The Saturate Podcast

As the culture grows more secular and people are less open to the gospel, many struggle to effectively make disciples of Jesus. Victoria, British Columbia, with its affluence and religious skepticism, represents the epitome of this challenge. And yet, thirteen years ago Chris and Kellee Synesael effectively planted a church of missional communities that are finding ways to engage their context and make disciples. Listen in as Jeff Vanderstelt interacts with Chris around their story. Chris provides some very helpful insights that can be applied to any context.

What do ice cream and disciple-making have in common? Marc and Alissa Zera. Marc left Wall Street and moved to Charleston, SC to start a craft ice cream shop. They weren’t following Jesus back then, however, Jesus had bigger plans for their lives and business. Marc shares how Jesus stepped into their brokenness and is now redeeming their marriage and business to write a far better story. Are you wondering if Jesus might want to redeem your story for His glory? This story will inspire you to dream with God about the story He wants to write with your life.

Have you ever wondered if everyday people could see God do extraordinary things by just being willing and ready for God to work in and through them? Maybe you’ve wanted this to be your story. Matt Roark is an everyday, normal guy through whom God has done some remarkable work. He has seen miracles and abundant provision from God to care for the poor, the weak, the lonely and the lost in his city. And it started with him just answering God’s call to trust in how God would lead and provide. Listen to his story and be inspired and encouraged to consider how God might want to do something similar in and through your life as well.

Have you ever wondered how you would go about starting a new church in a hard to reach place? Maybe you find yourself in your present location wondering how to more effectively plant the gospel. Steve Leston, president of To Every Tribe, has devoted his life to training teams to go to some of the hardest places on the planet to establish new followers of Jesus and new expression of His Church. In this episode, Steve and Jeff Vanderstelt discuss eight phases of pioneer church planting that are not only applicable in the hardest to reach places, but also where you live, work, learn, and play. Listen in and capture a vision for how you can engage in these eight phases in your own context.

Would you like to see your church intentionally engaged in a process to train and send leaders to start new churches? Are you personally interested in starting a new church? David Thew, along with other leaders from Summit Crossing Community Church in Huntsville, Alabama, have been intentionally engaged in identifying, assessing, training, and sending leaders to start new churches for a while now. Join us as David shares their story and some of the key principles that have led to many disciple-making churches started in the South.

Have you ever wondered if your everyday life of going to work and living in your neighborhood matters? What if the work you do everyday is actually the space where Jesus had always intended to build His Church? This isn’t a new idea. It’s the story of the early Church. And it’s the story of Jesus’ people in places like Alton, Illinois. In this episode, Hugh Halter shares his story of moving to Alton to serve a city in need, and discovering a way of being the church and seeing a city within a city grow. Listen in and imagine how you also can be part of a similar work where you live, work, learn, and play.

What if every man, woman and child in your region had regular opportunities to meet Jesus? What if every follower of Jesus were envisioned and equipped to be the means by which Jesus accomplishes that vision? In this episode, Jeff Vanderstelt lays out a biblical vision for gospel saturation and clarifies the elements necessary to see it realized where you live, work, learn, and play. Listen in and you will be inspired and encouraged to step into the role Jesus has for you to play in His mission.

Have you ever wondered why so much of our experience in discipleship and mission seems to lack the power of the Spirit? Have you read the accounts of Jesus’ ministry and the early Church and wondered why we don’t see the same supernatural works that seem very normative for the early followers of Jesus? Alex and Hannah Absalom are a wonderful gift to the church. They have given their lives to equipping everyday people to live naturally supernatural lives. During this episode, they share stories and principles on how to live supernaturally empowered lives in normal, everyday ways. You will be encouraged and equipped to step out into the work Jesus has had in store for you all along. To connect more with Alex and Hannah Absalom: https://www.dandelionresourcing.com/ https://www.naturallysupernaturalcourse.com/

How do we address the struggles of leading in a post-pandemic context? Consider how challenging this has become in an urban context. Dhati Lewis, founder and director of MyBLVD ministries and founding pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta is serving leaders in the urban context as they navigate these present challenges. In this episode he shares how he and others help leaders pursue personal health and relational reconciliation. He provides some very helpful principles that will serve you as you consider leading in your context.

Have you noticed how your journey of prayer has changed as the seasons of your life have changed? Jeff Vanderstelt shares some of his personal journey of growing in prayer through five different seasons in his own life…seasons of learning, discovery, remembrance, suffering, and healing. Listen in for your own encouragement and growth in prayer.

Have you ever wondered how to move from prayer as ritual to prayer as relational? Jayne Vanderstelt has a very fluid, highly relational, life-giving prayer life. She shares her heart very openly with God and regularly hears from God. In this episode, Jayne describes her relational journey with God and how this shapes her prayer life. Her words will encourage and inspire you in your own prayer journey.

How do we navigate seasons of winter surrounded by darkness and longing? Lent invites us to step into the wilderness space in order to develop a hunger for the promise of resurrection life. Michael Sullivan shares with Jeff Vanderstelt how the practices of fasting and prayer, silence and solitude help us to be more fully human, practicing an embodied faith in the presence of God. This episode will encourage and inspire you to move beyond moments of prayer toward a life of prayer for every season.

Have you found that you hold to beliefs that you struggle to put into practice leading to what feels like empty religion? Aaron Niequist, author of The Eternal Current, encourages us to shift from only spoken beliefs to transforming practices. In this episode, Aaron shares with Jeff Vanderstelt some practical ways we can practice transforming prayer. If you are looking for some simple, practical ways to grow in your practice of prayer, this episode will help.

Have you ever wondered what might happen if a bunch of churches decided to collaborate their resources, collective gifts, and people toward planting many churches together? The churches in Buffalo, New York have been doing this for many years and have witnessed discernible change in the overall region as a result. Jerry Gillis joins Jeff Vanderstelt on this episode to share this inspiring story. This story will encourage and inform how you and others might work together to see a similar impact in your context.

Raising a family in our present context is no easy task. Leading them to become missionary disciples of Jesus might feel impossible. Hugh Halter talks with Jeff Vanderstelt and shares about his new book which tells the story of how their family has together made the mission of God their family story. If you would like to rethink and discover how to be a family on mission together in everyday life, this episode is for you.