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Church Growth, Calling, and Following God
Pastor Kurtis Rogers Interview
About this episode
In this special interview episode, Pastor Drew Rogers and Dillon McCurdy sit down with Pastor Kurtis Rogers of Tower Baptist Church to discuss his journey into ministry, lessons learned as a new pastor, church leadership, discipleship, and the importance of following God's call. Pastor Kurtis shares how God led him from a career in the trades to pastoral ministry, the challenges of shepherding a growing church, and why Spirit-led leadership is one of the greatest needs in the church today. This conversation is filled with practical encouragement for pastors, church members, ministry leaders, and anyone seeking to walk faithfully with Christ.
Key takeaways
- Kurtis Rogers worked as an electrician for about five years before the Lord moved him to full-time church work, first on staff at Rogers City Baptist Church for about two and a half years and then as pastor of Tower Baptist Church since July 2025.
- He says God always equips his men with exactly what they need for where he is going to call them, and that the trades taught him character, discipline, and how to work with his hands.
- Working through Exodus 3 and 4, he saw his own excuses in Moses' excuses and concluded the issue was not that he wasn't ready but that he wasn't willing.
- The biggest adjustment in becoming a pastor was not a single shock but that everything is a first — first wedding, first Lord's supper, first activity — with no one else to hand the hard questions to.
- Attendance went from the 16 people who voted him in to about 70 on a regular Sunday within three months without hanging a flyer, knocking a door, or personally inviting anyone, with 91 on Hunter Sunday and consistent attendance over 50.
- His ministry philosophy is that everything a pastor does needs to be scripturally founded and led by the Lord's direction only, which takes the heat off the pastor when resistance comes because the answer is what God asked, not his own plan.
- For churches in a pastoral transition he urges patience on both parts, and he names yielded, spirit-led male leadership starting with the pastor as what is most needed in the church today.
From the conversation
"What God initiates he completes. And I found that to be true. But I also found what God does not initiate he doesn't appreciate."Kurtis Rogers
"Don't look for the perfect church, don't look for perfect people. If you look for a perfect God, you'll find it."Kurtis Rogers
"The goal is church multiplication, not church addition."Drew Rogers
Scripture referenced
- Exodus 3 and 4 — the Lord calls Moses and Moses gives excuses; named directly by Kurtis Rogers
- Exodus 17 — Aaron and Hur holding up Moses, and Joshua fighting behind Moses (paraphrased)
- Joshua 1:3 — "anywhere your foot treads, I'll give you victory" (paraphrased)
- Ephesians 2 — cited by Kurtis Rogers as "him who is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we could ever think or ask"; he named Ephesians 2, and that wording appears in Ephesians 3:20
- Romans 12:10 — what Paul encourages, to "prefer one another in love" (paraphrased)
- Matthew 9:37-38 — Jesus telling the disciples the fields are white and ready for harvest, the laborers are few, and to pray for laborers (paraphrased)
- 1 Corinthians 3:9 — "what Paul calls co-laborers in Christ" (paraphrased)
- Matthew 23:25-26 — "the outside of the cup is clean but the inside is dirty" (paraphrased)
- Exodus 7-12 — Drew Rogers' "don't be Pharaoh, the plagues aren't worth it" (paraphrased)
- Romans 1:16 — "the gospel is the power of God" (paraphrased)
- Ephesians 6:12 — "it's not flesh and blood" (paraphrased)
- Matthew 5:6 — "if you are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, you will be filled" (paraphrased)
- Titus and 1-2 Timothy — referenced as Paul's letters to young pastors that Kurtis Rogers listens to as if being mentored (paraphrased)
Mentioned in this episode
- Tower Baptist Church, Tower, Michigan — where Kurtis Rogers has pastored since July 2025; services Sunday and a midweek service Wednesday at 6:00
- Rogers City Baptist Church — Kurtis Rogers' home church, where he served on staff about two and a half years alongside Drew Rogers
- Henry Blackaby, "Holiness" — a book Kurtis Rogers says he is about to start
- Drew Rogers, "The God Who Leads" — a book Kurtis Rogers received and is reading
- "The Titus 10" — a book Kurtis Rogers is reading a second time and using for a men's Bible study / book study
- Richard Blackaby — interviewed on In the Midst in the series on "Experiencing God: Capstone"
- In the Midst podcast — hosted by Drew Rogers and Dillon McCurdy; also has a series on how to study the Bible; on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple, with resources at inthemidstpod.com
Discussion questions
Take it further
- Kurtis said the question was not whether he was ready but whether he was willing. Where are you telling God you're not ready when the real issue is willingness?
- He said God used a tough job, a tough schedule, and hard manual labor to teach him character and discipline. What has God used in your current work or season to prepare you for something you can't see yet?
- Kurtis said he was "100% good with being number two" until God asked for more. What role are you comfortable in, and would you be willing to move if God asked?
- Drew warned against assuming that what you've always seen done in church is God's way, and said you have to verify it with scripture. What practice have you never actually checked against the Bible?
- Kurtis said the number one admonition for a pastor and a congregation in transition is patience on both parts. Where do you need to extend patience or ask for it in your own church?
- Both said it is better to have a few spirit-filled people in leadership than many ministries led by people who are not. Are there places where we've put warm bodies in roles instead of praying for laborers?
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