The future of creativity is shifting—fast. And for the first time, humans aren’t the only ones leading the way. New studies from Stanford and MIT reveal how AI is already transforming creative work. In this video, we break down the top 3 takeaways every creative needs to know to stay ahead.

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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Takeaway #1: The AI Revolution Is Backwards
13:06 - Takeaway #2: Trust Is The Biggest Roadblock
20:27 - Takeaway #3: Creative Bankruptcy

IMPORTANT LINKS
- Future of Work with AI Agents: https://bit.ly/4lzlPnc
- Your Brain On Chatgpt: https://bit.ly/4nyRHKn
- Threads, Podcast Video Studio, & AI Policy For Churches: https://youtu.be/hngpsILIL8I

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🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com
🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church
📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
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🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

A church in Arizona has shared its goals for the year—and surprisingly, not one of them mentions attendance. So what are they focusing on instead? And should your church take a similar approach? In this episode, we break down their strategy and what it could mean for your ministry.

 

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

4:36 - Reason #1: Process OVER Outcome

10:39 - Reason #2: Lead OVER Lag

19:18 - Bonus Goal #1: Young Leaders Coalition

23:44 - Bonus Goal #2: Amplify More Voices

30:35 - Bonus Goal #3: Staff Sabbatical Policy

 

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Ironwood Church: https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/

- Luke Simmons Twitter | X: https://x.com/lukedsimmons

- Makeovers: https://www.nucleus.church/makeovers

- What Predicts Church Growth or Decline?: https://bit.ly/44o8pVk

 

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 59,296+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

 

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

 

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Today on the show: 15 things everyone says your church needs on social media. Spoiler — many don’t matter at all. We’re sorting each one: necessary, nice to have, or nonsense. Let’s cut through the noise.

 

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

1:48 - Spring Promotions

5:46 - Facebook Group

7:04 - Consistency

8:51 - Photography Of Church Life

11:18 - DM Automation

13:12 - Skit Reels

18:50 - Meta Verified

20:26 - Following & Engaging With Others

23:30 - Sprinkle Promotions

28:40 - Hashtags

31:42 - Sermon Reels

38:24 - Social Accounts For Ministries

40:52 - Ideal Post Timing

43:15 - X Account

44:30 - TikTok/Threads Account

 

IMPORTANT LINKS

- ManyChat: https://manychat.com/

- Stop Saying “Link In Bio”! Say This Instead… : https://youtu.be/wEMYlV4ZvPg

 

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 59,296+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

 

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

 

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (02:32): I need a pros and cons list, church photos taken on cell phones vs. professional photos.

Question #2 (13:50): How do you help church leadership understand how long it takes to do good video work for the church (or other marketing work) that they maybe have never done before, so they have no concept of how long it should take or how many people it would take to produce it and do it well?

Question #3 (24:55): Both of you (Brady and Alex) have many interests and irons in the fire, both in business and personally. Whether it's designing website software, starting new services like SocialSermons, photography, forest foraging, hunting, coffee, sports, fragrances, etc etc, you are also both married and have kids, and Alex pastors on the side. How do you guys stay sane? I know Alex talked recently about reclaiming a Sabbath, and I wondered how this may factor into that larger topic, as someone also has many varied interests, but is wondering if I'm over extending myself.

Question #4 (37:56): I listen each week to your podcasts. I'm 50+ years old & have never purchased or worn men's cologne. I'm intrigued with your conversations about the topic. So much so, that I'm planning on trying some. What are your top 5 or top 10 that one should sample? 

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (01:28): How do you navigate creating content in a small church where most of the ppl are camera shy? I’ve tried asking ppl for testimony, tried asking ppl how they felt about service, we even tried a segment where we highlight entrepreneurs in our congregation as a way to involve community. Overall, engagement is low both on and offline. How do I as the social media manager help turn it around? 

Question #2 (09:14): I've been trying to find some data and stats that prove converting our Catholic homilies into short form video would be worth the time it would take to do it.  Do you happen to have any data or stats showing performance by churches who are doing this? More specifically, it would be great if it could be data from Catholic Churches. I hear everyone pitching to do it, but cannot find any data to show results. Not to sound all corporate, but what is the ROI?

Question #3 (19:43): Here’s a boring but helpful idea for a podcast question. Business card tips? We do a feeding the needy program and distribute business cards for people to know who we are and how to make contact. Tips?

