Megachurch pastor Doug Schmidt of Woodside Bible Church in Metro Detroit pioneered a novel way to advance the Gospel: by merging with struggling congregations and investing in them with the intention of turning them loose.
It’s not a takeover plan aimed at building a new denomination, rather a way to help declining congregations re-tool and re-energize. Doug, who started 21 years ago at Woodside, has seen it grow from 675 people to 7,000.
Hear how from a Godly man whose heart for the Gospel is contagious.
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Synopsis
Doug Schmidt’s passion for the gospel led him to pioneer a unique way of church planting – by merging with struggling congregations and breathing new life into some pretty old bones. Here are my notes from the interview:
Who Owns the Church?
Doug says this is the biggest problem many churches face – having a deep conviction that the church is not owned by people or by traditions, but by God. In what ways is your church convinced of this?
Going Missional Woodside has had small groups meet in homes during the week for years – usually their purpose was fellowship spiritual growth – but now it’s being missional: members ask how they can serve the world around them.
Rekindle the Passion Doug cites polls showing 80% of America’s pastors would leave if they could find another job. Where has the passion gone and how can church leaders continually rekindle it in them for the sake of the world?
About Doug Schmidt After years of ministry in college & seminary administration and education, Pastor Doug entered pastoral ministry and after serving at Ross Bible Church in Port Huron and came to Woodside Bible Church in Troy, MI as Senior Pastor in 1991. Woodside Bible Church is a multi campus church of 7,000 in the northern suburbs of Detroit whose goal it is “to help people BELONG to Christ, GROW in Christ and REACH the world for Christ.” Pastor Doug holds 2 graduate degrees, he and his wife, Carolyn have been married since 1974 and have 3 children.
Books Doug Recommends
And – Hugh Halter
Tactics – Greg Koukl
Bonhoeffer – Eric Metaxas
Sponsors I Mentioned
Are you headed to the Wild Goose festival? Thousands of campers are headed to the beautiful hills of North Carolina June 21-24. Wild Goose is a festival at the intersection of justice, spirituality, and art. Some of this year’s guests are Jim Wallis, Brian McLaren, and Shane Claiborne. ChurchNext is a proud sponsor – find out more at wildgoosefestival.org
