In this episode, the guys sit down with Dr. Charles Simmons Jr., Pastor of Connect Church (a current church plant) in Little Rock! He goes over his church's strategy in beginning to open back up, and how they decided to go forward with their summer activities like VBS. 

They talk about dealing with and preparing your budget, being flexible with your schedule, and preparing your people. They also say it’s okay to use last year’s curriculum for your outreach - the message of the Gospel is always the same no matter what year it is. 

Give it a listen and be sure to like/subscribe and rate us if you like what you heard!

To watch the video show, click here. 

In this episode, Neal and Chanson sit down with Basil Joiner via zoom to talk about self-care for pastors. Joiner has been a Behavioral Health Specialist for 20-years. He’s also the pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church in Bay, Arkansas. He works closely with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, not only as a pastor and church but also with the Church Planting team helping to screen and assess Church Planters through their church planting journey.

They talk about what pastors have been wrestling with during this pandemic, and how they’ve dealt with it. Joiner talks about the stigma surrounding mental health and urban churches and the ways fellow pastors can deal with these issues within themselves. Taking care of yourself, as a pastor, is just as important as taking care of your congregation.

To watch the video podcast, click here. 

Book Recommendations: 

Draw The Circle - Mark Batterson

Pastor as Counselor: Wise Presence, Sacred Conversation - John Patton

The Soulful Life: Soulfulness from Birth to Death - Ron McDonald

The Courage to Be - Paul Tilich 

African American Pastoral Counseling - Ed Wimberly 

Welcome to The Bridge, an urban church planting podcast, brought to you by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC)! 

You might recognize these voices as Neal Scoggins and Chanson Newborn from The Grind, a former podcast, are the hosts for this show. Neal is an evangelism strategist on the Church Health team at the ABSC. Chanson is a church planting strategist on the Church Planting team at the ABSC. These guys have years of church planting experience behind them, and together they bring stories of do's and don'ts as well as tips and tricks on what to do and how to do it. 

In this episode, they share a few stories and provide ideas that you can use in your own ministry and journey to keep your congregation engaged during the summer. 

To watch the video version of this show, click here.  

If you have your own story to share, a question you want to be answered, or anything else, feel free to shoot us an email at TheBridge@absc.org.