The most religious cities in America are places you might suspect. However, there’s a weird addition here - a city in California where nearly 30% are monthly attenders. What city is that? And which cities are the least religious in the country? To help us break it all down we have the preeminent source on data and faith - Ryan Burge from Graphs About Religion.

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

Show Notes:

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

Which Cities are the Least Religious? | Ryan Burge: https://prochur.ch/3Q0xTk5

From Bible Belt to Sunbelt | Darren Dochuk: https://prochur.ch/3vPaivS

The End of White Christian America | Robert P. Jones: https://bit.ly/3UcK7IK

Canadian Social Survey: https://bit.ly/4awUQ6A

David Speed | The Religious Studies Project: https://bit.ly/3vDWnZH

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

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

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

On today's episode, we're answering your questions about improving your church’s photography when faced with less than enthusiastic expressions and whether each ministry requires its own branding. Additionally, we'll touch on our reflections on the recent Elevation episode and its online impact. This is The April 2024 Mailbag. Let’s dive in.

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

1:57 - Can you post too many Reels?

7:39 - Thoughts on the reaction to your Elevation episode?

32:28 - Favorite recent tech trend?

41:31 - Tips for how to do social as a worship night ministry?

47:25 - How do you get more diversity in your photos on Sundays?

50:22 - Is it worth changing our church website domain?

56:27 - Why are we getting low views on our Instastories?

58:21 - Average time for church tech tasks?

01:00:39 - Where to place faith formation/religious education on a site?

01:07:59 - How do you maintain a singular visual identity?

01:10:28 - Should church doctrinal beliefs be on a website?

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

Show Notes:

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

- Social Media Trends 2024 | Hootsuite: https://bit.ly/3xpoxbk

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

It's our quarterly look at the social media landscape. What's changing, what's staying the same, and how does it affect your church? One specific design trend is cooking in Spring 2024. Church sermon clips are showing no signs of slowing down - and there's one reason for this that you've probably never thought of. Plus, a new Instagram trend taking the platform by storm. Let's dive in.

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

1:00 - Vertical video: Same specs, diverse platform cultures.

9:57 - Churches' 'fly on the wall' perspective is becoming more valuable

17:30 - SEND IT BACK: Stop adding audio and decorative trim to your sermon clips

19:56 - High contrast, simple text branded carousels keep winning

30:00 - TikTok's global impact beyond potential bans

36:00 - DM Automation

40:56 - The definition of social media expanding: the old era is dead

47:03 - Social feeds for education

55:04 - CALL YOUR SHOT: Summer Prediction

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

Show Notes:

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

- Start your 30-day free trial (no credit card required) of Nucleus here: https://www.nucleus.church/

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Gen Z, also known as Zoomers, born between 1996 and 2010, are the first generation to grow up in the smartphone era. Here are 10 stats about Gen Z that churches shouldn't ignore.

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Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

2:04 - Bringing Back 90s And Early 00s Fashion Trends And Listening To The Era’s Tunes

6:24 - Interest In Environmental Issues Has Decreased 11% Year-On-Year

13:13 - On Track To Be The Best-Educated Generation Yet

17:26 - Roughly 20% Of The U.S. Population

20:07 - More Racially And Ethnically Diverse Than Previous Generations

27:07 - Least Religious Generation in American History

31:48 - Becoming Less Religiously Identified As Each Year Passes

34:07 - Spends 24-48 Hours Per Month On Tiktok

49:16 - More Likely Than Other Generations To Report Having A Mental Health Condition

58:54 - 98% Of Gen Z Worldwide Own A Smartphone

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

Show Notes:

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

Gen Z and Religion in 2022 | Religion in Public: https://bit.ly/3vY3VWS

What We Know About Gen Z So Far | Pew Research Center: https://pewrsr.ch/4abDzQr

U.S. population share by generation 2022 | Statista: https://bit.ly/3x669Uw

24 Gen Z Statistics That Matter to Marketers in 2024 | Hootsuite: https://bit.ly/4auUmgX

Gen Z | GWI: https://bit.ly/4cxUbTQ

The State of the Culture | Ted Gioia: https://bit.ly/43DgfIY

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

In just four years, a previously unknown church went from 0 to 100,000 YouTube subscribers. Over the past ten months, they've added another 100,000 subscribers, despite their pastor's anonymity. Their remarkable online impact, leading to significant in-person transformations, prompted us to delve deeper into their strategies, with the church generously sharing behind-the-scenes insights.