Question #4 (25:14): What are your hottest food takes?

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Question #1 (00:32): What's the future of video and that whole field of work in your opinion - considering the rise of AI?

Question #2 (11:01): How to know when it's time to leave a job?

Question #3 (19:56): What do you think of video banners on church websites?

Question #4 (26:20): What are your favorite go-to meals right now?

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Question 1A (01:22): I’ve been asked to run a promotion for a campaign to raise money to pay for our HVAC system. I want it to be effective and not cringy.    Question 1B (01:30): I’ve been asked to promote the current financial promotion! I need help! To be fair, our church is debt free and raising money for an air conditioner. Nevertheless, how can I make it not so cringy?   Question 1C (01:58): My church board wants us to make announcements about our Spring Business Meeting....I know you talk about telling a story (that inspires) for announcements. How do you do that for the annual business meeting? 

Question #2 (12:17): Our new-ish (about a year) senior pastor is very active on social media. He also shares a lot of our church posts. My question is how much should we share each other's posts? Going through his followers, (a few thousand) I'd say about 1/3 of them also follow the church's accounts, so a lot of the same people may be seeing the same posts on both accounts. Personally, I think it's a great idea for both of us to share each other's posts to stories on IG and FB, and to retweet them, but not so sure about sharing to our IG and FB feeds. What do you suggest? How much sharing should we be doing?

Question #3 (15:39): How do you get more followers on a church account?

Question #4 (27:36): What did you learn in your last year of life?

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Question #1 (02:14):  You're both busy, successful individuals, managing families, social, church, coffee and even scents. I'm just wondering what you two use to manage your tasks/outlining/mind-mapping. Is it Evernote? Notion? A simple spreadsheet? 

Question #2 (13:03): My goal on vertical video is to get it under 60 seconds which I’m usually at 58-59 on sermon clips. I’ve noticed clips under 30 seconds possibly doing better. Have you seen a better goal of 15-30 seconds for vertical video?

Question #3 (22:39): When you encourage social sermon posts, you point out the importance of the hook at the intersection of faith and culture. In my position, I have influence on our sermon series titles. I'm not sure it makes sense that our sermon series titles should be the same as a social sermon hook, but I feel the faith and culture principle could still apply. Am I putting too much thought into something no one cares about? 

Question #4 (29:08): Heard you say you never check bags (I think). How do you pack for international travel with all of your camera gear?

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (01:27): Is "high production" vs. "low production" a heart issue?

Question #2 (13:13): For announcements it’s easy to shift to a model of: inspiration and one next step, but I’m wondering how do you shift the vocabulary of your main speakers? I’ve notice that most of the biggest churches have preaching and MCing that use a shared vocabulary, some things are vision statements (which is easy to have a shared language around), some things are cultural statements and some things are functional to that church. But I’m wondering how do they unify behind that? Is there a list of statements or is there a quota per service? Is there a comms strategy meeting that they plan out what to say and what’s worth saying? How do all these different speakers have the same vocabulary?

Question #3 (22:52): How soon should I publish our sermon clips after the sermon was first preached? Also, should I be trying to add new designs onto every SocialSermon? Thanks!

Question #4 (35:08): Coffee Corner with Bishop Barista - Question for Alex: what decaf/low caf coffees does he recommend for people with high blood pressure that need to reduce caffeine intake but still want to enjoy a good.

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (02:00): How best to use ChatGPT in church? Church leadership? Ministry issues?

Question #2 (16:44): Just curious, what are your thoughts on the social media app Lemon8? Do you think it would be beneficial for a church to utilize that app?

Question #3 (22:57): Communications Minister here at my church. I have a church member that has gone and made their own custom T-shirts after we just did a church-wide shirt order. They don’t match the same shirts everyone else has and this person is not in a position of leadership. How should I address this with this individual? What's consistent branding worth? The shirts are honestly fine, but I just don't feel like I can have a church member just making whatever they want ESPECIALLY when we've done a church-wide shirt order recently that allowed everyone to have something similar and have a sense of unity.

Question #4 (29:09): What are your top 5 favorite sports moments?

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Question #1 (02:06): Any tips on dealing with insecurity as a leader?

Question #2 (18:04): What do you do when you feel one of your church's paid staff isn't pulling his weight?

Question #3 (31:11): If you could pick one social stigma The Church could magically get past - what would it be?

