In this powerful episode of the Be Unbound Podcast, we sit down with Pastor Dakota Smith, senior pastor of Ottawa Bible Church in Kansas—a church that has grown from 70 to 700 people in just six years. Dakota shares why he believes this growth is the fruit of simple, consistent faithfulness: preaching God’s Word, cultivating personal integrity, prioritizing discipleship, and developing future leaders.

We talk about the beauty and the cost of pastoral ministry, the dangers of legalism and license, and the incredible movement of God happening among young adults today. If you care about the local church, student discipleship, and long-term faithfulness in ministry like we do, you'll definitely learn something from this episode.

Here are a few things that we cover:

• Dakota’s background as a pastor, missionary, Bible teacher, and father of (soon) six
• How Ottawa Bible Church has grown by 1,000% — and why the strategy is simply obeying Scripture
• The difference between ministry and discipleship, and why it matters
• Why many churches struggle to train leaders — and how Dakota is changing that
• Legalism, licentiousness, and true Christian liberty
• How young people can understand spiritual growth without chasing metrics
• The cost of leadership: criticism, conflict, and learning humility
• The deep joys of ministry: reconciled marriages, salvation stories, and generational discipleship
• Why Dakota believes the harvest among students and young adults is plentiful right now
• A hopeful vision for the future of the church

05:08 Keys to Church Growth and Discipleship

13:55 Balancing Legalism, Licentiousness, and Liberty

21:06 Challenges and Joys of Ministry

38:52 Encouragement and Final Thoughts

Learn more about Unbound: https://beunbound.us/

Hosts: Jonathan Brush, David Rethemeyer

Producer: Kyle Hill