Homepage / Pivot Podcast /#115: Neighborhood Ministry Made Simple: How to Actually Connect with Your Community

#115: Neighborhood Ministry Made Simple: How to Actually Connect with Your Community

Join Rev. Canon Dave Male, Co-Director of Vision and Strategy for the Church of England, as he shares practical ways to build authentic relationships in your neighborhood.

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Is your church struggling to connect with neighbors beyond your walls? In this episode, Rev. Canon Dave Male, Co-Director of Vision and Strategy for the Church of England, shares how churches can move from program-driven outreach to relationship-based ministry. Through his extensive work with fresh expressions of church, Dave reveals why some of the most effective new forms of ministry are also the simplest – often starting with nothing more than a meal and conversation. Learn how one burned-out church planter discovered a simpler, more sustainable approach that grew to 30 groups in three years.

Dave offers practical insights on empowering lay leaders, balancing traditional and innovative approaches, and starting new gatherings that cost virtually nothing. He shares specific examples of churches successfully reaching their neighbors through simple, reproducible methods, and provides two key questions every church can use to discern their next steps. Plus, discover why the future of neighborhood ministry might look more like a dinner table than a church program.

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Featuring

Headshot of Dave Male
Dave Male
Co-Director of Vision and Strategy for the Church of England

The Rev. Canon Dave Male brings extensive experience in creating change, innovation, creative theological thinking and strategic development through his work as a national leader in the Church of England, theological educator, and church pastor. He was until very recently Director for Vision and Strategy for the Church of England, where he helped to develop a ten-year strategy for the Church of England and led a team helping dioceses, churches, and networks to implement it. Previously he headed up the Evangelism and Discipleship Team for the Church and England and before that as National Advisor for Pioneering he created an integrated strategy for innovative new ministries in the Church. 

Dave is currently a visiting lecturer at Luther Seminary and previously served as a tutor in Pioneer Mission Training at Ridley Hall and Westcott House, Cambridge. Dave spent ten years starting and leading the Net Church in Huddersfield, which was one of the first fresh expressions of church in the UK.

He has written a number of books and articles on mission, evangelism and fresh expressions, including How to Pioneer, and speaks and lectures on these issues both nationally and internationally.

Hosts

Faith+Lead Headshot of The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile, VP of Innovation, Luther Seminary.
Dwight Zscheile
Professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile is professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011), editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012), and co-editor (with Ed Olsworth-Peter) of The Starter’s Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities (Church Publishing, 2025).

A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.

Terri Elton
Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.

Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.

Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

About Pivot Podcast

Join us on Pivot Podcast, where we journey beyond church-as-usual to discover how God is reshaping ministry for today’s world.

Each week, we dive into conversations with innovative leaders and practitioners who are navigating four game-changing pivots: shifting from quick fixes to deep listening, from membership to discipleship, from rigid models to creative ministry ecosystems, and from clergy-centered leadership to unleashing everyone’s gifts.

Whether you’re a member of the clergy seeking fresh inspiration or a volunteer stepping into new leadership territory, Pivot Podcast equips you with the insights and practical wisdom to follow Jesus into a faithful future.

Through their work with diverse cohorts of preachers, they’ve discovered that the most compelling sermons aren’t necessarily the most polished – they’re the ones where preachers have learned to listen deeply to both God and their congregations. Learn practical tools for gathering meaningful feedback, understand why vulnerability matters more than ever in preaching, and discover how shifting from evaluation to understanding can deepen your sermon’s impact. Plus, hear why reimagining God’s agency in preaching might be the key to unlocking more powerful proclamation.

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Featuring

Headshot of Dave Male
Dave Male
Co-Director of Vision and Strategy for the Church of England

The Rev. Canon Dave Male brings extensive experience in creating change, innovation, creative theological thinking and strategic development through his work as a national leader in the Church of England, theological educator, and church pastor. He was until very recently Director for Vision and Strategy for the Church of England, where he helped to develop a ten-year strategy for the Church of England and led a team helping dioceses, churches, and networks to implement it. Previously he headed up the Evangelism and Discipleship Team for the Church and England and before that as National Advisor for Pioneering he created an integrated strategy for innovative new ministries in the Church. 

Dave is currently a visiting lecturer at Luther Seminary and previously served as a tutor in Pioneer Mission Training at Ridley Hall and Westcott House, Cambridge. Dave spent ten years starting and leading the Net Church in Huddersfield, which was one of the first fresh expressions of church in the UK.

He has written a number of books and articles on mission, evangelism and fresh expressions, including How to Pioneer, and speaks and lectures on these issues both nationally and internationally.

Hosts

Faith+Lead Headshot of The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile, VP of Innovation, Luther Seminary.
Dwight Zscheile
Professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile is professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011), editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012), and co-editor (with Ed Olsworth-Peter) of The Starter’s Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities (Church Publishing, 2025).

A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.

Terri Elton
Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.

Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.

Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.