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....

Making Disciples in Victoria, British Columbia

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...

Ice Cream & Disciple-Making

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....

We Love Kent

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.

8 Phases of Pioneer Church Planting

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...

Working Together to Start New Churches

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?

Brave Cities

Have you ever wondered why so muWhat 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?

A Vision for Gospel Saturation

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?

Naturally Supernatural Discipleship

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.

Challenges of Leading in an Urban 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.

30 Years of Growing in Prayer

Saturate is committed to seeing a gospel movement happen in North America and beyond in which every man, woman, and child have a daily encounter with Jesus in word and deed. This podcast is an ongoing conversation with disciples, leaders, and experts growing in the gospel and growing in living the implications of the gospel in community and on mission.

Great inspiration for a church planter like me. Thanks guys.

Great podcast!!

Love the content. Good brass tacks approach to community on mission. Keep it coming!

Missional, urban, relevant

The Saturate Podcast

How does the king come? We know He comes to change the world. We know He was born into our world. But how does Jesus come? What is the manner, the posture, the practice of Jesus’ incarnation? Returning to Mark’s description of Jesus’ arrival in Mark 1, right after the description that “Jesus came into Galilee”, we hear He came “proclaiming the gospel of God.”To the collective of humanity, He comes proclaiming the gospel of God. Jesus doesn’t just come, He comes speaking. He comes announcing. In fact, the meaning of this word proclaiming gives the sense that this is what He was saying over and over again. This is His “stump speech” on the trail of global reconciliation. It’s the topic at every meal. It’s in His casual conversations, Mark writes that Jesus continued to talk about the gospel of God. What is that? The word gospel simply means important, heralded news. Perhaps most commonly used as the message shared by messengers (or evangelists) coming from the battlefield to update the villages and towns within the kingdom: “The king has won and defeated the enemy! All is well and the war is over and we can enter peace.” A gospel is a newsworthy historical event that must be and is shared. Not only is it “breaking news”, it’s news that changes the lives of the people the news is intended for, whether they hear it or not. If you missed the announcement in the city square, the realities of the announcement still affected you.Throughout history, there were many gospel proclamations of empire expansion. Each time, the news required a response and brings a change of life, worldview, and reality. But Jesus doesn’t come proclaiming the gospel of Caesar or Alexander the Great. He comes proclaiming a gospel of God. Here He isn’t the messenger that speaks on behalf of a higher power and a distant war. He’s not just speaking on behalf of God, as priests and prophets do, He’s announcing the arrival of God’s victory that transforms the reality of the community He’s entering into. Jesus is proclaiming the news that God has come to us to defeat the kingdoms of sin, death, and evil and bring about his kingdom of grace, resurrection, and justice.  This is important: Jesus is not making a promise, He’s making an announcement with ramifications for everyone. This announcement proclaims God’s character, timing, and His coming to us. It’s good news for us, but it’s about God.The gospel of God declares His glory, fame, love, and actions taken through His character and power. The gospel is not about humanity, our sin, evil, or death. It’s about God and His unrelenting and just love. The contents: “The is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.”The Time is FulfilledThe first phrase of the good news about God, in Jesus’ ongoing proclaiming is this: the story has reached its climax. It’s not get ready, it’s not wait and see because it’s here. All human history has been leading to this point. Every prophecy. Every longing heart. Every promise. The time is now. Jesus didn’t just arrive to teach us how to leave. He didn’t come explaining the power of love. Jesus’ arrival is the beginning of the renewal and redemption of all things.The Kingdom of God is at HandThe kingdom of God has arrived. The kingdom of God is where God’s rule and reign is uncontested. The kingdom of God is where every wrong thing becomes right. The Bible describes, in its opening lines, a world created by God, with God, for God, and for a thriving humanity enjoying the fruit of an incredible creator who knows His creation and His creation knows Him. All of this is to God’s fame and glory. Humans were in love with one another, given purpose, fulfillment, and deep community with one another in addition to unity with God. The cry for rescue is inconceivable in the opening pages of the Bible. But then, everything spirals out of control and from chapter three onward humanity collectively cries out for rescue,

