The One Thing

You can usually tell what’s going on in a pastor’s ministry by what’s on their bedside table. Not the books they recommend, but the ones they are actually reading, half-reading, or quietly avoiding.Rory Shiner opens up his own reading habits and presses the question most of us avoid: are we still being shaped, or just repeating what we learned years ago?Are we still the kind of people who are learning, so that when we open the Bible we are not simply repeating ourselves, but speaking with fresh clarity shaped by a life still being formed by God’s word?In this episode:What your current reading habits reveal about your ministryWhy finishing books is often the wrong goalThe kind of reading that actually feeds preaching over timeWhy reading ahead matters more than scrambling each weekWhat poetry, fiction, and biography give you that ministry books cannotHow shallow reading shapes shallow instincts in people workWhy curiosity fades in ministry and why it is worth protectingToolbox:Biblical Critical Theory by Christopher WatkinCollected Poems by Les MurrayPoems Chosen by Paul KellyThe Discarded Image by C. S. LewisOne Forever by Rory ShinerForgiven Forever by Rory ShinerRaised Forever by Rory ShinerThe World Next Door by Rory ShinerCredits: This episode was brought to you by Lending Hands Mortgage Brokers The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

Church planting is often treated as something only large churches can do. The latest Growth and Change report suggests otherwise. Across the Reach Australia network, smaller churches and unlikely partnerships are launching new congregations and reaching people who were never going to walk into an existing church.This episode explores what last year’s church plants are teaching the rest of us. If most Australians still don’t know Jesus, the question isn’t whether churches feel ready to plant, but whether we are organising our ministry to reach the 95% who aren’t in church.In this episode: Why new churches continue to reach new peopleThe rise of partnerships between churches to plant togetherHow smaller churches are multiplying through intentional leadership pipelinesThe tension between filling staff roles and sending church plantersPractical first steps for churches wanting to move toward church plantingToolbox:Reach Australia’s Full Online Resources LibraryGrowth and Change Report 2025Church Planting PodcastMultiplicationPartner financially with Reach AustraliaCredits: This episode was brought to you by Exdia The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

When was the last time we preached on generosity — and it wasn’t because the budget was tight?Money is one of the clearest windows into our trust, our fears, and our worship. Yet many of us only speak about it at the AGM or when pressure rises. In this episode, we reflect on generosity not as fundraising, but as discipleship.We talk about:Why giving flows from the grace of the gospel, not guiltHow to build a culture where generosity is normal and joyfulThe risk of only addressing money in crisis momentsHow leaders can model generosity with integrityPractical steps to start shaping generous hearts this monthToolbox:Jehovah Jireh My Provider Song Giving Generously by Rod IrvineNeither Poverty Nor Riches (New Studies in Biblical Theology Series) by Craig L BlombergRich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. KiyosakiGospel Patrons websiteThe Journey of Generosity storiesPartner financially with Reach AustraliaCredits: This episode was brought to you by Safe Ministry CheckThe One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

What do you do when ministry starts to feel heavy and you cannot quite name why?Burnout is not always dramatic. Often it is a slow disconnect between your gospel convictions and your emotional capacity. In this episode, we explore why that drift happens and how coaching can provide a space to work through it.We talk about:What burnout actually looks like in ministryWhy leaders often isolate themselves when they most need supportThe difference between coaching, mentoring, supervision, and counsellingHow good questions can uncover what is really going on beneath the surfaceWhy leading yourself well is part of faithful gospel ministryToolbox: Zeal without Burnout by Christopher AshReach Australia’s CoachingCredits: This episode was brought to you by Lending Hands Mortgage BrokersThe One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

Morning tea after church can feel like a simple roster: bring a slice, pour the coffee, pack up and head home. But that space after the service is where newcomers decide if they’ll come back, where spiritual conversations begin, and where people take real steps toward Jesus. When we treat it as part of disciple-making, not just hospitality, it changes how we plan it, place it, and lead it.In this episode, we talk about how to move morning tea from obligation to opportunity, so that more people are known, prayed for, and helped to follow Christ.Toolbox: People are the Mission by Danny FranksCredits: This episode was brought to you by Reach Australia National ConferenceThe One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

