Conversation with Max Critchfield

You can’t “growth hack” a church into existence, and you definitely can’t fake a calling to a place you don’t love. We talk with Bay Area church planter Max Critchfield about what happens when God takes a teenager who only wanted the service to end and turns him into a shepherd with deep roots in the East Bay.

Max shares an honest conversion story that moves from cultural Catholic practice to a youth group invitation, a summer camp yes to Jesus, and then the brutal tension of trying to keep both faith and a double life. The breakthrough comes later in a quieter setting when he feels the weight lifting: nothing is hidden from God, and God has not stopped pursuing him. From there, we follow the thread into a clear call to ministry, seasons of formation at UC Davis through local church community, and early full-time ministry in the Bay Area.

We close with a leadership tip that cuts through the noise: prayer isn’t what we do before the work, prayer is the work. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs fresh faith, and leave a review. What would change in your life if you treated prayer as the main plan?

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