Episode
348: Reimagining Church as Family with JJ Jones
- Podcast
- Crystal Paine Show
- Published
- Aug 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2377
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- http://crystalpaine.com/
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/crystal-paine-show-893314/episodes/348-reimagining-church-as-family-with-jj-jones/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/crystal-paine-show-893314/348-reimagining-church-as-family-with-jj-jones.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
What does it really mean for the church to be a family? In this episode of The Crystal Paine Show , I am joined by my friend Dr. JJ Jones, co-author of Reimagining Church as Family , for a conversation to help us think differently about how to help others feels seen, welcomed, and truly included in our churches! Listen in as JJ shares how years of research and ministry experience led him and his co-author Rich Griffith to rethink some of the traditional approaches to family ministry. Too often, as he discusses, our programs, language, and even the ways in which we structure church life assume a traditional nuclear family, and that can unintentionally leave single parents, divorced parents, single adults, foster and adoptive families, families raising children with disabilities, and others feeling like they don’t quite belong. The two of us talk about what it looks like to move beyond simply supporting someone during a crisis and actually walking with them for the long haul. We discuss the importance of examining the words that we use, listening to people’s stories, and asking what the church can do differently so that people don’t feel like outsiders in God’s family.. We also get practical about what church members and leaders can do to enact change such as creating more intergenerational spaces, inviting someone to sit with you, sharing a meal, making accommodations, mentoring younger believers, and simply being willing to have the sometimes-awkward conversations that lead to real connection! Maybe most importantly, we talk about following Jesus toward the people who may feel overlooked or pushed to the margins, and I truly hope this conversation encourages you to look around your own church community with fresh eyes and ask: Who might be here but still feel alone, an…