Lead with confidence. Strengthen with strategy. Grow your church.
Get expert guidance, proven strategies, and practical tools to break through growth barriers and lead your church to its full potential. When you join The Art of Leadership Academy, you’re joining a community of leaders who never lead alone.
Dave Allman
New Life Church
Since joining, our church attendance has nearly doubled in size, we’ve hired two more full-time and one more part-time staff, and the feeling of being overwhelmed is lifting from my shoulders. We have raised over two million dollars and will be debt-free on our property at the end of this year.
Ministry should be energizing… right? So why does it always feel like…
- You’re a few bad weeks (or days) away from burnout.
- No one is as passionate as you are.
- Your ministry is scattered, and people aren’t aligned.
- Your church isn’t making the impact you feel — and know — you’re called to make.
Did anyone (or anything) truly prepare you for what ministry is like?
For most, the answer to ^^ that ^^ question is no. And the weight of it all just seems to build… because no one else truly gets it. Not your staff, not your volunteers, not your elders, not even your spouse.
Every day, every week, and every year the impact you know your ministry is capable of is being overshadowed.
“There’s too much on my plate to lead effectively. My to-do list is endless.”
“Our ministry feels scattered, and people don’t seem committed.”
“Is my preaching getting stale? People don’t seem to respond anymore.”
“Why doesn’t anyone care as much as I do?”
“Why is there so much conflict? When I put one fire out, another pops up right away.”
“How are we supposed to make any progress without a big budget or big staff?“
“And how am I supposed to do it all while still being a good pastor?!”
When you started in ministry, did you think it would turn into this?
So what’s the biggest difference between growth and stagnant attendance?
Is it you? No ❌
Your staff and volunteers? Not entirely ❌
Culture? Not exactly ❌
Picture this for a moment: It’s Monday morning, and you’re still riding the high from yesterday’s services. You can’t help but smile as you reflect on the impact your ministry is making.
The energy and enthusiasm of your congregation were palpable, and it’s clear that your team’s hard work is reaching your community. You know because your services were overflowing on Sunday.
As you look to the week ahead, you feel a sense of purpose and excitement. This week, you and your team get to figure out what to do with all these people.
Is it time to add a new service?
Or overflow?
Or can you finally open that next campus?
The truth is that your leadership and your church have a unique call, and sometimes in the church, it’s easy to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength but forget about loving and serving God with your mind.
Some aspects of growth are up to God, but the best prayer is rooted in action. And that’s why effective leaders know that new thinking and new approaches lead to reaching new people.
Rapidly growing churches have a call they stay faithful to and they develop the skills, strategies, and systems that position their church for growth. Churches that reach thousands of people have invested time, energy, and money over many years to test, tweak, learn, and fail to get where they are.
What if YOU could access those insights, strategies, and systems, too? Without spending years of trial-and-error and learning it all the hard way.
INTRODUCING…
Leadership doesn’t have to be lonely and overwhelming.
In The Art of Leadership Academy, you’ll engage a private online community of leaders committed to leading healthy, growing churches.
Through ongoing guided discussions, live coaching calls, and a forum to ask any leadership question you have, you’ll discover new strategies, build practical day-to-day skills, and get immediate feedback from people who have led through the exact same challenges and opportunities you’re facing.
You can keep learning from your own mistakes, or you can fast-track your growth and learn directly from people who have been in your shoes before—including me. When I show up in the community (most days each week), it isn’t a team member or a bot… it’s really me.
Life-Giving Community
Through guided discussions and a forum to start your own, you’ll go from “nobody knows I’m here” to frequent engagement with leaders just like you.
Live Coaching Calls
Connect with me, my team, and top leaders on Live Coaching Calls, held monthly, where we discuss today’s most pressing leadership topics.
Invested in Your Success
Start with a warm welcome and onboarding call invested in your success. Plus, tap into our support team whenever you need it — no extra cost.
UPCOMING LIVE COACHING CALLS
JUNE 2026
AI & The Future Church: Rethinking Sunday Mornings
AI makes content abundant, and preaching alone is no longer as scarce as it once was. In this coaching call, you’ll learn to move beyond information and create gatherings marked by truth, presence, and community that people can’t download anywhere else.
JULY 2026
AI & The Future Church: Practical Training
A practical 60-minute session where you’ll learn how other church leaders are using AI, best practices for your church, and pitfalls to avoid. This session will show you how to get dramatically more out of AI—freeing you up for the work only you can do. You’ll walk away with concrete workflows, proven prompts, and practical strategies you can put to work the same day.
Practical, step-by-step leadership strategies, tools, and skills that get you real growth. Available on-demand whenever you need it.
When you join, you get unlimited, on-demand access to my best material that you won’t find anywhere else.
A growing library of comprehensive courses (with bite-sized modules)
My courses cover anything (and everything), from becoming a more effective preacher and communicator to freeing up time and energy to focus on what matters most to you. And from creating a culture of generosity at your church, to developing leaders that can grow areas of your ministry.
