Josiah Jobe
Urban Church, Gen Alpha, & the 1-3-1 Rule with Josiah Jobe
About The Episode
How do you step into the lead pastor role of a massive, multi-site urban church at a young age? In this episode of Leaders in Living Rooms, host Sean Morgan sits down with Josiah Jobe, lead pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. Spanning 26 locations, over 40 worship services, and utilizing multiple languages, New Life represents a highly complex and deeply scaled urban ministry. Josiah candidly shares his initially reluctant journey toward pastoral ministry, fighting a distinct call during his youth and navigating the immense pressure and expectations that come with following in the footsteps of his father, Mark Jobe. Together, they explore the profound lessons learned from watching a father’s decision-making process, the critical baseline of matching public and private integrity, and how keeping strict structure at home ultimately fuels a leader’s health for the ministry.
Welcome to Episode 164 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan.
Insights from Josiah Jobe
Embrace Structure at Home to Sustain Ministry Leadership
Many young ministry leaders struggle to navigate the high demands of leadership alongside raising a family. Maintaining rigorous, orderly structure at home—such as fixed bedtimes for young children—frees up critical margin for date nights, safeguards marital health, and ultimately keeps a leader healthy for the external demands of running a church.
Hold Long-Term Career Plans Loosely for Divine Direction
A sense of calling can often spark a strong initial resistance, especially when the realities, public pressures, and personal sacrifices of senior leadership are clear from a young age. Surrendering personal plans, opening your hands to God’s direction, and being willing to step into immediate ministry opportunities out of obedience often paves the path to your true leadership assignment.
Value Witnessing the Decision-Making Process in Real-Time
True preparation for senior pastoral leadership rarely happens entirely in a classroom; it is forged by being in the room to witness seasoned leaders navigate complex dilemmas. Observing how an experienced leader handles intense organizational turning points provides an invaluable template for young pastors as they prepare to inherit a mantle of leadership.
Anchor Your Leadership in Absolute Core Inconsistency Prevention
One of the greatest markers of a healthy leadership legacy is maintaining absolute alignment between who you are on the public stage and who you are behind closed doors. Leaders must resist putting on an artificial mask, staying vulnerable enough to care deeply for their people, and ensuring their private character fully anchors their public platform.
Episode Links
If you’re a leader approaching a succession or transition, or maybe you’re a few years in and beginning to see how complex transitions leadership is… go to The Art of Pastoral Succession and check out my course in partnership with Carey Nieuwhof.
Are you in Transition or have one on the horizon? Check out our cohorts and get connected with us at: https://theascentleader.org/cohorts/
Who is Josiah Jobe?
Josiah Jobe serves as the Lead Pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago, a multi-congregational church with 25+ locations across Chicagoland and nearly 10 international churches. After earning his B.A. in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute, Josiah stepped into full-time ministry in 2016 and became Lead Pastor in 2019. He is also actively involved with New Life Centers, a nonprofit that serves Chicago through mentoring, education, sports, peacemaking, and community care. At home, Josiah and his wife Carolina have been married for nearly six years and are raising their three young boys – Saint (4), Dallas (2), and Walker (1yr 4 months). When he’s not pastoring, he loves reading, working out, playing board games, and taking adventures with his family. Above all, Josiah is passionate about reaching the next generation and seeing a movement of revival sweep through Chicago and beyond.
Sponsors
Thanks to our sponsor, MOHI: Partnership with MOHI is built on long-term, meaningful relationships. Your church will serve a specific community, its local leaders, and its families. It’s a shared journey marked by prayer, presence, and ongoing connection rather than one-time projects. Many of our partner churches have been walking with the same community for years, even a decade or more, building stability, fostering trust and creating lasting impact.
Learn more at mohiafrica.org/partner
Listen to Recent Episodes
About the Host
Sean Morgan is a coach and speaker with a national reputation as a catalyst of fresh vision. His passion is to help ministries navigate obstacles and turn them into opportunities.
Throughout his career, Sean has pioneered initiatives impacting thousands of leaders across the country. He started out serving as Executive Pastor and CFO at New Life Church in northern California.
As host, Sean gives you access to amazing conversations, hard-won wisdom, and poignant insights from world-class leaders in intimate “living room” settings.
Your Host
Sean Morgan
Leaders in Living Rooms
Craft & Character
Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app
Take Your Leadership to New Heights
The Ascent equips you to lean into your God-given leadership potential.
Cohorts offer you the chance to go deeper with a small circle of peers and professional mentors so you can elevate your expertise and grow your confidence as a leader.
Learn more about upcoming cohorts by clicking below.