Question #4 (41:23): Any way that Alex recommends to make a latte without any fancy equipment at home? We’re curious if the Chaplain of Caffeine had any tips?

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (00:28): I hear you talk frequently about bridge events. We are struggling to get buy-in with our church leadership because, in years past, we had many such events and, while they were well attended, there was rarely ever a person who actually become a regular attendee through such an event. What are your tips for leading our congregation to intentionally see these events as a form of outreach?

Question #2 (17:01): Should churches bother with Twitter anymore? Are there any use cases that Twitter would be good for?

Question #3 (24:19): We are looking to set up a podcast/video studio, can you share how you would set it up? What’s needed and is there a way to make it portable? We don’t have dedicated studio space. Thank you!

Question #4 (31:47):  What is your all-time favorite worship song?

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (02:03): I just took the leap from a large student ministry to a small older congregation as a lead pastor. Our church is older, not tech savvy, but is looking to grow. I am 32, pretty tech savvy, and ready to reach our community. What would be your advice on updating our methods of ministry?

Question #2 (12:43): How do I increase our reach on TikTok? My Pastor's reels regularly get 10-20k views on Facebook but the same video on TikTok gets around 250.

Question #3 (25:53): So I posted on my Instagram Stories - "Collecting church comms nightmare stories. Please share." And it quickly turned into all the times churches have messed up their print materials. Just wanted to share a few.

Question #4 (30:11): Time for a new series we're starting today called - "What's Wrong Lately." I'll go first.

This is Church Branding 101. Learn the difference between brand and branding, exercises to define your church’s identity, and whether branding even belongs in ministry.

 

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

2:02 - The Simplest Way To Understand Branding

3:52 - Brand vs. Branding

5:38 - All Church's Practice Perception Design, Most Just Do It Unintentionally

10:14 - Is Intentionally Practicing Perception Design 'Manipulative?’

12:50 - Your Church Branding Foundation: Purpose/Mission/Vision/Values

 

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Pro Church Certified: https://prochurchcertified.com

- Email us: hello@prochurchtools.com

 

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 59,296+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

 

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

 

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (02:08): How do you bridge the age gap? Our church has a lot older people but they also want to bring in younger people. Unfortunately when they come, they don’t feel comfortable or connected.

Question #2 (16:24): How would you go about addressing the social media presence of a church with multiple campuses? For example, we have a church with a “primary” campus and then we have two satellite campuses that currently meet in local schools with the goal of having permanent buildings.

Question #3 (18:32): How important do you think it is to have an aesthetically pleasing church Instagram feed? I feel like ours isn’t as uniform as others, but I also think same colors, fonts and presets all the time is boring.

Question #4 (23:11): What is your most memorable concert?

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (00:30): What is your best tip for churches to encourage people to attend an earlier service? We are experiencing rapid growth and need to make room at our popular second service.

Question #2 (06:13): Hey Brady, I work for the US Army where our church body is all transient (average two years on installation). I'm sure I'm not the only kind of church where most of the members don't stay very long. I'm wondering if any of your comms/social media advice would be adjusted for our type of audience where we are constantly seeking new members.

Question #3 (13:53): We recently launched a sister campus that is completely unique in terms of events, but we are under the same umbrella of elders, beliefs, etc. What is your strategy for approaching a website that combines both? A main hub domain and links out to a separate domain for each campus?

Question #4 (21:38): Hey Brady, it's a new season - what's in the fragrance rotation for Spring 2023?

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (01:51): Can you look at the Instagram Reel that hit one million views and the other videos on our channel and see if there's anything we can be doing better? Also, I accredited you to all the staff for that video that hit one million. Ever since listening to your podcast our engagement has more than tripled! 

Question #2 (17:37): Do you have any content on how we can encourage our congregations to actively share and like the church content? I’ll post something and get 2-10 likes and shares from the pastoral staff. But I know posts that have many likes and shares get seen way more often. Is this not a way to help share the gospel as it would be seen more? We're in a church of just under 400 people.

Question #3 (24:01): What are thoughts on transformation church purchasing a media studio? How do you feel about churches creating their personal content at a mass scale? Should these profits go to unfortunate instead?

Question #4 (39:10): Loved the favourite things about Canada you and Alex shared on the pod. I think it would be a fun follow up question to hear what you guys like about the US, from your travels there and interactions with so many Americans, and for Alex having family there.

