Pastors Thriving | Ministry, Leadership, Discipleship, Church Growth, Small Church Strategies · Kevin Elworth-Business & Ministry Coach, Passive Income, Entrepreneur Pastor, Ministry Marketing

087 - Why Your Church Isn’t Seeing Miracles (and How to Change That Today, Feat. Bryan Samms

·50 min·4 clips

Kevin opens by speaking to pastors who know what it feels like to hit Monday and wonder if they are still in the right place. He names the temptation to polish a resume, browse ministry job boards, or imagine a different life altogether, and he pushes back on the idea that leadership has to feel that draining. From there, the conversation turns to a harder question. Why do some churches seem stuck when people are asking God for real intervention? Brian answers by starting with his own story, including adoption experiences that made the miraculous feel concrete instead of abstract. He defines a miracle as God stepping into the ordinary course of life and doing what only God can do. That keeps the idea simple. It also keeps it grounded. Brian points to Jesus on the water and Jesus feeding the 5,000 as examples that ordinary effort cannot explain. Those stories are not treated like decoration. They are used as evidence that the supernatural still belongs in Christian life. From there, he presses the point that Christians often settle for the natural when God is inviting them to expect more. Prayer becomes the hinge. Brian says prayer is the key that opens the door to miracles and brings people into them. He is careful to say God can act with or without human participation. The real question is whether the church is ready to notice what God is doing. Acts 12 gives him the sharpest picture. Peter is in prison and scheduled for execution the next day, while a home prayer meeting is underway. God releases Peter supernaturally, and the room that has been praying for rescue can hardly believe it when the rescue arrives. Rhoda's stunned response becomes part of the lesson, because it shows how easy it is to pray for miracles while still being surprised when one shows up. The conversation ends with a blunt pastoral question: why should a church settle for less when someone in the congregation is facing aggressive cancer?

As heard by us

A prayer-centered case for expecting God to intervene, anchored in personal testimony and familiar Scripture.

Kevin frames the episode around Monday dread: a revised resume, job ads, and the feeling that ministry can turn into a minefield of stress and anxiety.

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Why you'd press play

When you want a pastor-to-pastor case for miracles, prayer, and renewed expectation in ministry.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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