How does the king come? We know He comes to change the world. We know He was born into our world. But how does Jesus come? What is the manner, the posture, the practice of Jesus’ incarnation? Returning to Mark’s description of Jesus’ arrival in Mark 1, right after the description that “Jesus came into Galilee”, we hear He came “proclaiming the gospel of God.” To the collective of humanity, He comes proclaiming the gospel of God. Jesus doesn’t just come, He comes speaking. He comes announcing. In fact, the meaning of this word proclaiming gives the sense that this is what He was saying over and over again. This is His “stump speech” on the trail of global reconciliation. It’s the topic at every meal. It’s in His casual conversations, Mark writes that Jesus continued to talk about the gospel of God. What is that? The word gospel simply means important, heralded news. Perhaps most commonly used as the message shared by messengers (or evangelists) coming from the battlefield to update the villages and towns within the kingdom: “The king has won and defeated the enemy! All is well and the war is over and we can enter peace.” A gospel is a newsworthy historical event that must be and is shared. Not only is it “breaking news”, it’s news that changes the lives of the people the news is intended for, whether they hear it or not. If you missed the announcement in the city square, the realities of the announcement still affected you. Throughout history, there were many gospel proclamations of empire expansion. Each time, the news required a response and brings a change of life, worldview, and reality. But Jesus doesn’t come proclaiming the gospel of Caesar or Alexander the Great. He comes proclaiming a gospel of God. Here He isn’t the messenger that speaks on behalf of a higher power and a distant war. He’s not just speaking on behalf of God, as priests and prophets do, He’s announcing the arrival of God’s victory that transforms the reality of the community He’s entering into. Jesus is proclaiming the news that God has come to us to defeat the kingdoms of sin, death, and evil and bring about his kingdom of grace, resurrection, and justice.   This is important: Jesus is not making a promise, He’s making an announcement with ramifications for everyone. This announcement proclaims God’s character, timing, and His coming to us. It’s good news for us, but it’s about God. The gospel of God declares His glory, fame, love, and actions taken through His character and power. The gospel is not about humanity, our sin, evil, or death. It’s about God and His unrelenting and just love. The contents: “The is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.” The Time is Fulfilled The first phrase of the good news about God, in Jesus’ ongoing proclaiming is this: the story has reached its climax. It’s not get ready, it’s not wait and see because it’s here. All human history has been leading to this point. Every prophecy. Every longing heart. Every promise. The time is now. Jesus didn’t just arrive to teach us how to leave. He didn’t come explaining the power of love. Jesus’ arrival is the beginning of the renewal and redemption of all things. The Kingdom of God is at Hand The kingdom of God has arrived. The kingdom of God is where God’s rule and reign is uncontested. The kingdom of God is where every wrong thing becomes right. The Bible describes, in its opening lines, a world created by God, with God, for God, and for a thriving humanity enjoying the fruit of an incredible creator who knows His creation and His creation knows Him. All of this is to God’s fame and glory. Humans were in love with one another, given purpose, fulfillment, and deep community with one another in addition to unity with God. The cry for rescue is inconceivable in the opening pages of the Bible. But then, everything spirals out of control and from chapter three onward humanity collectively cries out for rescue,

How the Long Expected Jesus Came

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson, Jared Pickney, and Adam Breckenridge talk with pastoral counselor and spiritual director, Richard Plass about the underlying and bedrock of missional community experience: relationships. While we could talk about techniques to create space for relationship and we can cast vision for the identity of the Church as family, one thing can’t be ignored: we are deeply relationally wounded and inept.

Episode 065: The Relational Soul of Community

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson shares the audio of Jeff Vanderstelt teaching on Gospel Fluency at an event in Los Angeles, California.

Episode 29: Speaking the Truths of Jesus in Life, Part 1

Jeff Schulte

In this episode, Brad Watson and Duke Revard talk with Jeff Schulte, of Tin Man Ministries, about leadership health and the codependency that exists in humans. Recorded in front of a live audience at the Soma Family Retreat, this conversation dives into parts of Brad's story, boundaries, and the way of pursuing health.

Episode 94: Leading with Health a Conversation with Jeff Schulte

In this episode of The Saturate Podcast, Jeff Vanderstelt talks about the necessary elements for forming and leading a missional community.

Episode 012: How To Form Missional Communities

LEAD

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Abe Mysenberg teaches on the what this sub-structure of Missional Community life is all about and how to lead DNA Groups.

Episode 041: What DNA Groups Are And How to Lead Them

In this episode of The Saturate Podcast, Jeff Vanderstelt is joined by a panel of pastors, planters, and missional community leaders...