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Question #1 (01:30): If you were starting over at a new church with little social media presence and an outdated website, what would be your approach/priorities. I think you message is resonating with many people today, but most of us are overwhelmed with where to invest first.

Question #2 (12:25): Who or what accounts should our church IG accounts follow? Leadership team? Other churches? Church attendees? Not really sure what makes the most sense.

Question #3 (18:06): You mentioned in an earlier podcast that a newsletter style weekly email wasn't a very effective form of church communication, and that it's giving the work to your congregation. Are there any cases in which E-News emails (weekly emails detailing a list of 4 to 5 upcoming events with links to register) are ever effective? Why or why not? 

Question #4 (30:33): What are you favourite things about being Canadian?

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Question #1 (01:02):  What’re your thoughts on Meta’s new paid verification system? As an Aussie getting first access to it is tempting, but do you see it adding value to normal churches / individuals other than the cheap clout?

Question #2 (17:36):  We're really battling with getting new volunteers for our Digital Campus and have tried personal asks, asking live during the hosting, social media posts. Any helpful tips or advice? 

Question #3A (26:08): We're currently building a second studio and also adding a larger coffee area for our team of 5-10 coffee drinkers in our team each Sunday. I personally have experience with Breville espresso machines, pour over, and Aeropress (and spending a long time to make one single great cup or coffee) but thinking of something maybe easier that still gives us a great coffee experience (Chemex probably?) Would love to know what Alex's thoughts are on this.

Question #3B (31:17): Money is tight right now. What is your recommended low-cost whole bean coffee for French press/pour over? Costcos Colombian Supreme? Walmart? Trader Joe's?

Question #4 (38:44):  What has helped you be as confident as you are with your big, and successful, decisions?! Like: starting Pro Church Tools, creating a work culture that seems beyond healthy and incredible, launch a website builder, social media analysis, etc. How did you know those things would work out for you and how have you stayed focused and motivated to build all that you have?

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Got a question from a listener asking us to comment on Doug Smith - author and software engineer - on the podcast “Theology in the Raw” with Preston Sprinkle. The listener goes on to say "I’d love to hear your considered response in light of Smith's argument that many of the emerging digital platforms are designed to be addictive and hamper discipleship and our mission rather than further it in healthy ways."

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Got a question from a listener asking us to comment on Louie Giglios comments from Passion Conference 2023 in his message titled "Yes, Lord" in which he takes aim at social media. Particularly, discovery algorithms on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Shorts.

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (01:46): Instagram Notes: Genius? Stupid? And how do we use it for church? Hot takes most welcome.

Question #2 (09:10): What are your thoughts on polls/surveys sent to the church family in order to make decisions? For instance, say an eldership is divided about whether to have one worship gathering or two, and want to send out a poll out to the congregation to gather data. Is there a way to keep the poll unbiased?

Question #3 (17:33): What are your thoughts on churches monetizing videos? I don’t think I’ve heard you mention that much and haven’t heard it as a listed benefit to the social sermon videos. I made almost $2000 from one of our videos that went semi-viral (350k views) on YouTube and with monetization of YouTube shorts being a thing now, there could be some money made too, yes?

Question #4 (22:18): Suggestions for deconstructing church leadership? Former pastor here.

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Question #1 (01:55): I just had an engagement post asking "What was the name of the first church you ever attended?" that probably did better than any engagement post to date. When is it okay to reuse an engagement post? I'm sure it can vary!

Question #2 (10:32): Do you feel the 3-phase social media flywheel (engagement, spiritual practices, your story) is still the best model or would you tweak it to keep current with current social trends? 

Question #3 (16:13): Is there a way for text to give to work with Nucleus Giving? Our church seems to use that the most.

Question #4 (32:22): Besides the treatment you've been doing, any other face products you recommend?

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (02:31): What is the value of having a dedicated app for your church as opposed to just relying on your existing website?

Question #2 (24:40): With the  discovery algorithms taking over, does it still matter what time I post each day? Since the focus isn't getting our followers to see our stuff, seems it wouldn't matter as much what time we post. It all goes into a giant pile and whatever resonates with the folks is what gets 'pushed' to the front of the line. Am I wrong?

Question #3 (27:34): Wondering if you could tackle this for the podcast - why do many influential, young pastors preach with a hand held mic rather than an over the ear headset/lapel?