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

Show Notes:

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

- vidIQ: https://vidiq.com/

- TubeBuddy: https://www.tubebuddy.com/

- An Unfiltered Conversation With Mike Todd's Social Media Advisor: https://youtu.be/dUbVt0ec6oQ

- Cornerstone Fellowship with Pastor Allen Nolan: https://www.youtube.com/@allennolan

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Katlyn Hovland is the creative mind shaping brands like VOUS Church, Maverick City, and more. Today we're talking church branding, typography, colors, logos, photography, and more with her. Let's dive in.

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Show Notes:

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

- Katlyn Hovland IG: https://www.instagram.com/kayhov

- Monarch Collective: https://www.monarchco.studio/

- Brand Your Church: https://www.brandyourchurch.co/

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

We’re doing things a little differently on this episode, as we’re not in our usual studio in Niagara Falls. Instead, we are poolside in the Dominican Republic on our company retreat. With mojitos in hand - this is Bro Church Pools.

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Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

1:19 - Are churches and ministries using social media inline with how people consume it? Can social media realistically fulfill goals like gaining new members, or is it primarily about raising awareness and building email lists?

12:40 - What's your workout routine? Tips for people starting out?

18:04 - Why do some posts randomly fail?

22:00 - What are 3 non-church podcasts you enjoy most?

29:50 - What advice do you have for experiencing negative feedback from Christians for the first time?

33:27 - What are the top 3 countries you've visited and which one would you choose to live in?

40:18 - Can you expand on borrowing trends from other sectors for church social?

50:50 - Favorite poolside drink?

55:10 - We want to update the camera we use - do we go broadcast or cinema?

01:00:12  - What’s your go-to jeans brand?

01:03:35 - Any tips on how to make reels from live stream footage and have good image quality? 

01:07:35 - Fashion advice for men’s swimwear?

01:10:25 - How do you guys go about email formatting?

01:19:10 - Swimming pool, tidal pool, or open beach?

01:20:55 - Best tips for starting a church podcast?

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

Show Notes:

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

- Plain English with Derek Thompson: https://apple.co/4bUvjWb

- The Big Picture with Sean Fennessey: https://apple.co/49Vv4sg

- The Town with Matt Belloni: https://apple.co/3P4W9Rx

- The MeatEater Podcast: https://apple.co/42ZPIF8

- Walk A Little Slower with Tanner Olson: https://apple.co/42ZlvWJ

- Liturgies for Parents with Kayla Craig: https://apple.co/3V7kt98

- Best Church Cameras 2024: https://prochur.ch/cameras-2024

- Sony FX3: https://bhpho.to/49vYi0C

- Sony FX30: https://bhpho.to/3SD0jkP

- Blackmagic Pocket 6K: https://prochur.ch/48E1eYf

- Blackmagic Studio 4K: https://bhpho.to/4bzlWLq

- Blackmagic Studio 6K: https://bhpho.to/4buRUIR

- ConvertKit: https://convertkit.com/

- Beehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Today on the show, we're joined by Nicki Shearer (of no relation!) who manages copywriting and language for all church-wide initiatives at Elevation Church, determining both what Elevation says and how they say it. Nicki oversees the development language style guides, an often overlooked part of communications but which is crucial for effective in-person and online communication. 

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

Show Notes:

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

- "Do the New You" by Steven Furtick: https://stevenfurtick.com/do-the-new-you

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Today on the show, we're joined by Rohn Starling, who spent three years as the Content Creator and Strategist for Lead Pastor Mike Todd at Transformation Church in Tulsa, OK. With a wealth of insights into strategy on social media, we asked him questions like how to differentiate content between the church and pastor accounts, managing frequent posting on Instagram, and how to gain trust for posting unconventional ideas. We also explore what led Rohn to depart from Transformation Church towards the end of last year. Let’s dive in.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

1:28 - How did you first get involved with Transformation Church?

5:27 - Tell us about yourself and your skill set

9:38 - How do you make content for the pastor while they are also making content themselves?

14:14 - How do you come up with ideas?

18:20 - How do you disciple your team as the content curator? 

30:46 - Adhering to the social media trends with urgency

33:36 - What social media platform and feature are you focused on right now?

38:04 - How do you decide what goes on the pastor account or the church account?

44:42 - How many accounts were you managing at Transformation?

46:46 - How do you handle online hate?

52:09 - Why did you leave Transformation Church?