Episode 015: Frequently Asked Questions

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson talks with Jared Pickney and Adam Breckenridge of Fellowship Paragould about how they are implementing DNA groups within their missional communities. They talk about why, the structure, leadership, and what a DNA group meeting looks like. They also revisit their conversation about the enneagram from Episode 11.

Episode 054: Diving Deep into DNA Groups

Tim Mackie

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad and Jared talk with Tim Mackie of The Bible Project, about the power, importance, and difficulty of engaging the Bible in community. Make sure you check out The Bible Projects video: The Public Reading of Scripture and Saturate's resource Story of God.

Episode 042: The Importance of the Bible in Community with Tim Mackie

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad and Mirela Watson talk about living with intentionality around the rhythm of listening. Why does listening to others make such a big difference? What does that look like? How can you grow as a listener? They also talk about this resource, 10 Questions to Help You Listen to Others.

Episode 073: Everyday Intentionality: Listen

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad and Mirela Watson talk about living life with gospel intentionality and why it is hard to think of others as a way of life and how to practically make blessing others an everyday rhythm.

Episode 072: Everyday Intentionality: Bless

Growing up, my family spent each night of the holidays sitting beneath the glow of the Christmas tree and watching Christmas movies. We watched the original Miracle on 34th Street and the “new” Miracle on 34th Street (which I now realize is 20 years old). We watched the trilogy of The Santa Claus. We watched multiple versions of the Christmas Carol and romantic comedies that vaguely take place during Christmas like While You Were Sleeping. Each movie ends with lovely similarities: kissing, comfort, warm homes, snow, and singing. They end with Christmas as it was meant to be. This, we might imagine, is peace on earth! Shalom! As we’ve examined earlier, that’s what the angels sang to us “Peace on Earth”, but Jesus also makes some rather confusing claims about how He came. In fact, He says very blatantly in Matthew 10:34-36, “Don’t think I came to bring peace on earth! I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”On first blush, you might notice a few things. One, if Jesus came to get sons and fathers and mothers and daughters and in-laws to be against each other, mission accomplished! Two, Jesus is divisive. His kingdom doesn’t come with perfect snow and hugs gathered around the Christmas tree. The sword of Jesus’ life and existence puts a wedge in the world. But Jesus doesn’t stop at that quote. He goes on to say this:“Whoever loves his father and mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”Family isn’t everything. Your parents and your children are not everything. In fact, they aren’t worthy of your devotion. Jesus will not allow you to put your hope in your parent’s approval. He will not stomach your worship of children, their success, or their presence. He will not settle for a Christmas card. He demands full devotion. He demands you consider what God thinks of you. He is either the greatest gift you could ever receive or He’s not with you. Either you give everything you have and make all consideration for His will, purpose, and kingdom, or you haven’t really seen it yet. But that’s still not the end of the quote. Jesus goes on:“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” You must lose your life. You must do the calculus and the cost-benefit analysis with regards to your soul, personality, story, gifts, resources, time, energy, family, and money. Is Jesus worthy of your life? In our church, Soma Los Angeles, we often talk about our gospel identity. That we’re transformed by the gospel and given a new identity in Christ. What Jesus is describing here is: will you give up your identity as a mother, fathers, daughter, son to make way for your new identity in the gospel, my son, my servant, my ambassador? Will you surrender your self-made identity around your job, accomplishments, nuclear family, political party, causes, and schedule to make way for an identity marked by the cross of Jesus? Jesus doesn’t come to bring a false peace where we continue to worship our family’s view of our lives. Jesus came to restore you to the one love, one hope, one Lord. The arrival of Jesus’ peace carries a choice: Is He worthy of everything, or is He worthy of nothing? Is Jesus King over everything, or is He King over nothing?The Call to Submit All to His Reign!After Jesus rose from the dead, He gathered His disciples together before He ascended into heaven. He makes this declaration in Matthew 28: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Growing up, my family spent each night of the holidays sitting beneath the glow of the Christmas tree and watching Christmas movies. We watched the original Miracle on 34th Street and the “new” Miracle on 34th Street (which I now realize is 20 years old). We watched the trilogy of The Santa Claus. We watched multiple versions of the Christmas Carol and romantic comedies that vaguely take place during Christmas like While You Were Sleeping. Each movie ends with lovely similarities: kissing, comfort, warm homes, snow, and singing. They end with Christmas as it was meant to be. This, we might imagine, is peace on earth! Shalom! As we’ve examined earlier, that’s what the angels sang to us “Peace on Earth”, but Jesus also makes some rather confusing claims about how He came. In fact, He says very blatantly in Matthew 10:34-36, “Don’t think I came to bring peace on earth! I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” On first blush, you might notice a few things. One, if Jesus came to get sons and fathers and mothers and daughters and in-laws to be against each other, mission accomplished! Two, Jesus is divisive. His kingdom doesn’t come with perfect snow and hugs gathered around the Christmas tree. The sword of Jesus’ life and existence puts a wedge in the world. But Jesus doesn’t stop at that quote. He goes on to say this: “Whoever loves his father and mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Family isn’t everything. Your parents and your children are not everything. In fact, they aren’t worthy of your devotion. Jesus will not allow you to put your hope in your parent’s approval. He will not stomach your worship of children, their success, or their presence. He will not settle for a Christmas card. He demands full devotion. He demands you consider what God thinks of you. He is either the greatest gift you could ever receive or He’s not with you. Either you give everything you have and make all consideration for His will, purpose, and kingdom, or you haven’t really seen it yet. But that’s still not the end of the quote. Jesus goes on: “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” You must lose your life. You must do the calculus and the cost-benefit analysis with regards to your soul, personality, story, gifts, resources, time, energy, family, and money. Is Jesus worthy of your life? In our church, Soma Los Angeles, we often talk about our gospel identity. That we’re transformed by the gospel and given a new identity in Christ. What Jesus is describing here is: will you give up your identity as a mother, fathers, daughter, son to make way for your new identity in the gospel, my son, my servant, my ambassador? Will you surrender your self-made identity around your job, accomplishments, nuclear family, political party, causes, and schedule to make way for an identity marked by the cross of Jesus? Jesus doesn’t come to bring a false peace where we continue to worship our family’s view of our lives. Jesus came to restore you to the one love, one hope, one Lord. The arrival of Jesus’ peace carries a choice: Is He worthy of everything, or is He worthy of nothing? Is Jesus King over everything, or is He King over nothing? The Call to Submit All to His Reign! After Jesus rose from the dead, He gathered His disciples together before He ascended into heaven. He makes this declaration in Matthew 28: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