Question #4 (36:04): Brady and Alex, what are your pet peeves?

Ministry is shifting, and Millennials are stepping into leadership like never before. But without awareness, we risk repeating the mistakes of those before us. Let’s talk about what’s changing and how to navigate it wisely.

 

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

5:20 - Big Idea #1: Creative Culture Vs. Capitalist Culture

10:10 - Big Idea #2: Millennials No Longer Shape Pop Culture

13:15 - Big Idea #3: Millennials Will Repeat Past Leaders’ Mistakes—But Excuse Themselves

17:15 - Big Idea #4: Some Values To Help Us Navigate This New Era

23:53 - Big Idea #5: Mission Over Method

 

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Dupe Photos: https://dupephotos.com

- Eden Church: https://www.instagram.com/edenchurchhouston

 

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 59,296+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

 

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

 

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (01:40): Hey Brady, how do you recommend responding to antagonistic or outright trolling in comments? Especially with the video reply option in TikTok and the increasing desire for authentic content - when do we engage versus ignore?

Question #2 (07:38): I tried your trick of 3-10 minute sermon clips, but they only get 25% or so of the views the actual sermons get on YouTube. I've been doing this for over a year every week on the same channel as our sermons.

Question #3 (17:17): How can we cleanup our church's website? It looks so cluttered to me and I've tried a few things, but I don't know what other options I have at this point?

Question #4 (26:40): Brady and Alex, what are your goals for 2023?

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Question #1 (01:54): Our church records our services in landscape format - any recommendations for software to clip/crop and make our videos vertical for social?

Question #2 (06:40): Do you recommend directing people to your YouTube channel at the end of a SocialSermons or just share it as a bite?

Question #3 (22:58): How many SocialSermons should I post per week?

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Question #1 (02:26): We've posted sermon clips before on Instagram Reels. They haven't gained a ton of traction. What are we doing wrong?

Question #2 (07:13): Your sermon clip system for social media is just using business tactics that don't belong in church. Pathetic.

Question #3 (13:05): One concern I have about posting our sermons on social is that they may be too insider-focused. What should I post for people we're trying to reach if I'm already posting sermons?

Question #4 (20:16): Brady, I've had enough of your rambling - just give us the flipping formula - Alexander Mills

So like I promised, you can download this entire formula in template form. The template is called The 1-Page Church Social Media Plan and you can download that at churchsocialmediaplan.com. In next week's episode, the final in our trio of three dedicated to social media in 2023, we're going to cover the second part of our SocialSermon Formula which is the edit. And as you might have guessed, that's dedicated to the actual video editing side of preparing your SocialSermons. We'll be talking about the three sections of your video edit, some key tools and plugins you'll wanna consider using, the finishing touches you'll want to apply on every SocialSermon, and more. That's all in next week's show. Talk to you then.

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (01:36): What social media trends are you seeing for 2023?

Question #2 (07:39): I've seen you talk about 'discovery' algorithms? What's the difference between that and a typical algorithm on social media?

Question #3 (16:14): Is vertical video a trend my church needs to jump on or is it like a most things on social that will be replaced by something else in a few months?

Question #4 (22:28): Isn’t cross-posting the same content to multiple platforms meant to be avoided?

Question #5 (26:32): My pastor doesn’t really have time to help with social media. How should I get them involved?

In the next podcast we're going to be talking about the nitty gritty of taking your recorded sermons and turning them into viable social media content. Because you can't just grab random sixty second clips and hit publish. There's an entire formula that I will be sharing in detail next week. So talk to you then...

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (02:38): Tips for starting a volunteer social media team at a church? I am the only staff for digital communications at our church of 900 and I can’t make any more progress by myself, but we are not in a position to hire more staff.

Question #2 (10:58): Hello there, I work for a smaller church of about 120 people. I was hired for social media/marketing work back in June, and I've been able to establish a better presence online by utilizing our sermons on Instagram, YouTube shorts etc. We've seen slow, steady progress but are beginning to wonder what the next step would be? How do we get these new coming followers and subscribers engaged/what type of different content do we need to make to do this?

Question #3 (22:27): Hey Brady! My question is what apps do you recommend for creating content for social media? I’m particularly thinking about apps that let you edit Reels/Tiktoks/Shorts and maybe apps where you can create backgrounds/frames for those vids?

Question #4 (26:03): What are your top 5 podcasts?