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

Show Notes:

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

- Rohn Starling IG: https://www.instagram.com/rohnstarling/

- Mike Todd IG: https://www.instagram.com/iammiketodd/

- Jesse Driftwood IG: https://www.instagram.com/jessedriftwood/

- Emmanuel Arango IG: https://www.instagram.com/mannyarango/

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Every church has its share of drama behind the scenes, something we all have to manage. Occasionally, it escalates into a full-fledged rivalry, causing considerable harm that is really unfortunate. This is the secret world of church rivalries.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

0:39 - Our video just hit 3 million views in 4 days. How can we leverage this engagement?

13:16 - A reel we posted has over a million views and doubled our followers in 3 days. Is there a key element to this we can repeat? What do we do now we’ve gone viral?

25:50 - How do you come up with successful hooks for reels?

32:06 - What are three films that have impacted you the most?

49:05 - Can you elaborate on how you and your team use Trello?

50:49 - Favorite MLB stadium & coffee shop?

1:07:00 - When it comes to ministry how can we use other social media platforms apart from the Top 5 (e.g. Reddit, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitch)?

01:10:24 - What is a YouTube reel, how is it different from other social media reels, and how do we make them

01:14:25 - Cologne recommendations?

01:22:11 - What are your top five fast-food restaurants?

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Show Notes:

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

- Question #1 Reel:  https://bit.ly/3I41WTP

- Question #2 Reel: https://bit.ly/3OvbR8q

- Past Lives: https://bit.ly/3UjCktk

- The Holdovers:  https://bit.ly/3utn9D8

- Oppenheimer: https://bit.ly/3ut74xj

- The Nativity: https://bbc.in/3uhDdYO

- Calvary: https://bit.ly/3UIsEZJ

- Trello: https://trello.com/

- Notion: https://www.notion.so/

- Mythical Coffee (Scottsdale Arizona) https://mythicalcoffee.com/

- Nomad Coffee (Spain) https://nomadcoffee.es/

- Bird Rock (San Diego) https://birdrockcoffee.com/

- One For All: https://www.oneforallcoffee.com/

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Serving in church in 2024 is tough. Young people aren’t as religious, churches are shrinking and closing - so what do we do? Here are some underrated changes churches should actually consider.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

1:40 - The Two Selfs

12:27 - Live Off The Land

20:35 - Daily Ribbons

32:22 - Get The Goalposts To Stop Moving

43:50 - Robust Rhythms of Prayer

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Show Notes:

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

- “Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea” by Steven Callahan: https://bit.ly/3Oj23hF

- “Do Hard Things” by Steve Magness: https://bit.ly/48MGU7S

- “Nike Internal Memo” by Inc.:https://bit.ly/498LFs5

- “Ultra-Processed People” by Chris van Tulleken: https://bit.ly/42dojiG

- “Same as Ever” by Morgan Housel; https://bit.ly/3Svvn70

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

I recently asked my Instagram followers to share with me: “what are your hot takes about the future of the church?” and we got some really great responses. Alex and I sat down to discuss, to debate, to disagree, to find out what we think about the future of the church.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

1:48 - Down turn in big churches, small churches increase

7:40 - Next gens will ditch LED walls and seek more simple productions

20:50 - Pastors have to be more like Entrepreneurs or CEOs

26:47 - Charismatic Anglican churches are going to explode in popularity and grow like crazy

28:14 - Great worship and kids ministry is the secret to growth in the future; preaching not as important

36:40 - Church denominations are on the decline and we may see the end of them in our lifetime

39:56 - In 2024 and beyond, churches will either grow or close their doors

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

Show Notes:

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

- The 2020 Faith Communities Today Overview: https://bit.ly/3SfRUnf

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Today, we’re going through my 16 rules for living (10 personal values for myself and my family + 6 organizational values for myself and the Pro Church Tools team). We’re going to talk through each of those, and then discuss some exercises to help you develop your own.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

5:46 - PCT Value #1: The Family You Choose

12:43 - PCT Value #2: VIBES

19:18 - PCT Value #3: Say The Quiet Part Out Loud

23:30 - PCT Value #4: Clear The Runway

26:20 - PCT Value #5: Bring Heaven to Earth

27:27 - PCT Value #6: Yes Be Yes, No Be No

33:00 - Family Value #1: Every Good Thing [John 10:10]

34:37 - Family Value #2: We Can Get Through Anything [Matthew 4:11]

35:00 - Family Value #3: Just Keep Trying And Be A Good Friend [Proverbs 17:17]

37:22 - Family Value #4: Be Unoffendable [Proverbs 19:11]