The Kingdom that Divides

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson introduces our newest series on daily gospel rhythms. He talks about the importance of the truth of the gospel and our identity and then outlines how the gospel connects to everyday life as a foundation for this series.

Episode 071: Intentional Rhythms of Life

In this episode of The Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson and Jared Pickney discuss how the gospel motivates them for living a life in community and on mission. They also discuss ways to remind ourselves of the gospel daily and pitfalls of finding their motivation, identity, and mission outside the gospel.

Episode 021: How Does the Gospel Motivate Us?

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson and Jeff Vanderstelt talk about the tension many believers face: they want to see the way they're being discipled and discipling others transformed into what they see in the Bible (or read in Saturate). They're convicted. They're bought in. But, it's hard to know what to do. The reality is, being convicted and repentant, they're on a journey of making a micro and macro shifts over the course of time.

Episode 64: Taking Small and Big Steps Toward Everyday Discipleship

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson brings you part two of the live gospel fluency training by Jeff Vanderstelt. This training helps disciples learn how to point people to Jesus through their relationships and conversations.

Episode 30: Speaking the Truths of Jesus in Life, Part 2

In this live episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson talks with Adam Breckenridge about the challenges and opportunities we face as we make disciples in a self-focused culture. How do you challenge and encourage people toward Jesus when all we can think about is ourselves?

Episode 69: Making Disciples in a Narcissistic Society 

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson begins a new series talking with experienced leaders and practitioners from around the world about what is essential to missional community? This week, Brad Watson is talking with Ben Connelly about the importance of the gospel.

Episode 046: What is Essential in an MC? Part 1: The Gospel

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Ben Connelly and Brad Watson talk about the book of Ephesians and the study that Brad wrote on that book for communities that launched on August 19th. They discuss how the wonder of Scripture creates and transforms lives.

Episode 90: How Ephesians Informs our Discipleship

In this episode of the Saturate Podcast, Brad Watson talks with Kevin Platt of Missio Dei in Arizona on the BLESS rhythm: Speak. How do we intentionally declare good news in all of life? One of the fundamental realities is we don't just live good news lives, we speak good news.

Episode 076: Everyday Intentionality: Speak

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OwlTail

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