Church Offers Podcast for Faith Formation
What is a new and compelling way to foster discipleship in your congregation? Clearview CRC in Oakville, Ont., wondered about this and came up with an interesting answer – a podcast.
“Our aim was directly tied to our focus on discipleship – how do we extend and expand the faith formation conversations beyond our church gatherings and our building?” said Rev. Phil Reinders, pastor of the church.
“We have no aspirations of creating a vast and viral media empire. Instead, we are aiming for our own congregation – what would help them in following Jesus, and yet might also be something they are inclined to easily pass along to others?”
While acknowledging that discipleship best happens through in-person relationships, Reinders and his team also recognized that making in-person contexts, such as small group gatherings, the only means of discipleship was creating barriers for some people in their community.
“We’ve been finding that fewer and fewer people are able or willing to spend additional time to come to our church to learn,” he explained. “Podcasts are easily accessed resources that people can weave into their everyday life – on their commute, while doing chores around the house, or even while cooking dinner.”
Reinders presented the idea to his staff, and they patiently worked together to bring the idea to reality. This included researching other podcasts, selecting topics, figuring out the best format, and trying out different podcasting tools. They also spent time talking with members of the congregation to figure out what topics people in the church would be interested in, and what faith questions members were wrestling with.
“We learned that many people wrestle with how to live out their faith within the complexity of our world,” he said.
And nine months after the initial idea for a podcast was discussed, the focus of living out faith in a complex world became the main focus of Clearview’s Faith Matters podcast.
Each 30-minute episode begins with an explanation of their goal, which is “to strengthen and equip followers of Jesus through practical and theological discussions and resources about important matters of faith in our complicated and complex world.” It then includes an interview with a guest to talk about a specific topic.
The first two episodes feature guests from CRCNA ministries. Rev. Lesli van Milligen is the Canadian codirector of Thrive – a CRC ministry aimed at encouraging and equipping CRC congregations. She joined host Elaine Van Laare, director of discipleship at Clearview, for a conversation about lament.
“When you start seeing how much we have to curate our lives [on social media], it is no wonder that we feel that we have to be really careful about where we complain and what we complain about,” said van Milligen. Instead, she said, we force people to tamp down their doubts, fears, and griefs. A better option would be to learn from the Psalms and create space for people to express these things.
“That’s when we need the community [of church],” said van Milligen. “When some of us are in that space, we need those that aren’t there to be stretcher-bearers and to say, ‘We are going to walk alongside you; we are going to lift you up when you can’t take that next step. We are in this together and are not afraid of your doubts.’”
In another episode, Bryan Haley, director of ReFrame Ministries’ Church Juice program, spoke with Phil Reinders about how the digital era impacts how we do church today.
“Think about how much has really changed in the last 15 years,” said Haley, pointing to social media, cell phone technology, the boom of the internet, and more. “That’s true for the culture at large and for the church itself. The way that we connect with people has changed incredibly.”
He pointed out that, statistically, people are attending church less frequently and that digital tools can help us not only connect more easily but also maintain and build relationships when we are not at church. Marketing can also be used as a means of outreach, he said.
Other episodes of the podcast have expanded on a sermon series Reinders preached on Genesis, and some others have explored mental health and anxiety.
“We aim for content that connects to either our Sunday church conversations and preaching, to a seasonal need, or practical concerns. We’re hoping to incorporate faith stories from within our church as well,” Reinders said.
“For the next couple of months we're hoping to offer a number of different formats and different topics to reach a broader listening audience and then determine what seems to ‘stick,’” added Van Laare. “To date, we've received good feedback from those who have listened, and it's been an interesting and encouraging process.”
Van Milligen, whose role takes her across Canada and into conversations with churches of all shapes and sizes, said that Clearview’s podcast is something that other congregations can learn from.
“CRC congregations face a variety of challenges, whether from overall membership decline, an aging population, young people feeling disengaged from the church, or just stagnation in ministry,” she said. “Clearview is an example of a congregation that is thinking creatively to find new ways to support their members. They have also been willing to tap into denominational resources in a creative way to extend their own ministry efforts.”
She added that while sometimes new efforts will fail, being willing to think creatively and try new things is key to congregational renewal.
To congregations who may be considering adding a podcast to their discipleship programs, Van Laare recommends that they give it a try, and that they listen to the interview with Bryan Haley for ideas.
Reinders suggested, “Plan well ahead, have a clear idea of why you are doing this and who you are trying to connect with, and be realistic with your available time and energy. Don’t be intimidated by the technology – it’s surprisingly attainable. Yet don’t underestimate the need for editing.”