38:04 - Family Value #5: We Are All People In Process [1 Corinthians 13:12]

38:20 - Family Value #6: Graceful Pursuit Of A Superior Self [Hebrews 12:2]

41:15 - Family Value #7: The Compounding Power Of Consistency [Galatians 6:9]

41:36 - Family Value #8: Plenty Never Lasts [Ecclesiastes 3]

42:31 - Family Value #9: Freedom Is The Opportunity To Exercise Restraint [Matthew 7:14]

43:29 - Family Value #10: There Will Come A Time Where Life Demands Something Greater [Luke 12:48]

45:35 - How To Develop Your Own Values

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

Show Notes:

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

- Start your 30-day free trial (no credit card required) of Nucleus here: https://www.nucleus.church/

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Have you ever wondered how to measure your church's performance on social? Is there a universal rule for how many likes or comments a church of a certain size should be getting? No matter your church size, there is an easy way to analyze what you're doing on social media and see how it stacks up. This is the ultimate guide to social media metrics for churches.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

3:21 - Do you have social media KPI benchmarks for churches across platforms?

14:07 - How did you go from a "maker" role to more of an overseer/coach, and how do you set others up to win?

22:19 - At what point should you start paying creative volunteers, if ever?

33:28 - What’s wrong lately?

41:39 - How do we encourage our congregants to support our social channels to increase the reach of our accounts to more people?

46:25 - How do you create stories for church accounts and how do you get engagement from a congregation that historically hasn't been into it?

53:29 - What’s one weird thing your family did as a kid?

01:03:39 - What are your thoughts on using QR codes to get info on announcements?

01:08:53 - I want examples of how a 33-year-old man should dress.

01:17:35 - What do you do with Facebook, when platforms like Instagram get way more traction?

01:18:35 - What’s your top cologne recommendation for the cold weather?

01:22:30 - What are your thoughts on using hashtags that aren't popular in order to game the algorithm? 

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

Show Notes:

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

- Social Ministry Mountain: https://prochurchtools.com/mountain

- PORTRAITS: socialsermons.com/portraits

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Leading and serving in church is a tough job, and it gets even tougher when you have to lead negative staff and volunteers, but there are some practices that can help us as leaders to navigate these relationships in a way that leads to life and hopefully to change, and that’s what we’re talking about in this episode.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

5:10 - #1 Set The Standard Yourself

10:42 - #2 Set The Standard For Communication

12:16 - #2.5 Three Rules For Communication

15:28 - #3. Address All Behavior Or Attitude Issues In Light Of Your Church's Values And Mission

19:55 - #4. Earn Equity

26:24 - #5. Assess Capacity

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

Show Notes:

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

- PORTRAITS by SocialSermons: https://socialsermons.com/portraits

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Today, I'm joined in our Niagara Falls studio by fellow Canadian and friend of close to ten years now, Carey Nieuwhof. Carey does a lot of work in leadership development, so I wanted to hear Carey’s best leadership advice - especially for younger Christian leaders.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

2:10 - What are you most excited about right now? Personally or professionally?

19:45 - What do you feel you’ve changed your mind on recently?

24:08 - How do you escape or unwind?

38:00 - What practices or rhythms have been most nurturing for your marriage?

45:20 - What are you doing to take care of yourself at your age?

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

Show Notes:

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

From Strength to Strength [Arthur Brooks]: https://bit.ly/3v8rXy4

At Your Best [Carey Nieuwhof]:  https://careynieuwhof.com/at-your-best/

Carey Nieuwhof: https://careynieuwhof.com/

Highly Productive Leader Challenge: http://productive2024.com/

Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast: https://careynieuwhof.com/mypodcast/

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

The discovery era of social media is only a few years old, so many are still getting used to it, and as they do - there is one specific thing that comes up that creates a eureka moment for them. This is what churches always overlook on social media.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

0:54 - Can you explain more about the local element of discovery algorithms? 

10:03 - Have you been experiencing issues with Reels engagement and reach?

13:08 - What has been the most influential thing to help you grow as a business?

20:47 -  What is Alex’s current favorite coffee brewer?

24:13 - What do you recommend for someone just getting started with social media strategy?

25:46 - What is your favorite album of all-time?

40:17 - What’s a new game-changing habit you started this year?

48:38 - How can a church compete with sports games during worship times?

59:12 - What are some fashion trends you’re embracing this season?

01:07:26 - What benchmarks should a church use to determine if they should launch a podcast?

