After leading The Porch—the largest young adult ministry in America—JP Pokluda became a senior pastor of a somewhat more traditional church.
He talks about how his preaching changed when church went online, why he hired a YouTuber to create messages, what he thinks the future of preaching will be like, and how to influence the next generation.
Welcome to Episode 357 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about the new workplace, and how you get real accountability from your team.
Guest Links
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Harris Creek Baptist Church
Episode Links
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CONVERSATION LINKS
Welcoming the Future Church by Jonathan Pokluda
Welcome to Adulting by Jonathan Pokluda
Harris Creek video sermon: The Good Infection
Harris Creek video sermon: An Invitation to the Feast
Becoming Something with Jonathan Pokluda
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3 INSIGHTS FROM JP
1. If you want to engage people online, learn from YouTubers
The bad news for most preachers is that the ability to hold people’s attention in a room doesn’t directly transfer to holding people’s attention online. Especially when you look at the next generation. The average teenager struggles to watch an online church service, but can’t resist watching their favorite YouTube channel for hours.
To respond to this trend, JP hired a professional YouTuber part-time to consult with and work for their church. That YouTuber taught them the value of post-production work with animation and video editing within their sermons. They also learned what makes successful online content easy to watch.
2. The way churches allocate their budgets has changed forever
During the interview, Carey asked JP if he planned to keep any of the major budget shifts they made as a result of the COVID crisis. JP responded, “I don’t know how you couldn’t!”
He believes that this crisis is a fault line in the history of the Church, and where and how you need to allocate resources has changed forever. Producing quality online content is already key to reaching the next generation, but until now, most churches weren’t budgeting for it.
The Church used to have the best art and the best architecture in the world. The Church was the Hollywood of the past, and he thinks that it could become that again if church leaders would embrace innovation.
3. Explain why twice as much as the how if you want to reach the generation
JP has reached more young adults than 99% of other church leaders. When asked how he’s done this, he said, “If you want to reach the next generation, explaining the why is twice as important as explaining the what or the how.” If you want to get the next generation to do anything, or buy into any mission, you need to show them why they should want to.
If you don’t explain the why behind the things your organization does, you will begin to lose young people (or likely already have). The next generation is willing to do a lot if you will spend the time on the inspiration and the why.
Quotes from Episode 357
If you're not reaching the future of the church, your church has no future. @JPokluda Click To Tweet The generation that's coming up doesn't watch TV—they watch YouTubers. @JPokluda Click To Tweet The people that the future generation most resonates with are those who are honest and authentic. @JPokluda Click To Tweet Every leadership decision you make, you're choosing your problems. And I really like the set of problems that come with being completely transparent. @JPokluda Click To Tweet The next generation is willing to do a lot if you will spend the time on the inspiration and the why. @JPokluda Click To Tweet Constraints are the birthplace of innovation. @JPokluda Click To Tweet We have to pivot today with what's available to us today. @JPokluda Click To Tweet Freedom and autonomy are the currency of the next generation. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet People don't quit jobs, they quit bosses, and they quit cultures. @cnieuwhof Click To TweetRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 357
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Next Episode: Sam Collier
Author, podcaster and pastor Sam Collier, talks about what it was like growing up in the 90s and early 2000s in Black America, what it takes to make it in a white world, and how whites can use their influence to bring about racial reconciliation. Sam talks about how to navigate the backlash and the kind of change anyone can make to make the world (and the church) a more just place for black and brown people.
Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 358.