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Question #1 (01:48): Thoughts on the viral success of ChatGPT?

Question #2 (16:10): Is it possible to post too much on socials? My pastor has asked me to post three times a day on his social pages. I post a Reel six times a week Monday through Saturday morning, and then he wants additional content at noon and in the evening. I simply can't keep up with this much content production.

Question #3 (22:40): Is it worth it to make 'posts' on YouTube?

Question #4 (28:11): Winter is coming. How do you pass time when snowed in?

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Question #1 (01:07): Here are my 2 questions: 1. I still love my church and the people I work with, and I am compelled to obey my leadership even when I don't agree with them. But how can I get over my frustration and keep moving forward? 2. How can I make engaging reels (that the algorithm will actually promote) without using Instagram audio?

Question #2 (16:40): How many sermon videos a week would be good to post on YouTube shorts or Instagram Reels? Should we make a difference between Reels and Shorts?

Question #3 (25:38): A couple months ago, I implemented the Nucleus Prayer Hub on our church’s website. We put it into our video announcements for 3 weeks in a row to try an encourage people to sign up. We are a church of about 125 and It’s now been a month since those announcements, and only 7 people have signed up (2 of which signed up to submit requests, and 2 are admins). Is there a better way I could promote this or encourage people to sign up?

Question #4 (34:28): What are some holiday traditions you two are looking forward to in the coming month? 

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Question #1 (02:45): What’s your take on uploading video podcasts to YouTube? Worth the hassle?

Question #2 (12:57): Do you & your church treat Insta & FB differently? Those are the 2 social platforms we use & I've always found FB to be really awkward (maybe it's the Millennial in me) so I naturally gravitate back to Insta because it feels like you can create more 'fun' content.

Question #3 (21:46): Bingeing your YT channel and there are recurring themes I'm seeing. Our church live streams services, has an app, and uses a giving service that participates in rev share. With all this firmly established, how do we change to the model you recommend? What should we change first? How important is it to even change the way we're doing things in the first place?

Question #4 (35:10): It sounds like you interact with churches all across North America pretty regularly. What excites you about the future of the Church beyond communications and social?

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Question #1 (03:23): What’s the best way to have kids and adults speak up more in testimony videos when doing baptisms or stories? Would this require more vocal coaching to the person who’s story we're filming or creating a more comfortable environment where they aren’t feeling so bashful? 

Question #2 (18:50): Email signatures: how do you think about these for churches? There are a lot of options from simple plain text to more elaborate ones. What would you recommend a church do and why?

Question #3 (23:55): I think you've mentioned that you use Notion. Is that something that just you, Brady, uses, or does the whole company use it? How do you use it?

Question #4 (37:50): What would you tell your younger self in the areas of entrepreneurship and friendships?

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Question #1 (01:14): Recently our church's FB page was put into "FACEBOOK jail" based on content from a recent sermon. Is this something that we should be concerned about or take it as an object lesson on the "suppression of truth"?

Question #2 (19:01): I just received an email about YouTube changing their username/url look up to something call Handles. What is this? And how can I prepare my church to stay ahead of the game on this? 

Question #3 (24:43): Just got this email from Planning Center Giving and would love to hear your thoughts. PC uses Stripe as their processer and Stripe has a new bank verification service that apparently costs more. Stripe has "retired" the old system.  For churches this means ACH transfers now cost $.30 instead of $.25.  One, I'm curious if this is affecting nucleus giving?  Two, does this feel like a money grab by Stripe or necessary increase in a world of inflation?

Question #4 (29:42): Brady, if I someone were to ask me what your taste in music was I might explain by saying "I could see him staying up for the new Swift album release". No hate on Taylor Swift or Swifties. I just slept well that night. As I imagine Alex did. So you and Alex agreeing on a band meant I had to listen. Also, I listen to podcasts at the gym between 9:30pm and 11pm PST. So when I think about texting you, I never do because it feels rude to text someone at 1-2am. So I usually resolve to texting you in the morning and then I forget. I'm realizing today that's dumb because there's no way you would have it set up to be awoken by this text line. 

What do you do when your pastor won’t listen? This is a common challenge in churches, and today, we’re sharing five practical approaches to communicate effectively—without being manipulative. These strategies work in churches of all sizes.