01:11:06 - When is a time you’ve missed on giving advice?

01:13:51 - What is the thing that has made you the happiest in the last week?

01:17:07 - How can we do digital ministry on Snapchat?

01:19:30 - How can I help my ministry find our “voice” for posting on social?

01:22:20 - How do I know what to post on social that will best serve my audiences?

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

Show Notes:

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

- The Church Social Media Masterclass: https://youtu.be/t1g6iMRR_Tk

- ORIGAMI Dripper M: https://bit.ly/3RdxtXw

- Fellow Stagg [X] Pour-Over Set: https://bit.ly/41biIsN

- Ratio 6: https://bit.ly/3Thmyyx

- SocialSermons: https://socialsermons.com/

- Nucleus: https://www.nucleus.church/

- Cannot Be, Whatsoever [Novo Amor]: https://spoti.fi/47O1iF6

- Everglow [Mae]: https://spoti.fi/3GBYvD4

- Flame [Flame]: https://spoti.fi/3tatt1S

- For All The Dogs [Drake]: https://spoti.fi/3GxCVj5

- Zeal [Kings Kaleidoscope]: https://spoti.fi/488ToFX

- Quantity Is Job One [Five Iron Frenzy]: https://spoti.fi/4a9jYRh

- The Beautiful Letdown [Switchfoot]: https://spoti.fi/3Rf3rT5

- Unreal Unearth [Hozier]: https://spoti.fi/47Pvb7N

- Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity by Peter Attia: https://bit.ly/3Td3QYZ

- Acne Studios: https://www.acnestudios.com/

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

Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

As we bid farewell to 2023, we eagerly set our sights on the horizon of the upcoming year. The dynamic realm of social media, ever youthful and constantly evolving, continues to undergo rapid transformations. Keeping up with these changes can be overwhelming, but fear not – we've got your back! Today we will share our social media predictions for 2024, so that you - the church - can stay ahead of the curve and ensure your online presence thrives in the exciting landscape of the new year.

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

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

0:50 - #1. New Monetization Models & Subscriptions

8:45 - #2. The Future Of X

14:00 - #3. Churches & TikTok

16:41 - #4. The Stratification Of Social Media

22:28 - #5. More Reels On Instagram & Facebook

22:50 - #6. SEO Replaces Hashtags

26:01 - #7. Newsletters

33:25 - #8. More accessible TOFU content

37:43 - Summary

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

Show Notes:

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

- Meta to offer ad-free subscription in Europe in bid to keep tracking other users (TechCrunch): https://bit.ly/46DZSvA

- X launches two new subscriptions to boost your replies (The Verge): https://bit.ly/46G6V6I

- X valued at $19 billion in share plan for employees (The Verge): https://bit.ly/3Rp2lW8

- As Users Abandon X, Sports Twitter Endures (The New York Times): https://nyti.ms/3uNRPyL

- Threads: https://www.threads.net/

- Discord: https://discord.com/

- Lemon8: https://www.lemon8-app.com/

- beehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/

- Substack: https://substack.com/

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Connect With Brady:

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://prochurchtools.com/podcast

Instagram's algorithms (that’s right - there’s more than one!) have changed again, and if you are a creator (and even if you’re not!) this is good news. This time around, Instagram came right out and explained how it all works, so today on the podcast we’re going to walk through those changes, what they are, and what this means for you and your church.

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

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

1:30 - Algorithm vs. Algorithms8:46 - The Feed Algorithm

16:40 - The Stories Algorithm

22:56 - The Reels & Explore Page Algorithm

24:30 - Hashtags

34:08 - How to Grow

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Show Notes:

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- Instagram Ranking Explained | Instagram Blog: https://bit.ly/47oagZu

- Social Media Masterclass: https://youtu.be/t1g6iMRR_Tk

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Connect With Brady:

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://www.nucleus.church/podcast

For churches, finding the right people is essential to building a strong team. But how do you know what to look for in a potential higher? Today we're talking with William Vanderbloemen the founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group, who are regularly hired to find the right people to work in faith-based organizations. After 15 years and more than 30,000 interviews, they've extracted the data from all that experience to answer the question: what are the skills we should be looking for in young Christian leaders? What are the skills we should be developing ourselves? And inversely, what are the red flags we should be on the lookout for?

