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Published by Exponential Australia
Listen to interviews with ministry leaders and church planters committed to multiplication as they share insights, stories and lessons from their real-life experiences of planting churches and making disciples.
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In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with Viks McFarlane, who together with her husband Slade has planted and led Triumph Church in Blacktown. Viks shares her journey from growing up as a fifth generation pastor’s kid, serving a decade in the Navy, running from a call to ministry, and eventually recognising that God had placed a church planting and pioneering gift on her life.Viks reflects honestly on the call to plant in Blacktown, an area many people might overlook or avoid, and how obedience led her and Slade from the Sunshine Coast back to Western Sydney. What began with no team, no building, and very little certainty became a journey of prayer, youth ministry, pancakes in local schools, and the launch of Triumph Youth, which eventually became the foundation for Triumph Church.This conversation explores the beauty and brutality of church planting. Viks speaks candidly about resilience, loss, facility challenges, small beginnings, and the courage required to keep showing up when the assignment feels costly. She also shares the joy of seeing young people and families transformed, and how one person’s yes can impact generations.With a deep heart for Blacktown, cultural communities, and second generation migrant young people, Viks challenges leaders to honour culture while communicating the gospel in ways the next generation can receive. She calls pastors and churches to release young leaders, have courageous conversations, and take brave steps toward planting more churches for the sake of the Kingdom.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie is joined by Nashville based pastor and author Ian Simkins for a deeply grounding conversation on what it means to become a healthy multiplier in a world shaped by noise, distraction, and outrage. Ian shares why people are increasingly hungry for what is authentic and embodied, and how the church can respond not by shouting louder, but by recovering a non anxious presence rooted in Jesus. Ian unpacks the hidden drivers behind unhealthy leadership, including workaholism that gets applauded, achievement that masquerades as fruit, and the subtle lie that we are only as valuable as what we produce. Drawing from voices like Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard, and Eugene Peterson, he reframes ministry as serving from belovedness, not striving for it, and points to Sabbath as a sobering practice that exposes our need for control while restoring trust in God. The conversation then turns to Ian’s central theme of the table. Not as a sentimental idea, but as a practical and powerful rhythm for formation, discipleship, and mission. In a culture marked by division, loneliness, and distraction, Ian calls leaders to recover both temples and tables, and to live with a simple prayer in mind: Lord at this table as it is in heaven. This episode is an invitation to slow down, choose one obedient next step, and abide in the Spirit so that fruit is borne over time rather than forced through pressure.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with John Ortberg for a deep and disarmingly practical conversation about the inner life required to lead well, especially for planters and multipliers carrying pressure, complexity, and visible expectations. John reflects on seasons of pain and leadership crisis, and why “circumstances being okay” is never a sufficient foundation for ministry or life. John shares one of the most defining lessons from his friendship and mentorship with Dallas Willard: leaders must arrange their days so they are experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in their everyday life with God. He names this as the temptation behind every temptation, because when a satisfying life with God is not being cultivated, shortcuts start to look reasonable. With an Exponential edge, the conversation turns toward multiplying health, not just activity. John explores how spiritual formation is daily “good soil” work, what a thriving leader actually prioritises, and why the main thing God gets out of your life is the person you become. He then offers two concrete practices that sustain leaders long term: a restorative niche each week and a fully disclosing friend, so leaders can live without hiddenness. John closes with hope for leaders facing complexity, calling them away from rumination and toward simple obedience, trusting that God never asks us to do more than we have time to do. This is an episode for anyone who wants to plant, multiply, and lead at the pace of love.