Why 95Network is Becoming The Renewed Pastor

For more than a decade, 95Network has existed for one reason: to encourage, equip, and strengthen pastors serving small and mid-sized churches.

After months of prayer, years of observation, countless conversations with pastors, and an intentional season of strategic planning, we’ve made an important decision.

Beginning September 1, 2026, 95Network will become The Renewed Pastor.

For some, that may sound like a simple name change. It isn’t.

It’s the clearest expression yet of what God has been teaching us.

It Started With a Burden

When I became Executive Director of 95Network in 2018, I brought with me a deep love for the local church.

I’ve served as an executive pastor. I’ve worked alongside churches as a ministry consultant. Through every season, one conviction has remained steady:

There is no Plan B for the local church.

Because of that conviction, our team has spent years serving pastors through conferences, coaching, VisionDays, podcasts, articles, speaking events, and countless conversations.

We’re grateful for every one of those opportunities. God has allowed us to walk alongside pastors across the country, and we’ll always be thankful for the ministry of 95Network.

But over the last several years, something became increasingly clear: The needs of pastors were changing.

The Pandemic Revealed What Many Pastors Had Been Carrying

COVID didn’t create the struggles pastors were experiencing–it exposed them.

Almost overnight, the pressure pastors had been quietly carrying for years came rushing to the surface. Many were exhausted. Many were isolated. Many realized they had spent years caring for everyone else’s soul while neglecting their own.

Others admitted something they had never felt free to say before: “I know how to preach, but I was never really taught how to lead.”

Those conversations changed me. They also changed our ministry.

In 2023, we launched our first Soul Care Essentials Conference, wondering if pastors would be willing to have honest conversations about their own health.

The response was overwhelming and confirmed something we couldn’t ignore: Pastors weren’t simply looking for another conference. They were looking for someone to walk with them.

From Resources to Relationships

As I talked with ministry leaders across the country, I discovered we were seeing the same trend: Pastors still appreciated good content, but content wasn’t enough. Another conference wasn’t enough. Another book wasn’t enough.

Pastors wanted trusted relationships. They wanted coaching. They wanted someone who understood the unique weight they carry and would stay with them longer than a weekend event.

Around the same time, another realization became impossible to ignore: Our name no longer reflected what God was calling us to do.

The name 95Network came from a statistic about the percentage of churches in America that are small or mid-sized. It served us well for many years because it pointed to a group of churches that often felt overlooked. But people weren’t searching for a (now outdated) statistic, they were searching for hope.

More specifically, they were searching for renewal.

Why “The Renewed Pastor”?

During the last two years, our team spent time praying, listening, researching, seeking counsel from trusted leaders, and working through a strategic planning process.

Throughout that process, one truth kept rising to the surface.

Healthy churches begin with healthy pastors.

We’ve always believed that. Now we’re building everything around it.

The name The Renewed Pastor says exactly who we’re called to serve and what we hope God accomplishes through this ministry:

Renewed pastors. Because when a pastor is renewed, the impact doesn’t stop with that individual.

It reaches their family first. Then their staff. Then their congregation. Then their community.

One renewed pastor creates a ripple that reaches far beyond what any of us can measure. That conviction now sits at the center of everything we do.

A Sharper Focus: The Pathway

This transition also represents a clearer ministry focus. For years, we’ve offered conferences, resources, coaching, and many different ways to serve churches.

Those ministries mattered, but we’ve become convinced that pastors don’t primarily need more information.

They need someone to walk with them.

That’s why our primary focus moving forward will be The Renewed Pastor Pathway™—a one-year coaching journey designed to help pastors experience renewal from the inside out.

The journey begins where real renewal always begins: With the soul.

From there, pastors work through identity and calling, vision for their church, and leadership development, always remembering that ministry is what they do—not who they are.

What Isn’t Changing

While our name is changing, our heart is not.

• We believe deeply in the local church.
• We love pastors serving faithfully in small and mid-sized communities.
• We believe churches become healthier when their leaders become healthier.

We’re simply becoming more focused in how we pursue that mission.

Instead of trying to help every church in every possible way, we’re committing ourselves to walking deeply with the pastors who are ready for renewal.

Looking Ahead

As we step into this new season, I couldn’t be more hopeful.

Our podcast, blog, coaching, and future content will all point toward one purpose: Equipping pastors for renewal in their life, leadership, and legacy.

My prayer is simple: That God would use this ministry to help one pastor after another rediscover the joy of ministry, the health of their soul, and the confidence of their calling. Because when a pastor is renewed, everyone around them feels the difference.

Thank you for being part of this journey. The best is yet to come.

In Him,

Dale Sellers, Executive Director