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

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Show Notes:

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- Vanderbloemen Search Group: https://www.vanderbloemen.com/

- Be The Unicorn: theunicornbook.com / https://amzn.to/3SLIPEj

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Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://www.nucleus.church/podcast

One of the most regretful decisions we made as a society over the past 20 years was indiscriminately embracing digital media. Even if this *is* how things typically go with new tech, it's imperative that we as Christians have some guidelines for how we behave online. In today's episode we talk about church rules for digital hygiene.

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

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Table of Contents:

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00:00 - Intro

00:53 - Automobiles vs. Digital Media

12:20 - Why I'm Still Bullish On Social

28:12 - Rules For Digital Hygiene

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Connect With Brady:

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://www.nucleus.church/podcast

As a leader, you might think that I have it all together, that I never drop the ball or make any mistakes - but here's the kicker: I mess up all the time. How? Let me tell you - these are the costly mistakes I’ve made as a Christian leader.

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

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

3:08 - #1: Neglecting Core Competencies

13:23 - #2: Self Awareness Gone Too Far

24:10 - #3: The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

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Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://www.nucleus.church/podcast

Today on the podcast we speak with trailblazers of the online church movement - Life.Church. Our question? How can we make online church less about programming and more about ministry?

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Show Notes:

- Life.Church: https://www.life.church/

- Life.Church Online: https://live.life.church/

- Church Online: https://online.church/

- Church Online Hosts: The Complete Guide: https://prochur.ch/470JC8f

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Connect With Brady:

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

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

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/pfArcS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradyShearer

The Pro Church Tools Show: https://www.nucleus.church/podcast

On this episode of the Pro Church Tools Show we interview Jeremy Cole, pastor of Mosaic Dubai. Jeremy is a former airline pilot and an unconventional pastor, serving a very unique congregation in the UAE that's experiencing notable growth. We talk about the particular challenges of pastoring in Dubai and the great success that they've had on social reaching many people with the message of Jesus.

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Question #1 (2:49): What are the most common mistakes to avoid when considering website design? We are a small congregation (average attendance 100) and we cannot afford full time tech people.

Question #2 (12:55): What are your top three leadership tips?

Question #3 (26:31): Hi Brady! I just took over the comms for our church. What is your advice or strategy for a church rolling out a new sermon series? Three weeks out? Two weeks out? One week? Week of?

Question #4 (32:45): What's wrong lately?

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Question #1 (2:15): Brady, what's the story behind your Bible College experience? Why did you never become a pastor?

Question #2 (20:43): If you work at your church full-time, what is your day off each week?

Question #3 (36:42): How does a church recover in the social media climate when there is a viral video that tries to cancel the church for false reasons? Our church has gotten many death threats and harassment via phone, email, and especially social media. We’ve had to turn comments off on most things. I was wondering if you had any wisdom!

Question #4 (50:17): The two of you seem to have such good chemistry.  We would like to know what is it you have most in common, versus not so common.

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Question #1 (05:24): What are your thoughts on Threads? Is Meta doing too much? How can churches utilize this new platform?

Question #2 (20:00): Love the new podcast studio. Can you talk about the setup?

Question #3 (28:28): On The Social Media Church Podcast this week, they talked about developing an AI policy similar to how you should have a social media policy. Is that something you've processed at all yet? If so, what would you include in a policy like that?

Question #4 (34:36): You have mentioned that you are breaking into the world of watches! (Happy dance!)I was skeptical until you mentioned Wolf 1834 watch cases! What are you looking at Watch wise and have you made any purchases?

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Question #1 (1:49): Responding to Christian comments like "just preach the gospel!"

Question #2 (7:30): We've long used connection cards at our church for people to take next steps, digitally and physically. And then other signup pages or PCO forms for people to take other steps. I love your view of next steps, and the central hub concept, I've been trying to get buy-in across the board on this and utilizing our website's main page as a central hub. Here in lies my question. I know your thoughts behind mass texting as a church, very limited if at all. What are your thoughts on engaging people through text in keywords and one-on-one follow up for next steps, all through text?

Question #3 (15:45): Will there be a backlash against generative AI where people intentionally move offline?

Question #4 (24:22): What are your beige flags?

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Question #1 (02:27): If a church wants to do a podcast, what should they consider? (Tech, Content, labor, red flags, etc.)

Question #2 (15:58): I'm amazed at the number of churches that do photo dumps on social media. There is the wide spread belief that you should share everything you snap. Just curious of your opinion as to the optimal number of pics to include in a post. Also, am I wrong to feel a bit squeamish about posting pics of people praying or worshiping? Are there any studies on how non-believers react to these? Are we invading someone's personal moment even if it's experienced in corporate worship? 