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie is joined by Andrew Ranucci, long time church planter and former lead pastor of Coast Community Church, for a deeply practical conversation on what it takes to multiply with health over decades. Andrew shares formative moments from his early discipleship, including an unexpected season of solitude and Scripture in the outback, and the joys and battle scars of planting and leading a church for 26 years, from council battles to internal resistance and the pain of betrayal. Now serving leaders through supervision, mentoring, and spiritual direction, Andrew unpacks what he sees beneath the surface in pastors and planters: the relentless pressure of the urgent, the erosion of personal devotional life, emotional depletion, and a growing loneliness that mirrors a wider societal crisis. He makes a compelling case that one of the most strategic disciplines for leaders is stewarding life giving friendships outside their local church context, the kind of lifelong relationships that stabilise the soul when ministry gets complex. Andrew also previews his conference message aligned to the Multiplier theme, including his personal vision that when the church gathers on Sunday, the pastor would be the healthiest person in the room. It is an episode full of wisdom for leaders who want to plant, lead, and multiply at a pace that produces lasting impact rather than quiet collapse.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with Cass Langton from The Local as we continue building toward the National Conference on the Gold Coast. Returning to the podcast for a second time, Cass reflects on what God has been forming in her, Rich, and their church community since planting The Local, including the surprising beauty of discovering that Jesus really does build His church, often in ways we did not first imagine.Cass shares what is giving her hope for the Australian church right now: growing collaboration across denominations and streams, a renewed attentiveness to the Holy Spirit, and a rising spiritual curiosity among people who may be sceptical of institutions but are still hungry for the reality of Jesus. She also reflects honestly on the work and cost of church planting, and how The Local has become a place of return for people rediscovering faith, worship, community, and the presence of God. With her upcoming National Conference session focused on Launching Spiritual Communities, Cass unpacks what it means to form churches that are deeply spiritual, unmistakably local, and shaped by the cross of Jesus. She explores the need for communities marked by authenticity, mission, hospitality, generosity, imagination, beauty, and reproduction, not simply as programs to be multiplied, but as life received from God and given away for the good of the city. This is a hope filled conversation for planters, pastors, and leaders longing to see churches become more than events to attend, but communities where people encounter Jesus, find family, and are sent into the world with fresh joy and courage.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie is joined by returning guest Sam Harvey, church planter and national leader of 24 7 Prayer New Zealand, as we build toward the August National Gathering keynote series. Sam shares what he is seeing across New Zealand right now, including a growing hunger for prayer and a fresh unity across churches and regions as leaders contend together for renewal.The conversation becomes deeply practical as Sam opens up about the realities of carrying multiple roles as a planter, leader, husband, father, and follower of Jesus. He speaks candidly about the warning signs when pressure rises, the importance of close friendships and honest prayer, and the slow work of letting ministry expose what still needs healing.Sam also previews his upcoming National Gathering session on the Mental and Spiritual Gauge, challenging leaders to care not only about what they build, but how they build it. Doing it the King’s way means pursuing wholeness, cultivating a prayer soaked inner life, and refusing to multiply at the cost of your soul. This is a timely and hope filled conversation for leaders who want to multiply with health, integrity, and spiritual depth.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie is joined by keynote speaker Lisa Pak, a Toronto born Korean Canadian leader serving with Finishing the Task alongside Pastor Rick Warren. Lisa shares how growing up between cultures shaped her conviction that the global church needs leaders who can bring their full selves to the table, across generations, cultures, and calling. Lisa delivers a clear challenge for leaders in a digitised world: discipleship cannot be fast tracked. You cannot microwave formation, and you cannot call convenience discipleship. She unpacks why deep disciple making requires time, self awareness, and real relational investment, and why leaders must resist the illusion of engagement created by bite sized spiritual content. The conversation then turns toward the internal gauges of the Multiplier life. Lisa calls pastors and planters back to two repeatable practices that protect long term fruitfulness: prayer that brings insight and peace, and Sabbath rhythms that keep leaders humble, human, and anchored in the Holy Spirit rather than performance. She also offers a hopeful and prophetic encouragement for Australia as a multicultural Commonwealth nation uniquely positioned for global mission and collaboration.