Pro Church Podcast With Brady Shearer

http://prochurchtools.com/019 - Nils Smith is the innovation pastor at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas. He's also the author of the book The Social Media Guide for Ministry. He's also one of the key cogs at the new social media tool for churches, Faith Social. Nils stopped by the podcast and we discussed some of my questions and concerns concerning Faith Social, and the trajectory of the church and social media.

http://prochurchtools.com/018 - Using backing tracks in your worship experience is very popular right now. Here's how your church can do it for under $200, and do it well.

http://prochurchtools.com/017 - Jeremy Smith of 78p.tv stopped by the Pro Church Podcast and we discussed his new book 'Digital Marketing for Churches that Want to Succeed.' Make sure you listen to the end because we're giving away 3 copies of his book - I'll tell how to win one at the end.

http://prochurchtools.com/016 - In this session of the Pro Church Podcast I share 6 ridiculous church media stats. These stats blew my mind when I first heard them. They don't make any sense. And they reveal big problems in our church's media efforts. Never fear though, I have a phenomenal solution.

http://prochurchtools.com/015 - The hardest part of your church media journey doesn't have anything to do with the necessary skills, gear, or talent. It has everything to do with mindset. I couldn't get over this for a long time.

http://prochurchtools.com/014 - We’ve produced more than 1000 video announcements in the last year. It’s not easy being a presenter for video announcements. And it’s very different than being a presenter live and on stage. Here I share 10 tips that you can use to be a great video announcements presenter. I’ll also tell you what camera we use to shoot every one of our video announcements.   10 Video Presenter Tips You're on camera, not doing this live, so tone it down Facial expressions are more important than hand gestures Don't read announcements as if they are written Invest your own, real personality in your presentation Avoid novelty or kitschy humor, costumes or characters Do not exceed 3 minutes Use a signature tag line Have a signature fashion style Watch yourself on video and judge your performance Be patient with yourself; excellence takes time

http://prochurchtools.com/013 - Using the right tools can propel your church website from ordinary to extraordinary. In this session I share 16 website tools I use to ensure my websites are running at their peak potential.   16 Website Tools I Can't Believe You're Not Already Using Google Analytics Clicky Serpfox Crazy Egg Click Tale Typekit Squarespace Unsplash Picjumbo Gratisography ThemeForest Email capture form Pippity Mailchimp Facebook Like Box Responsive website

http://prochurchtools.com/012 - Church websites all look the same. Well, for the most part. They have a certain feel to them. It wouldn’t be hard to pick out the church site from a website lineup. They just have a distinguishable look. In this session I share 3 of the most popular church website trends and why I'd like to see them end.

http://prochurchtools.com/011 - Our guest on the show today is Jeff McIntosh, the director of Church Motion Graphics. Jeff is also the author of The Worship Media Handbook and he shares the simplest way to improve your church's media. We also giveaway 3 copies of Jeff's book - stick around until the end of the session for that.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned The very best deal in church media. 15 brand-new motion backgrounds every month from Church Motion Graphics for only $10/month. Seriously, the best value around. Get it here. Jeff is the author of The Worship Media Handbook. A steal of a deal for only $19.99. Jeff's #1 font recommendation for lyric projection - Gill Sans. Download it here.    

http://prochurchtools.com/010 - Kendall Conner of TheCreativePastor.com stops by and we have a discussion about all things church media. If you stick around until the end of this session I also share how you can get a BRAND NEW & FREE worship motion background every single month.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Kendall Conner's popular blog TheCreativePastor.com ProPresenter Church Motion Graphics Monthly Mega Packs HootSuite Buffer Follow Kendall on Twitter @creativepastor Get a NEW & FREE motion background every single month

http://prochurchtools.com/009 - If you've worked or volunteered in a church for more than an hour you've probably come across this mindset: "Well, we just don't have enough money for that." But a lack of resources isn't what will inevitably stop your church from moving forward in quality and quantity of media; dwelling on it, however, will.