Question #3 (25:45): Are there any "best practices" you guys talk about on the pod/social/website/YouTube that you DON'T do at the church you pastor? If so why?

Question #4 (32:24): What's WRONG lately?

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Question #1 (09:31): This is why our pews are empty. We’ve accepted the counterfeit online substitute for church. It’s destroying the local church for a "stay in bed and watch a livestream" type experience.

Question #2 (17:12): Should I or should I not use music in the background of sermon shorts?

Question #3 (22:52): I was curious about the new language on the Nucleus website, "The premium church website builder for small & mid-size churches." I don't remember that delineation before of "small & mid-size" being applied to Nucleus and its capabilities. I'm just curious about that decision and what, if any reason, would be for a large church (I guess what would you consider a "large" church?) not to use Nucleus.

Question #4 (34:00): In honour of the Toronto Raptors latest draft pick "Gradey Dick," what was your cringiest outfit you've ever worn?

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Question #1 (00:35): Agreed, but what do you believe would be a better gift or solution for guests specifically?

Question #2 (19:38): Brady, how do you recommend we setup our Plan A Visit page on our church's website?

Question #3 (28:50): Brady do you have any ideas for intros on our website from the leadership?

Question #4 (33:51): Brady, when is Nucleus 2 launching? I won't tell anyone. I promise!

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Question #1 (01:30): What are the top three church tech ministry red flags for you?

Question #2 (12:38): When it comes to livestream, do you think there is value in streaming to multiple platforms (e.g. Facebook, website, YouTube) or do you think it is better to drive traffic to one place? We currently stream to Facebook and website but I am wanting to break in to YouTube this year in a big way. Live-streaming there and then clipping the stream down to the sermon portion seems like a good start but not sure if we should phase out Facebook live stream in the process. 

Question #3 (21:05): We are starting to post vertical social sermon videos to multiple platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok). Is there a way to schedule and upload these videos at once without having to log onto each site and do it manually? Also, is there a way to collectively see the response data of these videos with one service or app? 

Question #4 (30:09): What are your three favorite non-fiction books?

Question #5 (53:20): What is your favorite color?

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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? 

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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 #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?

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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.

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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?

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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?

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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.

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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?

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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?

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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?

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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."

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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?

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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?

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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

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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?

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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. 

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? 

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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?

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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?

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Question #1 (01:13): Do you plan to talk about the upcoming changes with Facebook? Will the intention to show us more viral/ad content and less from friends and people we follow severely restrict Facebook’s usefulness as a platform for engagement? Should we look for alternatives?

Question #2 (17:48): Wanted to get your opinion on a possible engagement post for our church’s FB. The question is, "if you could solve one of the world's problems, what would it be?" Should churches shy away from questions like these online and leave them for a more intimate small group setting?

Question #3 (26:01): How important do you feel an intro video before services is? When I say intro video in our context, I mean a 60 second video played every week before each service, showing different ministries, people, etc., from our church.

Question #4 (29:14): What are your favourite sneakers under $100 - not Air Force 1s?

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Question #1 (02:51): Any advice for a new church plant?

Question #2 (20:21): What would be your greatest advice for someone starting freelance church media work?

Question #3 (24:37): Do you ever think you're wrong about church practices or trends that you teach us?

Question #4 (26:48): Do you feel old yet around teenagers?

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Question #1 (01:46): What worries you most about the future of the church?

Question #2 (21:26): Is an automated follow up text from the pastor an appropriate way to stay in contact with new visitors?

Question #3 (25:57): What's the WHY behind what you do? And why do you think it's important for most people to know their WHY?

Question #4 (37:08): What's a secret you kept from your parents?

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Question #1 (02:52): If you were going to CHOOSE a name for a church - what options might you consider?

Question #2 (14:31): I’m a first time communications director! There’s so much advice for what to do in communications but I really just need advice on what I should focus on for the first 6 months.

Question #3 (20:46): Should churches be setting up giving options for Crypto/bitcoin?  If so, what do you recommend?

Question #4 (26:40): Brady, how's your wife's pregnancy going? Any update?

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Question #1 (02:06): Why do some church giving providers charge zero dollars per month? What's that about?

Question #2 (10:44): Brady, can't companies just charge what they want?

Question #3 (12:45): Brady, aren't you just talking about this because your company stands to make money?

Question #4 (33:25): Brady, this isn't a good look. Why attack a company like this in public? The Church needs to unite as one, not divide itself.

