Plant Where It Grows: The Data, the Gospel, and a New Vision for Church Planting | Season 3 Episode 28
Release Date: 09/20/2025
Why the Future of the Church Won’t Drop from the Sky
The Disciple Standard Podcast
The Multiply Conference is over… now what? In this episode of the Disciple Standard Podcast, Aaron sits down with Zach Olson and Scott Vander Ploeg to unpack what actually needs to happen next if we’re serious about multiplying disciples, leaders, and churches in the CRC. They talk candidly about why this movement can’t just be a top-down plan from denominational offices, why real change has to be owned at the classis and local church level, and what it will take for every region to develop its own grassroots strategy. Along the way, they unpack the simple but powerful MDLC framework...
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How Movements Start: Conversations, Classes, and Calling - Multiply Conference Day 1
The Disciple Standard Podcast
Day 1 of the Multiply Conference was less “talking heads,” more movement building. Scott sits down with Paul Vander Klay (Sacramento, CA) and Moisés “Mo” Pacheco (Chicago, IL) to unpack the day: why classes-level action beats top-down plans, what disciple-making must look like in a post-Christian moment, and why real multiplication starts with raising leaders (not just planting churches). Highlights: - Why grassroots/classis collaboration is the engine for church planting - The transmission crisis: discipling in a post-Christian, mobile, media-soaked culture - Parents discipling their...
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Pre-Conference Recap: Scripture, Psalms, and a Movement of Multiplication
The Disciple Standard Podcast
The Multiply Conference is here, and before the main sessions even kicked off, we gathered pastors and leaders to do something simple and powerful: hear Scripture publicly, pray and sing the Psalms together, and dream about multiplying disciples, leaders, and churches. In this short recap, Scott sits down with Tim and Brad (Resonate Global Mission) to unpack: - Why we began with the Public Reading of Scripture (PROS) and praying/singing the Psalms - How these ancient practices form modern disciple-makers - A candid look at biblical literacy (and why it matters for renewal) - Simple,...
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Prayer, Psalms, and the Plan: Raising Leaders Now | Season 3 Episode 35
The Disciple Standard Podcast
Leaders don’t wait for permission—they take responsibility. This week we tackle the “elephants in the room”: grassroots church movements vs. denominational centers, fears about factions, and what it really takes to multiply 2,000 leaders and plant 1,000 churches. Then we go deeper: a practical framework for gospel identity that moves you from the drama cycle (blame/avoid/complain) to the dream cycle (own the problem → plan → do → check → adjust). We talk prayer (especially the Psalms), honoring past generations, and why local churches can’t outsource discipleship or church...
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Are We Too Comfortable to Be Courageous? | Season 3 Episode 33
The Disciple Standard Podcast
In this episode, Aaron, Seron, and Zach tackle one of the most challenging questions facing the modern church: Are Christians too comfortable to live courageously? From AI and spiritual laziness to local evangelism and church culture, the team gets real about what courage looks like in everyday faith — and how comfort might be the greatest obstacle to gospel boldness.
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Risk Is Right: Why Christians Must Stop Playing It Safe | Season 3 Episode 34
The Disciple Standard Podcast
Comfort is killing the church. For many believers today, safety has become a silent idol — but what if real Christianity has always required risk? In this episode, Scott returns from Nigeria with a powerful challenge: If Jesus is who He says He is, then risk is right. Aaron, Seron, and Scott wrestle with what courageous faith looks like in a world obsessed with control, comfort, and safety. We talk persecution, missionary legacy, a church plant born out of crisis, 63 churches in Sierra Leone, and whether the American church has lost its passion. Is the future of the CRC tied to recovering...
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20 Sentences the CRC Needs to Start Talking About… | Season 3 Episode 32
The Disciple Standard Podcast
An old monk had 95 theses—today we bring 20. In this episode, Pastor Scott lays out a bold, practical roadmap for renewal in the Christian Reformed Church: a gospel-first identity, every believer a multiplier, leadership pipelines that start in local churches, and church planting as the ordinary way God renews His Church. We tackle the reality of decline—and why it’s not inevitable—and cast a hopeful vision for multiplying disciples, leaders, and churches in our time. What you’ll hear: - Why renewal begins with a fresh encounter with the gospel, not new tactics - How disciple-making...
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Friends on Mission: Renewing the CRC Through Church Planting | Season 3 Episode 31
The Disciple Standard Podcast
What’s the future of church planting in the Christian Reformed Church? In this episode of the Disciple Standard Podcast, Scott sits down with Tim Sheridan (Director of Church Planting for the CRC) and Vivi Cassis (Operations Manager, Resonate Global Mission & leader at The Source Church) to talk about: -The state of church planting across North America -How diaspora and multicultural movements are shaping the future -Why prayer, fasting, and bold goals (like planting 1,000 new churches) matter -The upcoming Multiply Conference in Port St. Lucie this November -How every church—large or...
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The New Vision for CRC Churches in Florida | Season 3 Episode 30
The Disciple Standard Podcast
Church attendance may be declining across the U.S., but in this episode of the Disciple Standard Podcast, Pastors Aaron, Kris, and Scott share a bold new vision for the future of churches in Florida—and the Christian Reformed Church at large. From celebrating past wins to unveiling the goal of raising 262 leaders and planting 26 churches in the next decade! This conversation digs into: - Why leadership development is the key to church renewal - How 222 Discipleship is shaping the next generation of pastors and leaders - The role of collaboration, diversity, and shared vision in fueling...
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Plant Where It Grows: The Data, the Gospel, and a New Vision for Church Planting | Season 3 Episode 28
The Disciple Standard Podcast
What actually makes a church plant take root—strategy, location… or discipleship? Scott sits down with David Snapper (church planter/researcher) to unpack 40+ years of lessons: why many “parachute drops” stall, how clusters (the 20-mile/2,000 rule) change outcomes, and how to build a synthetic cluster (friendship networks, schools, training leaders in place) when you’re far from the denominational center. We also talk Acts (Jerusalem → Antioch → Athens), moving from numbers to disciples, and how conflict resolution frees a denomination to pursue Great Commission unity. You’ll...
info_outlineWhat actually makes a church plant take root—strategy, location… or discipleship? Scott sits down with David Snapper (church planter/researcher) to unpack 40+ years of lessons: why many “parachute drops” stall, how clusters (the 20-mile/2,000 rule) change outcomes, and how to build a synthetic cluster (friendship networks, schools, training leaders in place) when you’re far from the denominational center. We also talk Acts (Jerusalem → Antioch → Athens), moving from numbers to disciples, and how conflict resolution frees a denomination to pursue Great Commission unity.
You’ll hear:
- The “200 barrier” myth—and what the data actually shows
- Why proximity and community (schools, sister churches) fuel resilience
- Training leaders locally to avoid “redemptive lift”
- Discipleship-first pipelines that outlast trends - A hopeful path beyond divisive debates toward mission.
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