Church Planting Conversations with Evangelical Friends Church Planting is hosted by Brian Donahue and Lisa Garon. This podcast will discuss what God is doing throughout the United States and beyond as we share stories of past and current church planting efforts, as well as what's happening within EFCP to inspire, help, and equip churches and future church planters with their church planting efforts. We'll talk collaboration, strategy, models of church planting, missional and evangelistic approaches, and much more! This will be the most fun you've ever had learning about church planting!
Nathaniel Vanderploeg: Stepping Into A New Season of Faith
Nathaniel Vanderploeg lives in Kelso, WA, with his wife Katie and their two daughters. After serving as Associate Pastor at Rose Valley Friends Church since 2018, Nathaniel is now stepping into a new season of faith—planting a Friends church in Portland, Oregon. Our conversation centers on his willingness to go all in with God, embracing the freedom that comes from surrender, risk, and wholehearted obedience.
Nathaniel also owns and operates Scenic Route Drone Media (https://scenicroutedm.com/), where he brings creativity and storytelling together in meaningful ways. Learn more and get involved at https://friendsmultiply.org/vanderploegs (https://friendsmultiply.org/vanderploegs).
Learn more about EFCP at: friendsmultiply.org (https://friendsmultiply.org/)
16 Jan 2026
Trekking Into The Unknown with the Gospel
This week, we engage with co-host Brian Donahue as he’s been launching a new church plant. It might be the first time that someone has planted a church specifically for Trekkies! Learn more about Brian’s heart for the Star Trek Community and how the online model is a key method.
Aside from the Church Planting Conversations Podcast, here’s where else you can find Brian:
The Brian Donahue Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/3UNKJhiQZIqN8RECRmq3hN)
The BIG Sci-fi Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/5horf39faRKvh7xuupBsc7)
Reverb Nation (https://www.reverbnation.com/briantdonahue)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/pursuitfriendsonlinecommunity)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pfonlinecommunity/)
Support him on Patreon (https://patreon.com/thebriandonahuepodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink)
Give to Pursuit Friends Online Community of Jesus Followers (https://pursuitfriends.org/give/)
And he wrote a book: The Darkness and the Light (https://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Light-Brian-Donahue/dp/B0C2ST5Z5F)
The song heard at the end of this episode is an original song by Brian and is available here (https://www.reverbnation.com/briantdonahue/song/35266734-i-will-go).
Learn more about EFCP (https://friendsmultiply.org/)
6 Nov 2025
A New Season!
Brian and Lisa are back with an exciting and energetic report about the recent gathering of the members of EFCP in Canton, Ohio. This new and official board of EFC - North America is tasked with inspiring, equipping, training, and resourcing church planting within the various regions of the Evangelical Friends Church across the nation.
Brian and Lisa discuss the heartbeat of EFCP and how church planting has to be an intentional focus for spreading the gospel. You'll be inspired and challenged as they passionately talk about what God is doing and what is to come.
Learn more about EFCP: https://friendsmultiply.org/
22 Aug 2025
Kristin Aull: Pastor and Church Planter with EFC-ER
On this episode, we interviewed Kristin Aull, Lead Pastor of Pursuit Friends Network of House Churches in Canton, OH. We discussed leadership development, opening doors for people to step into new roles, and how our limitations are just another way that God works through us.
At Pursuit, Kristin helps people build faith communities that journey together with God. She also facilitates a Women’s Planting Cohort—a reflective space for women discerning leadership and formation. She holds an engineering degree from Purdue University and is pursuing a Master’s in Leadership from Denver Seminary. She finds joy in all things water and shares life with her husband Joe, their grown children Jay and Haley, and her wonderful son-in-law Steven.
You can find out more about Kristin and connect at Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kristin.aull (https://www.facebook.com/kristin.aull)) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kjaull (https://www.instagram.com/kjaull)).
You can also catch the Joy and Java Podcast with Brian and Kristin here: https://pod.link/1587392027 (https://pod.link/1587392027).
Follow along with the Pursuit Friends Journey at https://www.facebook.com/pursuitfriendschurch (https://www.facebook.com/pursuitfriendschurch).
Learn more about Evangelical Friends Church Planting by visiting https://friendsmultiply.org (https://friendsmultiply.org/) and take your next step in making more disciples of Jesus.
19 May 2025
Ryan Webster: Called To Community
Ryan Webster from Valley Community Church in Larned, KS, joins us on this episode of Church Planting Conversations. Ryan brings a wealth of wisdom, not only about rural church planting, but also about leadership, the importance of creating space as a pastor, and recognizing that God calls us to communities, not just churches. Ryan was born and raised in Western Kansas in the old west cow town of Dodge City. He and his wife Rachel have been married for nearly 27 years and they have three children, Ruthie, 23, Samuel, 21, and Elijah, 17. He's have been pastoring for over 25 years, 22 years at Valley Community Church, as the Lead Pastor. They've grown from 20 to over 250-300 in regular attendance in a rural community (Larned, KS) with a population of 3500. In September of 2023, they launched our second campus.
You can find him at https://www.larnedchurch.com (https://www.larnedchurch.com/) or over on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ryantheodorewebster (https://www.facebook.com/ryantheodorewebster).