 

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Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

3:02 - The Principle Of Congruency

10:17 - The Middle Option

16:58 - The Historical Analogy

22:45 - The 'Church Across The Street' Example

30:15 - The Testimony

 

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

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GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

 

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Question #1 (01:18): Can you break down the perfect YouTube video receipe with us? 

Question #2 (04:17): Can you tell us what you've learned about the hook, those first 30-60 seconds?

Question #3 (10:24): How can we bring this video recipe into the church world? Can we take portions of the message or the entire message and record a 2 minute intro (the hook) & 2 minute outro (pushing towards a new video) or is it not even worth it at that point? 

Question #4 (17:21): How do you see YouTube contending with the changes we're seeing across the social landscape? Are there any vulnerabilites and is it going to be enough just introducing YouTube Shorts? 

Connect with Sean Cannell: Youtube Instagram Twitter

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Question #1 (00:57): What are your thoughts on the best camera for churches?

Question #2 (19:20): What are your best tips for a new visitor follow-up sequence?

Question #3 (31:44): How should we promote the connect card in our church each week?

Question #4 (42:09): What's your favorite kitchen or cooking gadget?

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Question #1 (01:40): How do you see Shorts fitting into the future of YouTube? How do you see vertical video fitting with YouTube’s future?

Question #2 (13:30): My church currently has two services with an average attendance in each of about 450. We are going to end up going to a combined service style in the upcoming months, which will lead into a massive renovation (an expanded sanctuary, heightened choir loft, balcony seating, two new life group wings, etc.)  How can we properly and effectively communicate and execute this plan with as little misunderstanding as possible? The older generation is not as understanding to change, so how can we aid to their likings as well?

Question #3 (29:14): Have you ever put together a social media plan for a church camp?  Where would you begin if you were in my shoes?

Question #4 (35:19): What is your brushing and flossing regimen?

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Question #1 (03:22): My church recently had to make a statement on a theological topic that's fairly gray. However, as with many things in ministry, there is always a wide spectrum of response...especially since our church family is extremely diverse. There was a much bigger fallout than what we expected, partially due to incorrect rumors, and it's been a hard season of fracture. Any thoughts on the best way to handle the public face of the church when things are rocky?

Question #2 (12:27): A lot of church tech/communications folks are individuals working by themselves and wearing many hats. How do we handle burnout and exhaustion during busier seasons with lots more going on in church (and life) than normal?

Question #3 (23:38): What are your favorite fonts to use in design?

Question #4 (28:19): What's your worst characteristic?

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Question #1 (00:55): We have a rare opportunity from a local FOX station for a free 15-second ad that they will produce. What in the world do we say for that 15 seconds?

Question #2 (10:50): So as the lead Pastor I’m in front a lot and do some video work. I also have some skin conditions that make my face break out and turn red. I do my own lighting and such but do I attempt to make it brighter or blue like? 

Question #3 (21:04): We have gained roughtly 15,000 followers this year on Instagram and increasingly have 1st time guests show up from discovering us through IG reels! However, it feels like the type of preaching / singing reels we post (captured from our services) aren't getting the engagement they were a few months back. Any advice on where things might be going next or how to mix up our current content recipe to get an edge?

Question #4 (32:55): Fav movie, book, and album of the last five years?

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Question #1 (01:22): What are the ten questions you need to answer about an event as you prepare to communicate it?

Question #2 (10:19): Why are you title-ing your videos almost like a sentence? I've noticed a few others doing it on YouTube as well.

Question #3 (24:18): What are your thoughts on stream-sharing software? Where people opt in to share a live stream from the weekend service on their own social media, as if they were the ones live? So, different than just sharing the service, in that it indicates they are live themselves.

Question #4 (29:09): What's your workflow/workday look like?

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Question #1 (01:21): Where are we supposed to post content to be seen by our own church people if EVERY platform is so focused on showing content from people you don’t follow?! I feel like it makes no sense to post church specific content anymore. If it’s not relatable to the masses, it gets buried.

Question #2 (12:32): Hey, I saw Subsplash promote their new giving model. Thoughts on it?

Question #3 (18:42): What's the best CTA (call-to-action) for sermon Reels and TikToks? Or should they be self-contained snippets?

Question #4 (28:41): What is the strangest food you've eaten while travelling?

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Question #1 (02:36): Do you have any thoughts on TikTok introducing the "Now" feature? Is that a signal of them trying to capitalize on the growing attention of Be Real, similar to FB/IG?

