Ep.121 - The Resident-First Strategy That’s Creating a Movement (with Brian Hofmeister)

In this episode of The Church Planting Podcast, Greg Nettle sits down with Brian Hofmeister, founding pastor of Lakepoint Church in Muskego, Wisconsin. Brian shares the powerful story of how his church moved from a single church plant to becoming a multiplying, sending church.

Key themes include:

How a church of any size can invest in multiplication from the beginning

Why Lakepoint committed 10% of its budget to future church plants—even in its early years

Lessons learned from developing residents and sending planters during the COVID-19 pandemic

A compelling vision for shared church family identity, including joint baptism services

How to embed multiplication into your church’s DNA and avoid burnout as a sending pastor

Whether you're a new church planter, a pastor of an established congregation, or someone investing in church planting, Brian’s practical wisdom will challenge and inspire you to think beyond your walls.

🎧 Listen to more episodes and explore church planting resources at https://stadia.org.

Connect with Brian and Lakepoint Church at https://www.lakepointmuskego.org.

01:15 - Why Milwaukee? Brian’s background and calling
02:00 - Multiplication from day one: giving, sending, mindset
03:00 - Funding church plants as a small church
05:00 - Early attempts at developing church planters
06:00 - Lessons from failure and God’s timing
08:00 - Year 8: Becoming a true sending church
09:30 - Residency structure and expectations
11:00 - Coaching residents toward launching
12:00 - Sending people: what the congregation commits
13:30 - Impact on Lakepoint’s culture
14:30 - When the culture clicked: “Who’s next?”
15:30 - Parenting metaphor: moving toward shared multiplication
16:30 - Partnering churches and co-parenting new plants
17:30 - The messy, slow process of residency and vision
18:30 - Training the next generation of multiplying churches
19:30 - Family reunion baptisms and shared wins
20:30 - Advice to new planters: start with generosity
21:30 - Exact budget %s Lakepoint committed early on
22:00 - Message to established churches: mentorship matters
23:30 - What the church was always meant to be
24:00 - Closing thoughts & future vision