4 Mar 2025
Gabe Kolstad: Focusing on the Next Generation of Church Planters
Since 2007 Gabe Kolstad has been the Lead Pastor at Westside Community Church (https://www.westsidecommunitychurch.com/) (listed as one of Outreach Magazine's Top 100 Reproducing Churches (https://outreach100.com/reproducing-churches-in-america/2021) of 2021). He is passionate about building thriving leaders and thriving churches, and has been coaching and consulting pastors and churches for over a decade. He is a Certified High Performance Coach (https://www.highperformanceinstitute.com/whycoaching), Founder of the Multiply PDX (https://www.togetherpdx.org/multiplypdx) church planting network, and a host on multiple podcasts. On a personal note, Gabe is a fan of good food, coffee and travel. He and his wife, Melissa have three adult children (Dawson, Caitlin and Caleb) and live in Beaverton, Oregon.
gabe@gabekolstad.com (mailto:gabe@gabekolstad.com)
29 Jan 2025
Cultivating Fresh Expressions of Church w/ Rev. Dr. JR Rozko
Brian and Lisa welcome special guest, JR Rozko, Director of Missional Innovation for Churches for the Sake of Others and co-founder of Canton Abbey and Common Life Church.
JR was a part of the International Friends Multiplication Conference in November at the Malone campus as he led a workshop discussing fresh expressions of church and what that could look like. He has a unique and important voice in Canton, Ohio and we hope that church leaders and church planters alike will find this episode particularly challenging and encouraging!
Learn more about the ministry work JR is a part of:
Canton Abbey (https://cantonabbey.org/)
Common Life Church (https://cantonabbey.org/clc/)
Order Of The Common Life (https://www.orderofthecommonlife.org/)
Churches for the Sake of Others (https://c4so.org/)
Learn more about EFCP:
Evangelical Friends Church Planting (https://friendsmultiply.org/)
19 Dec 2024
Conference Recap
Brian and Lisa are back with a follow-up episode from the recent International Friends Church Multiplication Conference! Don't miss this exciting report on some of the conference's highlights and how God moved in the hearts of the participants.
12 Nov 2024
Conference Preview!
Brian and Lisa give us a sneak peek at the forthcoming International Friends Church Multiplication Conference! Learn about the speakers and workshop leaders, the topics, and more from the in-person gatherings as well as the online version of the conference! There's still time to sign up for the conference at a location near you or for the online version!
To register for the conference visit:
friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc (https://friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc)
7 Nov 2024
Dr. Kay Wilson - The Power of Prayer
Dr. Kay Wilson joins us to talk about the prayer movement happening around the upcoming International Friends Church Multiplication Conference.
To learn more about the conference visit:
friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc (https://friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc)
To learn more about EFCP visit:
friendsmultiply.org (https://friendsmultiply.org/)
For more info on the conference or EFCP email:
info@friendsmultiply.org
31 Oct 2024
Dr. Tim Roehl
Dr. Roehl joins us to discuss the upcoming conference, church planting, calling in ministry, and more! We also talk about what he does with his ministry Fit & Flourish.
Learn more about Fit & Flourish:
fitflourish.com (https://fitflourish.com/)
Register for the conference:
friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc (https://friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc)
24 Oct 2024
Christy Wimber
Christy Wimber joins Brian and Lisa for an in-depth discussion about church planting. Christy's experience is extensive and she offers church planters and church leaders some incredible and much-needed advice when it comes to starting new works. This episode will challenge you and encourage all who listen and have a heart for the body of Christ!
Learn more about Christy and her ministry:
christywimber.com (https://christywimber.com/)
To learn more about EFCP and the International Friends Church Multiplication Conference visit:
friendsmultiply.org (https://friendsmultiply.org/)
9 Oct 2024
Being A Part Of A Church Planting Movement
Co-hosts Brian Donahue and Lisa Garon share their unique stories and advice around church planting. It takes all kinds of people to plant all kinds of churches. Brian and Lisa talk about where they are serving in the area of church planting and some of their inspiration and call to be a part of the Friends movement when it comes to planting new churches.
This episode will encourage you and maybe even challenge you to pray about whether God is calling you to be a part of a church planting team. Check it out now, right here on Church Planting Conversations!
Register for the International Friends Church Multiplication Conference! (https://friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc)
Learn more about Evangelical Friends Church Planting (https://friendsmultiply.org/about)!
Learn more about the team (https://friendsmultiply.org/team) here at EFCP!
2 Oct 2024
Origin of EFCP and The International Conference
Join Brian and Lisa as they talk about church planting within the Evangelical Friends Church - North America and beyond! Both Brian and Lisa serve on the Evangelical Friends Church Planting team and have been engaged in church planting themselves over the years.
In this inaugural episode, they welcome the interim director of EFCP, Jim Le Shana! They talk about the origin story to the Multiplication Conference, EFCP, and the upcoming International Friends Church Multiplication Conference, November 13-15!
To learn more about the conference and how you register visit: friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc (https://friendsmultiply.org/ifcmc)
To learn more about EFCP visit: friendsmultiply.org (https://friendsmultiply.org/)
Music heard on this podcast was composed by Olesksii Holubiev and can be found at: pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362/ (https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362/)
For questions concerning EFCP or the conference, email:
info@friendsmultiply.org
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