It’s all broken down into bite-sized modules that have…
Workbooks, templates, cheat sheets, checklists, scripts, and more
These day-to-day resources take you from concept to execution immediately — and they’re included in each course and training. You’ll get access to hundreds of workbooks, templates, cheat sheets, checklists, scripts, and assessments to turn the concepts and insights into immediate action.
And to top it all off…
Done-for-you leadership development
With new leadership development material every month, you can prepare your staff and volunteers to make better decisions — stress free. Each month, you’ll receive a plug-and-play video training, meeting agenda, and application guide so you can cross staff meeting prep off your to-do list for good.
14,000+ leaders have used these courses to get real results.
You can too.
Get unlimited access to all of the courses listed below. Every course is available on-demand and includes additional resources to help you turn the concepts and insights into immediate action—workbooks, templates, cheat sheets, checklists, scripts, assessments, and more.
No more thinking, acting, or staying small. Get a proven framework to fuel your vision, grow giving, and fully fund your ministry in Fund the Future master class.
Step by step, you’ll replace deep sighs and feelings of anxiety with effective strategies, mindsets, and skills that make Biblical stewardship and transformational generosity core pieces of your church’s culture, learning directly from Craig Groeschel, Carey Nieuwhof, Chris Hodges, Dan Clark, Ashley Wooldridge, and more.
Hi, I’m Carey Nieuwhof
You may know me as the host of my leadership podcast, the author of At Your Best and Didn’t See it Coming, or as the founder of The Art of Leadership Academy.
When I started out in ministry, I was leading 3 rural churches that had a combined attendance of 40. (Yeah, you read that right.) It had literally been 10 years since one of the churches last had a new visitor.
I knew the task ahead of us was big, and I wanted to see growth. But how? I’m not exaggerating when I say…
I had no budget, no team, and no one to guide me through it.
So, I started searching for help and did what everyone does.
I went to conferences, hired coaches, read book after book, and joined a network, and it all helped… but it was YEARS and YEARS of trial-and-error and making mistakes.
Since then…
Those 3 rural churches have become a multi-site ministry that thousands of previously unchurched people attend every single week.
I’ve also had the privilege of interviewing and spending time with world-class church and business leaders—like Craig Groeschel, John Mark Comer, Nona Jones, Francis Chan, James Clear, Simon Sinek, Annie F. Downs, Seth Godin, and Rick Warren.
And it’s become my mission to share breakthrough insights, skills, and strategies that work — the ones that lead to real results for you and your ministry.
I believe you deserve to lead with the same answers and clarity that rapidly growing churches and leaders do.
So, I’ve spent the past two decades of my life studying what works, gathering hundreds of thousands of data points, and testing (testing, testing, testing).
That’s exactly what you’ll find in The Art of Leadership Academy — a proven roadmap to faster growth. Each course has game-changing insights, skills, and strategies that have been used by thousands of leaders and churches… they simply work.
It’s all paired with a vibrant online community so you don’t have to lead through it alone. If you decide to join, send me a DM once you’re in. I’d love to meet you!
There’s comfort in knowing you can watch (or re-watch) a lesson, use a practical tool or template, send a DM, or simply post a question, and you’ll be moving forward in minutes.
Jasmyn Denton
I learn something new every time I open the app—whether it’s hearing what other leaders are learning and doing, problem-solving with fellow members, or working through the courses, this is a rich, deep well.
The interactions in the comments are always generous, insightful, and not self-inflated. In one of the comment sections, Carey simply said, “There’s so much wisdom in this group. What do people think?” I could have cried for joy.
To have someone point to us and say, “Ask them…” meant more than I can say.
Paul Webster
I’ve created margin in my life and leadership, and I love it. We have a weekly time planned for our family just to be us and play games and have fun together. Having young kids (who are growing up way too fast!), this is my biggest win!
I’ve also reclaimed wasted time at work, where I’m using my green zone to improve my preaching, work on ministry strategy, and create digital content for our church.
Jeremy Cole
There ARE other people out there asking the same questions and going through the same things I am. This makes me feel normal.
What I love the most is the clarity it brings to the complex problems we are all facing as pastors.
And that I don’t have to come up with my own content to invest in my team. I can just use what’s provided here and in the monthly team training content.
Nowhere else do you find such quality content for pastors.
Sarah Starrenburg
I have received so much wisdom, encouragement, and thought-provoking input from an amazing network of people I otherwise would never have met. The Academy is truly a gift.
Dave Allman
Our church has grown spiritually, numerically, and financially. We identified that we were understaffed, and our payroll was far below the standard budget.
Since joining, our church attendance has nearly doubled in size; we hired two more full-time and one more part-time staff. We have raised over two million dollars and will be debt-free on our property at the end of this year.
The feeling of being overwhelmed is lifting from my shoulders as we have expanded our team.
