, they unpack the strategy mistakes churches are often making that inhibit a strong volunteer engagement culture.

If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X. Or you can join in on Facebook.