The Small Church Ministry Podcast
The only podcast created for volunteers and everyday leaders in smaller congregations, this show embraces small church ministry as a place where God is already at work. Founder of Small Church Ministry and the Small Church Network, Laurie Graham Ertl shares why small churches matter—not as a scaled-down version of something bigger, but as powerful communities with their own unique strengths. Each episode offers creative solutions to real challenges with a mix of honest encouragement, leadership skills, and actionable next steps.
Laurie hosts the show with a perspective shaped by decades in ministry on every side of small church life—as a volunteer, staff leader, and pastor’s spouse. She knows both the pressure and the beauty of small churches firsthand, and brings steady encouragement, practical wisdom, and deep care for both volunteers and ministry leaders.
Episodes
235 episodes
235: We've Expected Too Much from Pastors - and Underestimated Everyone Else
I've been told more than once that the real leverage point in a church is the pastor. Get the pastor healthy, and everything else will follow. I don't buy it. In this episode, we're talking about why pastors matter, why ordinary peo...
234: Great Volunteers Need More Than Spiritual Gifts
Great volunteers aren't just gifted. They keep growing. In this episode, we're talking about why practical ministry skills matter more than many churches realize and how growing yourself may be one of the greatest gifts you can give...
233: "I'm Just a Volunteer" Might Feel Safer. But It's a Myth.
"I'm just a volunteer."That one phrase - one we've all heard and many of us have said - reveals a bigger problem than we realize. In this episode, we're talking about what happens when churches concentrate growth, development...
232: The Most Influential People in Your Church Might Not Be the Pastor
We spend a lot of time talking about pastors, church leaders, and people with titles. But what if I told you some of the most influential people in your church will never stand on a stage, lead a meeting, or sit on a board? In this ...
231: Why “Take a Break” & “Just Say No” Aren’t Fixing Ministry Burnout
Burnout recovery goes deeper than just taking a break. In this episode, we’re talking about why surface-level burnout advice often isn’t enough, the deeper patterns underneath emotional exhaustion, and why so many people in ministry...
230: You Can’t Help Everyone (And It’s Exhausting)
A lot of people in ministry feel like they’re constantly choosing who to disappoint. The church needs something. The team needs something. People want access to you. Your family needs you too. And eventually, it starts feeling impos...
229: Ministry Burnout Is Real (But It’s Not Inevitable)
Burnout is real … but a lot of the time, we’re not as stuck as we think we are. We say we’re overwhelmed, but we’re still saying yes, still filling gaps, still stepping in “just this once.” At some point, we have to get honest about...
228: How to Get People to Step Up at Church (Without Asking for Volunteers)
At some point, we have to admit that recruiting isn’t fixing our volunteer problem. We keep planning … and then trying to get people to care about it afterward. And that’s where things break down.But what if the real shift happens be...
227: Why People Stop Volunteering at Church (And How To Fix It)
Most people don’t say no to serving - they say no to how it feels. And often, that feeling comes from how ministry is built in the first place. When a few key shifts happen, things become more relational, more sustainable, and somet...
226: Why You’re Struggling to Get Church Volunteers (It’s Not What You Think)
Most churches assume they have a numbers problem. They’re trying to get more volunteers, when what really needs attention is the experience people walk into. It’s rarely a recruiting problem. It’s a culture issue that started long b...
225: 4 Simple Intergenerational Ideas to Stay Connected This Summer
When everything gets inconsistent, connection matters more - not more programming. Summer might actually be the easiest time to bring people together in simpler, more natural ways. Not perfect, not polished. Just real moments across...
224: Maybe Sports Aren’t the Enemy (And Neither Are Vacations)
Every summer, we quietly start competing—with travel, sports, family time—and it gets exhausting. But what if the problem isn’t where people are going … It’s how we’re responding to it? People having full, busy lives isn’t a threat ...
223: What If Summer Is Exactly What Your Ministry Needs
What if the thing we keep trying to push through… is actually the thing we need? Summer changes the rhythm of everything - attendance, energy, schedules - and instead of fighting it, we might be invited to work with it. ...
222: Mistake #7: Not Giving Them an Easy Way to Quit | Church Volunteer Series
We close Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making with one of the most uncomfortable conversations of all — quitting. When there’s no clear exit, service slowly turns into obligation. In this epis...
221: Mistake #6: Recruiting (Yep, Just Stop It) | Church Volunteer Series
In Mistake #6 of Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making, we rethink recruitment altogether. Instead of building programs and then scrambling to fill roles, what if our people shaped our ministry? <...
220: Mistake #5: Planning First, Asking for Help Second | Church Volunteer Series
This episode in Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making looks at how we unintentionally sideline volunteers before they even begin. We’ve been taught in leadership to make plans first and ask for...
219: Mistake #4: Requiring Them to Come to Meetings | Church Volunteer Series
In Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making, we’re talking about meetings - and how they often do more harm than good. We say we value people’s time, but when we gather by default instead of by ne...
218: Mistake #3: Treating Volunteers Like They’re Volunteers | Church Volunteer Series
In this episode of Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making, we talk about something subtle but powerful: the way our language and posture shape culture. When we treat people like “just volunteers...
217: Mistake #2: Making Their Jobs Easier For Them | Church Volunteer Series
In Stop Doing This to Volunteers: Top Mistakes Our Churches Are Making, this episode looks at a mistake that feels kind - but ends up weakening people and teams over time. When we over-simplify roles in the name of “helping...
216: Mistake #1: Not Asking Them What They’d Rather Be Doing | Church Volunteer Series
This episode kicks off our Stop Doing This to Volunteers series by naming a simple but overlooked leadership habit: never revisiting where someone serves once they’ve said yes. We talk about the fear that keeps churches fro...
215: The Digital Ministry Your Small Church Is Already Doing (And How to Do It Better) | with Leslie Kons
Your small church already has a digital ministry - whether you’ve planned for it or not. Through your website, social media, and emails, you’re constantly communicating who you are and what people can expect, sometimes clearly and sometimes uni...
214: Outside the Bubble: Why Our Outreach Isn’t Working & What We’ve Been Missing
We’re sharing something special this week. Right after our Women’s Ministry for Small Churches Conference, we’re bringing you the opening mainstage session - a conversation that pushes back on the pressure-filled, program-heavy version of outre...
213: The Church Women Who Shape Our Faith (Without Ever Holding a Title) | with Traci Mason
So much of what forms our faith doesn’t happen in programs, events, or official roles. It happens through real women who show up, listen, love, and stay. In this episode, Traci Mason and I share personal stories of women in our chur...
212: What Women Really Need (And Why Church Programs Keep Missing It) | with Jessica Francavilla
So much women’s ministry is built on calendars, themes, and events - and yet many women still feel unseen, overwhelmed, or disconnected. In this episode, Jessica Francavilla and I talk about what it looks like to actually discern wh...
211: What Actually Works in Ministry With Women | with Abigail Doust
After decades of ministry in small churches — including years as a pastor’s wife — Abigail Doust has learned what truly serves women and what quietly pushes them away. In this episode, we talk honestly about moving beyond stereotype...