“Every week we’re seeing hundreds come to Christ. We know we’re lost over here. In the South, everyone thinks they’re saved – you have to get them lost before they’re saved.”
Pastors Shaun and Dianna Nepstad founded Fellowship Church in Antioch, California in 2002. They felt God gave them two words for the church: Hope & Healing. Hope for tomorrow and healing from yesterday, all found in a relationship with Jesus. The church is known for its life-giving culture and passion to see people come to Christ. Over the years, Fellowship Church grew from 350 to over 5,000 in weekly attendance, and now reaches thousands globally every week.
Shaun explains to Dino how they’re experiencing a hunger among people they’ve not seen in years. From universities to churches, revival is taking place as God responds to hunger. As they lead their church to develop an ever-increasing appetite for God, they’re seeing more come to Christ than they have in a long time.
It was not always this easy, however. Shuan and Dianna expound on the painful journey of being stuck for 7 years with no growth. Shaun admits he was the problem, and he had to stop being the lid to the church’s growth.
The latest Unscripted conversation spans many topics including:
- Running to people in pain and serving with simplicity
- Leading a diverse congregation that reflects your community
- Teaching members how to serve on the Dream Team so they can also be invested in the church’s growth
- Navigating ministry through different seasons of your family
- Working through phases of feeling stuck and stalled and how to support your spouse through that
They also discuss the wisdom and encouragement from Shaun’s book, Don’t Quit in the Dip, where he expounds on the lessons during the waiting period – the place where you want to give up. He expresses that successful people are not exempt from the dip; they had it too, they just didn’t stop. The dip is where God grows you the most.
“Don’t confuse your intermission with your finale. It’s in the dip that you learn.”