Brody Tubaugh
I took the course on generosity inside The Art of Leadership Academy, and we actually have a plan now. I’m so excited.
I’ve never been excited about money [at church], and now there’s light at the end of the tunnel instead of just barely scraping by.
Josiah Petermann
This has been a breath of fresh air. I was overworked and overwhelmed, and our staff was stuck maintaining the mission hung on the wall.
Since joining and using the programs, we’ve heard so many encouraging insights that have helped us move our mission forward and invite people to join us.
Chris Hallbach
After working through the Art of Preaching, I was compelled to preach noteless for the first time ever, and it went incredibly well. My bottom line was clear and thoughtful.
I even had multiple people come up to tell me how engaging and dynamic my message was. I can’t wait to keep getting better.
Mike Willis
I am absolutely thrilled and overflowing with gratitude for this incredible community that has been an invaluable guide in equipping me to lead my church through a replant!
The unwavering support and expert advice have been a game-changer for me as a pastor.
I’m confidently charting a course toward a bright and successful future for my church!
You may be asking yourself, “What’s this community like? Am I going to fit in?“
Churches of all sizes (church plants right to 5,000+ in attendance) and denominations come together in our life-giving community, which means you’ll find a group of leaders who truly understand what you’re leading through.
Plus, our values help us understand how we interact with each other and keep the community free of the trolls and self-promoters you find everywhere else online.
Don’t let the same old…
Strategies, Coaching Groups, Methods,
Networks, Mentors
… get you the same old results.
Choose how you’d like to join below.
Free Account
Access to a community of growth-minded church leaders
Curated articles, videos & practical downloads
Exclusive episode discussions for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast
$0
Starter Kit
Everything in a free account
5 on-demand workshops
Plug-and-play leadership training kits (released monthly)
Premium discussion feed
$17/month
All-Access
Everything in the Starter Kit
Unlimited access to all courses, workshops & resources
Interactive live coaching calls (monthly)
Priority support
30-day money-back guarantee
$57/month
Annual Plan – Save $187
Unlimited access to all courses and resources
Private online community of church leaders
Monthly live coaching calls
Monthly leadership development for staff
Transfer your course completion to a master’s degree
Onboarding call invested in your success
30-day money-back guarantee
$497/year
That’s only $1.36 a day. Cancel at any time.
Monthly Plan
Unlimited access to all courses and resources
Private online community of church leaders
Monthly live coaching calls
Monthly leadership development for staff
Transfer your course completion to a master’s degree
Onboarding call invested in your success
$57/month
Renews monthly. Cancel at any time.
Questions that leaders like you asked before they joined.
How long before I start seeing results?
The short answer? Much faster than the trial-and-error approach.
Leaders have seen huge lifts in reducing overwhelm, seeing new guests, preaching more engaging sermons, and more, after only watching a few videos.
If you’re a church plant that’s still figuring things out, it may take a few months longer than a church with a big budget — but the results WILL still come.
Regardless of where you are now, the Art of Leadership Academy is your roadmap to growth – in a surprisingly short timeframe.
What does my commitment look like? And how many hours will this take?
Many of the training programs take 3-6 hours to complete. You can choose to take the training at your own pace, with (or without) additional time to dive deeper into the material with your team.
In addition, the monthly Live Coaching Calls are 60 minutes in length and packed with value. It’s the condensed teachings you need to hear without any fluff, and there’s plenty of time for Q&A so you can get answers to your specific questions. If you can’t make it live, a recording is uploaded following the live call.
Bottom line:
This training works if you do the work. 2-3 hours per month is plenty of time to make meaningful change, but we think you’ll love it enough to invest more time than that.
When can I access the courses and materials? Will I have to wait?
You won’t have to wait! All of the courses and resources are available on-demand, so you can work through it at your own pace.
Each lesson or resource has a comment section beneath it, so you can ask questions and engage with other leaders around that specific material.
Where can I get more information about the master’s degree partnership between The Art of Leadership Academy and Southeastern University?
If you have questions about The Art of Leadership Academy’s master’s pathway partnership with Southeastern University, please reach out to [email protected]—we’re happy to help!
Please contact Southeastern directly with questions about their programs or admissions process. Click here for contact information.
Do I have to join The Art of Leadership Academy to access a course?
No. You can purchase individual courses as well.
Some benefits, such as access to our Community, Coaching Calls, and Monthly Team Training, are exclusive to all-access members.
I need approval to make this purchase. Do you have anything that can help with that?
We do! Click here to download a one-pager that you can share with anyone you may need approval from.
How do I pay?
Click one of the buttons on this page to proceed to checkout. Once you’re there, you can enter the required information and pay with credit card.
Is there a refund policy?
It means a lot to me that this material makes a difference in your ministry and in your leadership. With all my resources, I offer a no-questions-asked 30-day guarantee.
Just email us at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.