Over the last few years, churches have become very good at welcoming systems - name tags, check-in flows, connection cards, follow-up processes.But here’s the uncomfortable question: Have we become organised… but not warm?Today we’re talking about welcoming teams, and why relationships - not numbers - must be the hero.Scott Sanders sits down with Amber Edmonds (MBM Parramatta) to talk about follow-up - thinking deeply about how churches welcome people as individuals, not projects - and how training, theology, and culture shape that welcome across the whole church.Toolbox:⁠Secret Shopper Evaluation⁠ - Reach Australia⁠People Are the Mission⁠: How Churches Can Welcome Guests Without Compromising the Gospel - Danny Franks⁠Welcoming In Action⁠ - Video Episode with Kellyville AnglicanCredits:This episode was brought to you by ⁠Safe Ministry Check⁠ The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

The foundations you have for follow up at church matter more than you think - how do we move people from a welcome, to a relationship?Derek Hanna sits down with Dan Gorton (Cross & Crown Gold Coast) to talk about follow-up - not as admin, not as a system, but as love, names & relationships. As churches fill with visitors at the start of the year, this episode asks a deeper question: what does it look like to move from welcome to relationship?They explore why follow-up matters theologically, why timing shapes perception, how tone communicates care (or kills it), and who should actually own the process. Because people don’t remember polished systems - they remember whether someone genuinely cared.Follow-up isn’t about finishing a task. It’s about beginning shepherding.Toolbox:Welcoming In Action - Video Episode with Kellyville AnglicanGospel Growth and Christian Community Ebook by Tim ClemensBecoming a Welcoming Church by Thom RainerCredits:This episode was brought to you by Safe Ministry Check The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

There might be someone in your Bible study who keeps asking uncomfortable questions about church.- Why aren’t more people being reached?- Why do we keep doing church this way?And you might be tempted to shut them down.In this episode, Scott Sanders and Derek Hanna talk about the early signs of future church planters — including a holy dissatisfaction with church as usual and a deep conviction that the gospel should be reaching more people than it is.They’re often the ones who unsettle leaders, question systems, and refuse to be satisfied with maintenance ministry.They might be mistaken as difficult.They might be future planters.A sharp listen for pastors and leaders who want to discern the difference — for the sake of more people hearing about Jesus.Toolbox: Church Planter Questionnaire Serving Others EbookCredits: This episode was brought to you by Reach Australia National ConferenceThe One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

The first meeting of the year does more than set rosters. It shapes how a team understands why they serve.Scott Sanders and Derek Hanna walk through what to do when a volunteer team gathers for the first time: reconnect people, set the church’s gospel direction in front of them again, and show how this team helps that happen.They also cover what not to do. A practical listen for anyone leading volunteer teams or kicking off a staff year, so we start together around the gospel.Toolbox: Ep 387 How to Run a Meeting Credits: This episode was brought to you by Lending Hands Mortgage Brokers The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

Rallies feel outdated to some, but Dave Jensen thinks the problem was never the rally itself. With Gen Z more open than expected, he’s convinced large, clear gospel events might be overdue for a rethink.Why rallies may be working again, and why bad execution killed them last timeTargeting people closest to belief, not starting with the hardest casesHow the Alive rallies are structured, music, preaching, response, follow-upThe role of local churches before and after the eventWhat preparation actually matters if you want conversions, not just crowdsToolbox:Alive Movement Connections:⁠Made Alive Website⁠⁠Alive Movement Youtube Channel⁠⁠Alivemvment Instagram⁠⁠Fire Up! Podcast⁠Recommended Books:⁠Mission ebook ⁠by Dave Jensen⁠Discover⁠ by Dave Jensen ⁠What is a Christian?⁠ By Dave JensenCredits:This episode was brought to you by ⁠Safe Ministry Check⁠The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library