The Aquila Institute

In this episode, Stephen sits down with Pastor Erik Nielsen of FIBC in Copenhagen to discuss church finances. You'll be reminded of the important biblical principles that form the foundation of church finances and how pastors lead their church to have a God-honoring view of money and giving.

In this episode, Stephen sits down to speak with software engineer and church planter Ngewi Fet. You will be encouraged and challenged as he clearly explains that time management is an act of stewardship and even worship. 
Negewi was born and raised in Cameroon, but moved to Germany 20 years ago to study. He has since worked in the marketplace in software engineering and has recently launched his own companies. He simultaneously served as an elder at IBC Dusseldorf and three years ago planted IBC Essen.
 
To see Ngewi's parachurch ministry, Steward Led, go to https://www.stewardled.tech/
Recommended Books from the podcast:
Ash, Christopher. Zeal without Burnout: Seven Keys to a Lifelong Ministry of Sustainable Sacrifice. Epsom, Surrey: The Good Book Company, 2016.
Folmar, John, and Scott Logsdon. Prioritizing the Church in Missions. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2025.
 
Menikoff, Aaron, and Harshit Singh. Prioritizing Missions in the Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2025.

In this episode, Stephen sits down again with Keith and Jeff to continue their discussion of the joys and challenges of pastoring international churches. You'll be blessed as they share their heart, vision, and passion for God's mission in the world. 

In this conversation, David sits down with A.J. Mathieu of the Malphurs Group and Healthy Churches Global to discuss the important role that Mission, Vision, and Values have in the local church.
 
These things will help local church pastors and the churches they lead know why they exist, where they are going, and how they are going to get there.
 
To learn more, visit: https://healthychurchesglobal.com/

In this episode, Stephen sits down with two fellow IBC pastors to discuss the joys and challenges of pastoring international churches. The conversation was so rich that it required a second part. So tune in and wait for part two, coming soon.
Keith (MPhil, University of Pretoria) was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. He is married to Coreen, and they are the parents of three young children: Kian, Zach, and Emily. He has pastored at IBC Stuttgart (Germany) since 2020.
 
Jeff (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) was born in Texas, USA. He and his wife Melanie have three children. Jeff was called to be the Senior Pastor at EIC Rueil (Paris, France) in 2023.

In this final episode before the summer break, David Martin sits down with his father, Paul Martin, to discuss being a generous church. Pastor Martin has been pastor of Laramie Valley Chapel for 42 years and in that time has seen the church grow from being a mostly self-focused church to one that disciples well, gives generously, and consistently sends their best people onto the mission field.

In this episode, David and Stephen sit down to share an important update from Aquila. 
Reach out to us at info@aquila-initiative.org to get involved!
 
 

In this episode, Stephen and David sit down with Pastor Erik Nielsen to discuss church planting partnerships, where two or more churches team up together to plant a new church. In this case, they discuss the partnership Erik's church in Denmark made with Stephen's church in Germany to plant a new English-speaking church in Spain.
 
You'll be encouraged to hear of God's faithfulness and provision to plant churches and equip pastors to mentor the next generation of leaders.

In this episode, Stephen sits down with Pastor Carsten Lotz to discuss the experience of becoming a planting church. 
Carsten has been in ministry since 2005 and the pastor of the International Christian Fellowship in Frankfurt since 2010. In 2019/2020, ICF had the joy of sending their best to launch River of Life in downtown Frankfurt. 
You'll be encouraged by the story of God's grace and goodness as he worked through one church to plant another and expand the spread of the Gospel in one of the world's most international cities.
 
Carsten's book recommendation:
Dever, Mark, and Paul Alexander. How to Build a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2021. 

In this episode, Stephen and David sit down with Aquila apprentice Lucas dos Santos. Lucas began as a member of IBC Cologne and has grown into an essential part of the core church-planting team and lay elder at Aachen International Church. 
 
You'll be encouraged by Lucas's high view of God and the local church, and you'll be challenged by his wisdom and experience of church planting.