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with Pastor Joel Chelliah, National President of the Australian Christian Churches, for a wide ranging and deeply pastoral conversation as we build toward the National Gathering on the Gold Coast. Joel reflects on the shift from state leadership into a national role, and the intentional boundaries he and Sharon have had to put in place to protect rest, marriage, and family while stewarding a growing apostolic assignment. Joel’s keynote focus for this year is launching church expressions, and he names two major barriers that repeatedly hold churches back: the lack of a discipleship leadership pipeline, and fear of the cost involved in sending and planting. He reframes planting as gaining by losing, sharing how years of costly sowing have produced lasting fruit across communities, and offers a striking picture of release: what you hold will never multiply, but what you place in God’s hands always can. The conversation then moves into the heart of healthy leadership. Joel speaks candidly about the difference between genuine Kingdom ambition and ego driven striving, shares the moment God redefined success for him as a healthy home that loves Jesus, and offers practical pastoral counsel for leaders carrying stress, burnout, or unrealistic expectations. He closes with a prayer for renewed faith across the Australian church, that leaders would leave Exponential believing again that God is doing a fresh work and that it is time to do something courageous for Him.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie is joined by Katherine Chow, Associate Vicar at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, to kick off our keynote speaker series leading into the August National Gathering. Katherine shares her journey from growing up in a Chinese church where everyone served, to practising law in New York City, and how God gradually called her into church leadership through the intentional investment of others. Katherine unpacks three simple but demanding ingredients of leader development: proximity, intentionality, and continual investment. She then brings a sharp leadership lens to one of the most common questions across the Western church: where are the leaders. Her answer is both sobering and hopeful. Many faithful leaders are serving quietly in hidden places, and many others carry latent leadership that needs to be called out beyond existing structures and biases. The conversation also explores what it looks like to build diverse teams and create psychological safety, why identifying leaders requires listening for whose voice is missing, and the costly but beautiful decision by senior leaders to create room at the table for others. Katherine closes by pointing toward the deeper question beneath all leadership development: am I a disciple worth replicating, and how might the Holy Spirit empower the church for the season ahead.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with Dr Derwin Gray, founding pastor of Transformation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, to explore the kind of healthy multiplication that does not simply grow churches, but forms a gospel shaped people who look like the Kingdom. Derwin shares his journey from the NFL to meeting Jesus through a teammate, and how that conversion ignited a calling toward evangelism, discipleship, and ultimately church planting. Derwin then unpacks the role Exponential played in his own pre plant season, describing a pivotal moment in Orlando where prayer and courage intersected with a call to plant. He speaks candidly about what he wishes he knew before planting, including the loneliness of leadership, the need for thick skin and a tender heart, and the urgency of making the gospel central rather than leading with Christless Christianity. At the heart of the conversation is Derwin’s conviction that a multi ethnic church is not an optional ministry lane but the clear biblical trajectory from Genesis to Revelation. He shares the practices and costs of building a truly integrated multi ethnic and multi generational church, and why the hardest people to disciple in this work can often be Christians rather than unbelievers. With a clear call for Australia to lead with gospel conviction, cross cultural competency, and Christ centred courage, Derwin closes by praying for a move of God that cannot be manufactured and for churches that shine with the glory of Jesus.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie is joined by Renée Oduko, co leader of the Disciple Makers initiative, for a thoughtful and practical conversation on how churches and church planters can reach spiritually curious people who may never walk through a church door first. Renée shares her international journey through London and New York, and how those years shaped a deep conviction to build “third spaces” where community and trust can form before belief. Renée unpacks the big idea behind Disciple Makers: creating pre church pathways that help move people from online curiosity to real world connection, through simple relational environments like run clubs, socials, and Alpha launch moments. She explains why this is a slower, more human approach to mission, and how churches can mobilise people beyond Sunday teams to disciple neighbours Monday to Saturday. The conversation also explores what Renée sees in the data and in stories on the ground, including a growing openness to faith, a mistrust of institutions but not of Jesus followers, and the importance of making sure the journey feels like a genuine invitation rather than a process. With practical steps for getting started, this episode will encourage leaders to design new front doors into their community and engage the harvest with creativity, patience, and collaboration across the city. Disciple Makers website - https://disciplemakers.com.au/
