# Interview 116: Built to Grow: Understanding and Advancing the Mission of the Church

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-proclaim-defend-podcast-6318856/interview-116-built-to-grow-understanding-and-advancing-the-mission-of-the-church
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-proclaim-defend-podcast-6318856/interview-116-built-to-grow-understanding-and-advancing-the-mission-of-the-church.md
Podcast: [the Proclaim & Defend Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-proclaim-defend-podcast-6318856)
Published: 2026-07-18T04:32:35+00:00
Episode link: https://proclaimdefend.substack.com/p/interview-116-built-to-grow-understanding
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/207513855/6a92c2edae084762607ed0ddeb9bfbdd.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2928

## Resource

With this podcast we introduce the July/August edition of FrontLine magazine. The associate editor for this edition was Mark Herbster. The theme was Built to Grow: Understanding and Advancing the Mission of the Church — the point of this podcast is to explain what Mark and the authors were after in fleshing out the theme. To summarize though, there are two extremes in looking at church growth. There is the extreme of going after numerical growth almost at any cost. In reaction to that is the extreme of disdaining growth and becoming too inward focused. Our writers are focusing on a balance between the extremes. Normally, we publish an article in connection with the podcast. However, this time we have already published the introduction to this edition of FrontLine on Proclaim & Defend. You will find the link here in our show notes. Before we turn to this interview, let me encourage you to subscribe to our Substack or to FrontLine magazine itself. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber. The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine: FrontLine: Built to Grow: Understanding and Advancing the Mission of the Church Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

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## Transcript

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