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Question #1 (01:20): How do we use pictures appropriately and deal with privacy issues? 

Question #2 (10:53): Do you know of any good best practices for engaging older, not really technically inclined? 

Question #3 (24:17): If a church wants to set a coffee station/connection area in the lobby, but you don't want to serve Folgers; what's the best all around blend that everyone will enjoy?

Question #4 (31:48): Do you keep track of the other companies that do similar work that your company does? How do you actively compete with a flooded market?

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Question #1 (00:49): For a church of about 60, what do you recommend you focus on with social media when trying to grow your church?

Question #2 (13:36): As the staff leader of the production team at my church, how do I balance the growth of volunteer leaders with over asking them? 

Question #3 (18:13): Last year we launched a TikTok account as a way to connect with our community. However, we have seem to hit a wall when it comes to the views we are getting on our videos, usually around 300, and adding new subscribers. Any advice you might have to help us push through this wall?

Question #4 (25:45): How many times weekly should a medium-sized church send promotional text messages?

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Question #1 (01:25): I am a church planter and we've been meeting with our launch team for over three months. What kind of social posts should we be doing? I really want the social media launch to be intentional.

Question #2 (09:48): When reviewing your advice on Facebook ads, the tendency was towards still images advertising for bridge events. How would you use a series of interviews with church attendees to advertise most effectively on social?

Question #3 (20:55): How often should a church be posting on social media?

Question #4 (21:28): What is your opinion on outsourcing creative tasks to an outside agent or using something like Fiverr? 

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Question #1 (01:21): Our new guest follow-up system is working. But how do we now transition people from returning guests to integrated members?

Question #2 (13:20): Ways for churches to build online through video without having one person become "the face"?

Question #3 (21:26): Any recommendations, advice, best practices for  internal communications (e.g. between core staff / key volunteers)?

Question #4 (26:36): I started a midweek podcast for my church. We have been calling it a midweek podcast but I would like to give it a name. Would love some ideas or maybe a process you have done to get a name for something like this.

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Question #1 (01:00): Do you post for the congregation you have or for the congregation you want?

Question #2 (09:38): Do you think it’s a good move for a church’s IG to follow back everyone who follows you?

Question #3 (13:26): What would you say is the best way to institute change in people's perceptions of social media?

Question #4 (23:32): Brady, as you get ready to have your second child, what's one piece of parenting advice you'd pass on?

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Question #1 (00:50): What are good ways to get feedback and a pulse on your community? Do you use surveys (and if so, what should they include?), focus groups, something else? How do you invite community feedback?

Question #2 (08:00): I’m putting together a presentation to advocate for more hours in my role at my church citing that social media needs more of my time and more resources as we need to be more intentional with making it great. What are some key points I need to hit? 

Question #3 (15:07): What's the best time for posting to Instagram Reels?

Question #4 (16:38): Is it worth the time to add captions to videos (actually burned into the video). Premiere pro can do automatic captioning, is it actually beneficial for videos? Does it differ for YT, FB, IG, TT, etc?

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Question #1 (00:45): Our average attendance is around 60 people. Over half of those are students ages 16 to 22. The students run sound, do set up tear down, and do the all the food and drinks for fellowship. Most of our adults are every other week maybe in attendance. I so badly wish I had a fresh set of eyes to see what I could do to keep our adults engaged. We are a student led church.

Question #2 (09:41): What are your thoughts on which tithing options to offer? How many are too many? Is it seen outdated to pass a physical plate?

Question #3 (19:36): How do you feel about "Text CONNECT to 00000" as a CTA versus go to "graceky.org"? Is it better to just stick with the website url?

Question #4 (22:48): Any advice for my first time managing interns?

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Question #1 (00:44): Is the perfect URL as important as it used to be? Are we past the days of needing the perfect URL or is it still just as important as always?

Question #2 (09:29): Would you suggest to move to *just* Reels on Instagram? What pointers if any could you pass along?

Question #3 (15:33): Do you struggle with keeping strategies away from manipulation?

Question #4 (25:35): If you didn't start Pro Church Tools (Brady) or work as a pastor or at Pro Church Tools (Alex) what would you be doing instead?

Question #1 (06:57): How can we use Facebook Ads as the new IG/FB rules do not allow interests related to religion anymore?

Question #2 (13:52): What are some of the "easy to miss" elements of an effective and successful online ministry?

Question #3 (23:47): What do you think about different ministries having social media pages?

Question #4 (25:37): What do you do to relax? Are you a golfer like most ministers?