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with Luke “Monty” Montgomery, founder of Neighbourhood, to explore what it looks like to build Kingdom “third spaces” that reach people who may never walk into a traditional church building. Monty shares his journey from Sydney to Ipswich, his passion for low socioeconomic and multicultural communities, and why Neighbourhood exists as a network of meeting places, including a cafe, barber, and martial arts spaces, designed to bring people from all walks of life into real community. The conversation goes deep into Monty’s heart for youth justice and the work Neighbourhood is doing inside juvenile detention centres, where dozens of young people each week opt into Bible studies and mentoring, and where the greatest need is not programs but spiritual family. Monty offers a strong challenge to the Australian church to recover one of its greatest strengths, the intergenerational family of God, and to empower the innovators and pioneers already sitting in our congregations to build new front doors into their cities. For more on Neighbourhood, check out http://Nbhd.org.au and follow @our_nbhd_
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie is joined by David Ng for a timely conversation on migration, the changing Christian landscape, and the remarkable role of migrant churches in shaping the future of the church in Australia. David shares from his lived experience across five continents and his work with diaspora communities, helping leaders understand why we are living in an age of migration and how this is reshaping both society and the church. Together they explore the growth of immigrant churches, the intergenerational tensions that can emerge within them, and the reality many have called the silent exodus, where second generation believers quietly drift away. David offers a clear challenge to Australian leaders to move beyond assumptions and into relationships, learning from one another as the one body of Christ, and developing strategies that include migrant churches as a vital part of the mission and multiplication future. David also introduces the Thriving Immigrant Church Initiative Australia, a learning journey designed to help immigrant churches strengthen intergenerational health and grow their gospel impact beyond their own ethnic boundaries. It is a hopeful and practical conversation for denominational leaders, planters, and local pastors who want to better understand the multiplying migrant church and partner well in what God is doing across multicultural Australia.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with Martine Wilson (Generosity Path) and Nick Wood (The Bridge Church, Sydney) for an honest and practical conversation about generosity, money, and the mission of God in Australia. Martine Wilson serves as Oceania Regional Director with Generosity Path, helping churches and parachurch orgs across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific grow cultures of whole-life generosity rooted in discipleship and mission. In this conversation she explores why churches often avoid talking about money, how cultural messages of scarcity shape Christians more than we realise, and why generosity must be formed at the level of the heart - not driven by guilt, pressure, or fundraising agendas.She is joined by Nick Wood, Assistant Pastor and Discipleship Director at The Bridge Church, who shares how Bridge are intentionally discipling believers in this area of faith and embedding generosity into their broader discipleship pathway, including doing the Journey of Generosity (JOG) course in their Connect Groups in 2025.Generosity Path supports pastors and church planters through resources like the Journey of Generosity course (JOG), leader coaching, and practical church stories that help form joyful, open-handed disciples. You can explore more at:• https://generositypath.org/what-is-a-jog/• https://generositypath.org/regions/oceania/ (to see testimonials from Pastors in Oceania and upcoming Zoom sessions for church leaders wanting to find out more)Preview Session 1 of the Journey of Generosity here : https://videos.generositypath.org/videos/0691d2b11f1ee4c38f/session-1
In this March 2026 episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Rich and Jules share the story of planting Passion Church in Mandurah, Western Australia. They talk candidly about starting with just their family, trying the usual launch approaches, then choosing to begin regular Sunday gatherings anyway and trusting God with the pace and the people. The conversation also explores the practical support that helped them build well, including the frameworks and relational coaching they received through Harvestnet, and how that strengthened governance while still leaving room for local expression. Rich and Jules unpack how they have tried to keep a grounded culture by celebrating each season, staying thankful, and learning to love what is in their hand. Finally, they share how they identify leaders early, prioritise character, and build real pathways for development through a leadership academy that includes mentoring and hands on ministry projects.