Question #2 (14:20): I'm thinking of starting a "midweek question" thing to post on stories every Wednesday as a way to hopefully have more engagement from followers on social media. Is this a good idea? If so, should I come up with a catchy name to make it more interesting?

Question #3 (20:11): Trying to figure out how to create a text hotline for my student ministry. Do you know of any resources?

Question #4 (28:59): Any tips for involving friends or family in your church or business?

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Question #1 (01:13): Thoughts on how to best use BeReal for ministry?

Question #2 (16:16): I want to start a YouTube show where my pastor reacts to hot button cultural issues and current events that people are naturally searching for. Do we just create a playlist/show on our church YouTube channel so that we do not have to start from scratch or should this weekly show get its own YouTube channel?  We would have to start from scratch but non-believers and people around the nation might be more willing to click a video thats not from a church? 

Question #3 (30:52): My church is going to be changing our service times soon which means there will be quite a few updates as far as signage - both physical and digital. How would you go about announcing/promoting this over the next few weeks? Is there anything we can do to better prepare our congregation for this huge change?

Question #4 (35:10): What's next for you after building Nucleus?

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Question #1 (07:18): Given the way church tends to be slow to change and often operates ineffectively in the west, do you think "church" is still a meaningful expression of the gospel or is there a more effective expression Christians should be doing? What gives you hope/keeps you rooting for the church?

Question #2 (21:32): When starting a production/media team, what is your main focus? Developing talent or full proof systems?

Question #3 (25:15): I’m part of a charismatic church, what’s the best way to handle prayer for the online part of the Sunday gathering?

Question #4 (40:52): You are clearly an avid sports fan. What moment solidified your fandom and what was your favorite game of any sport?

It’s time to check in on the state of religion and Christianity. We’ve gathered key data-backed trends shaping this decade, including the one denomination that’s growing, the strongest force in American religion, and the most common words in new church names. Let’s dive in.

 

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

1:30 - Trend #1: Church Names

9:40 - Trend #2: The One Denomination That's Growing

16:07 - Trend #3: Young Men Are Now As Religious As Young Women

27:19 - Trend #4: The Strongest Force In American Religion

 

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Ryan Burge: https://www.drburge.com/

- Ryan Burge | Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ryanburge

- Graphs about Religion: https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/

- What's In a Name? Trends in Non-Denominational Church Branding: https://bit.ly/4iJfQL9

- The Assemblies of God: A Denomination That May Be Growing: https://bit.ly/43JmYD1

- Are Young Women Leaving Religion Faster than Young Men?: https://bit.ly/4iLkk3N

- Non-Denominationalism Is the Strongest Force in American Religion: https://bit.ly/41Zvj47

- The American Religious Landscape: Facts, Trends, and the Future: https://amzn.to/3XMZ1a2

 

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 56,108+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

 

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

 

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Send in your question via text to 1-800-485-3139.

Question #1 (01:44): People within The Church use social media, the internet, and email outside of the church. But The Church in general is still 10 years behind on the communication front. Why is The Church behind?

Question #2 (10:54): Should you personally thank large ticket donors? My leadership feels that is wrong, as giving is between them and God and personal thanks in this way shows favoritism and meddling in their giving.

Question #3 (21:57): Should you just post all your videos on all the platforms even if some don't do well, because they might at some point?

Question #4 (30:09): Most embarrassing high school moment?

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Question #1 (03:00): In your opinion, what is the best way to be in communication with your church? Text, social media, emails, apps, your own website. etc.? Is there any way to simplify communication?

Question #2 (14:33): Our church has a main Facebook page, but we are multi-site and so we also have a Facebook group for each campus. I've not heard any conversations on if you would differentiate the communication coming out in the different groups or if you would make them similar.  Thoughts?

Question #3 (19:48): Any thoughts on items to hand out at a town fair type of event? Something that people will not be quick to throw away and even fun for kids?

Question #4 (25:38): What is the best hot dog?

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Question #1 (01:49): I'd love to know if you have any tips for how to address a pastor leaving on your church website and throughout your social media content. 

Question #2 (16:42): I am a volunteer photographer at my church and I don't feel like I'm being engaged creatively. How do I communicate that I don't like how I'm being used without seeming rude or ungrateful for the opportunity to serve a church I otherwise love?

Question #3 (23:25): If a church has 10K members how many social media team should there be?

Question #4 (26:27): How much does criticism sting you?