Hi Reader,
What’s the single biggest reason most churches plateau or decline? According to Dave Ferguson, it comes down to one word: no.
This challenged me, because I always advise leaders to say no more often. But are there cases where this blocks your church's growth and your growth as a leader? Well, yes.
Dave Ferguson is the founding pastor of Community Christian Church in Chicago and president of Exponential, one of the world’s largest church-planting networks.
Recorded backstage at Exponential in Orlando, we dig into the rapidly changing landscape of church planting 👉micro churches, digital expressions, and what real multiplication looks like in 2026.
The question Dave keeps pressing is whether you’re wired to grow something or to multiply it. He makes the case that these aren’t opposites and that most pastors are closer to being a multiplying church than they realize.
They’ve just never said yes to the right things, and not nearly often enough.
🎧 Listen now and take the next step toward healthier leadership. Watch it on YouTube or tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.
This episode is brought to you by...
The Art of Leadership Academy
The reason most churches never grow, let alone multiply, is that leaders default to “no” instead of “yes.” That “no” default usually isn’t about courage. It’s about capacity. You don’t have a plan for the new thing. You don’t have a team ready. That’s exactly why I built the Art of Leadership Academy All-Access Membership.
Every course I’ve created—on preaching, leading volunteers, preventing burnout, building healthy teams, growing your church—all in one place. Plus, once a month, I jump on a live coaching call with you and our members to work through your questions together.
Head to careynieuwhof.com/academyto join us inside.
Subsplash
Church leaders are staring at AI with a mix of fascination and, let’s be honest, a fair amount of fear. But at Subsplash, they don’t see AI as a way to automate ministry, they see it as a way to accelerate it. The goal isn’t to replace the minister; it’s to remove the administrative noise that keeps ministry staff stuck behind their desks instead of being present with people.
It’s all about stewardship: helping church leaders lead the mission while Subsplash leads the technology.