In this episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Charlie sits down with Dave Adamson from YouVersion for a wide ranging conversation on why digital ministry is no longer a “back door” option, but one of the most important front doors for evangelism and discipleship in Australia today. Dave shares his reflections on returning home after years in the US, and what it means to lead mission in a nation that is increasingly pre Christian and, in many ways, pre trust. They unpack the significance of the Beyond a Billion milestone and what it reveals about a growing spiritual curiosity across Australia, with millions engaging Scripture through the Bible App every day. Dave offers practical insight for pastors and planters on how to activate a YouVersion Church Page, disciple people throughout the week and connect with locals who are searching long before they ever step into a church building. He also previews what is coming in 2026, including the potential to stream services within the Bible App and the opportunity for churches to better serve the real questions people are already asking. It is an energising and grounded conversation for leaders who want to reach “the one”, build trust in their communities, and move beyond reach toward genuine spiritual formation.
To kick off 2026, the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast welcomes back Dave Ferguson, visionary leader of Exponential Global, for a timely conversation as we move toward our August National Gathering theme, Multiplier: It is in you. Dave shares the major leadership transition he navigated in 2025, handing the baton at Community Christian Church through an intentional apprenticeship process and stepping into his full time CEO role at Exponential. He unpacks the heartbeat behind the 16 percent mission and why church planting remains the most effective evangelistic strategy, not only for reaching people, but for human flourishing and community renewal. This episode goes deeper than strategy, confronting cultural strongholds church leaders face in the West, especially drifting into places we never intended. Dave introduces the internal gauges that protect health and integrity, and the external practices that drive genuine multiplication. He challenges leaders to shift the question from “How do I grow my church?” to the far better question: “How do we multiply God’s Kingdom?” and calls the Australian church to embrace its opportunity to set the pace for multiplication in a post Christian landscape.
In this compelling year-end episode, cultural commentator and spiritual leader Mark Sayers offers a prophetic and piercing diagnosis of the cultural strongholds gripping the Australian Church—individualism, distraction, comfort, and the idol of control. But he doesn’t stop there.As 2025 comes to a close, Mark invites leaders to see what God might be doing beneath the surface, preparing His people for a fresh move of renewal through dependency, prayer, and radical Kingdom allegiance. This episode is an urgent but hopeful call to the Church in Australia—to stop copying shallow models and start cultivating spiritual authority that can speak into a fragmented culture.It’s the perfect closing conversation for 2025: reflective, convicting, and full of possibility.💬 The Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast returns on Monday, February 2, 2026—with fresh voices, multiplying stories, and a deeper hunger for advancing the Kingdom across Australia.
In this vibrant and hope-filled episode of the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast, Ben and Emily Higgins pull back the curtain on their unique leadership journey—stepping into the national roles of Alpha and Alpha Youth—and share what they’re seeing across the Australian Church with contagious faith and clarity. From handing over the baton with grace, to championing innovation in evangelism and next-gen ministry, Ben and Emily speak with authenticity, wisdom, and a deep passion for the gospel. Their reflections on the power of partnership, the hunger for Jesus in young people, and the emerging signs of renewal across denominations will leave you inspired. They also explore what it takes to grow a culture of trust, multiply leadership, and move from good intentions to real gospel impact. If you’re longing for fresh momentum in your church, and wondering what the Spirit might be doing across Australia—you’ll want to lean into this conversation.
In this powerful and refreshingly grounded conversation, Josh and Berlinda O’Callaghan (Lifehouse Church, Murray Bridge) share their journey of raising up young leaders, sending them out to plant churches, and embracing the rhythms of loss and renewal that come with multiplication. From shrinking youth ministries to church planters rising from the ranks, they unpack what it really means to invest deeply, live incarnationally, and cultivate kingdom-minded leadership in a regional context.Together we explore how planting churches in country towns isn’t a step down, but often the most catalytic move a church can make. With honesty, hope, and hard-won wisdom, Josh and Bel call us to a slower, more relational, Spirit-empowered vision for multiplying leaders and churches—where discipleship looks like training, not just trying, and where every “goodbye” makes room for another “yes” to the mission.Whether you’re leading in the suburbs, the city, or the country, this episode will stir your faith for what’s possible when we see people as Jesus does—and dare to send them.
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Observed September 18, 2026. Cached outside the daily freshness window; the positions keep the date they were taken on.
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