http://prochurchtools.com/008 - In this session of the Pro Church Podcast I continue my conversation with Pastor Brett Esslinger from last week. We talk about video announcements, traditional vs. contemporary worship services, confetti canons, awkward video pauses, and that's just the beginning.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Follow Pastor Brett on Twitter here. ProPresenter: mentioned and highly recommended on the podcast. Brand new motions graphics every single month from Church Motion Graphics for only $10/month! Haters Video Brett Esslinger, senior pastor at Engage City Church answers questions about media in the church in this session of the Pro Church Podcast.   2 Instant Takeaways Digital relevancy is subjective. Younger congregations, urban congregations, or pastors with a strong media emphasis will have different ideas about how much media to bring into the church. When making your choice, consider your demographic. But keep in mind that young people -- and this includes everyone under 35

http://prochurchtools.com/007 - How do you convince stubborn leaders that media is important? I thought the best person to answer this question was a lead pastor himself. On this session of the Pro Church Podcast I have a discussion with Pastor Brett Esslinger, the lead pastor of Engage City Church. We talk about closed minded pastors, and what NOT to say when you're proposing a church media idea to leadership.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Follow Pastor Brett on Twitter here. ProPresenter: mentioned and highly recommended on the podcast.   3 Instant Takeaways Make allies. If you're a media-savvy churchgoer or volunteer with great media ideas, get some weight and influence on board before you approach senior leadership. No doubt you know exactly what you're talking about, but gaining some credibility with other leadership will make it easier for the senior leader to value your input. Once you have an audience, be sure you have a solid plan to present. Come under the church's vision. While you may

http://prochurchtools.com/006 - The songs you play before church starts and after church ends are very important. It's easy to think of this portion of church as a throwaway time. But wait! Don't. Choosing the right songs can positively impact your church service in ways you've never likely considered. Plus, it's free and easy.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned 5 Practical Tips For Choosing Better Songs To Play Don't play a song you're about to play in worship as well. It's not fair to your worship band. Match the energy of the church service (ie. Good Friday = solemn; Easter Sunday = high energy) Play music that matches your church's story & culture, or the story & culture that you're trying to build. Time the playlist to have no gaps and sync well with the countdown. Make the playlist consistent with genre, tempo, and emotion. Highly Ambitious Playlist Alive - Hillsong Young & Free (remixed by pKal)  My Lighthouse - Rend Collective (remixed by pKal) Break Every Chain - Jesus Culture (rem

http://prochurchtools.com/005 - It's finally here! ProChurchTools.com has a brand new look! In this session we'll discuss the new design and why we made the choices we did. We'll also talk about the 3 cores of a quality church website.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned The 3 basic elements of a church brand The easiest way I know to create a quality church logo Three core, essential, foundational features of a good church website, in this session of the Pro Church Podcast.   3 Instant Takeaways Give your website one focus. Your church website should have one clear goal that drives its entire structure. Your homepage should have only one or two 'calls to action' which visitors to your site immediately see. As well, your menu should only have 4-6 pages, all of which are consistent with your main goal: whether that is inviting visitors to your church, ministering to your existing church, or creating evangelistic content. If your main goal is to attract visitors, leave pages or information for 'insiders'

http://prochurchtools.com/004 - Video is one of our biggest focuses at Pro Church Tools. There are simply so many opportunities to inject video into your church services. In this session of the Pro Church Podcast we explore 18 different avenues.

http://prochurchtools.com/003 - Church media can be daunting. It can feel like there's just so much to learn, and if you're starting from scratch it can be intimidating. But this is how I started, and if I can do it...so can you.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned If you want to excel in church media you don't need any prior experience, or necessary skills. You just need a willingness to learn and a desire to improve. The first video I ever made (scroll down half the page) Music from the album my wife (girlfriend at the time) did together

http://prochurchtools.com/002 - The future of church media revolves around your church. And your church's story. It's not about mass production and following the big guys. It's about identifying your church's unique story and letting that influence every type of media you produce. But how do you find that story? Just ask yourself these 5 questions.   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Identifying your church's unique story and narrative isn't always easy - but it's absolutely necessary. And once you figure it out it should inform every type of media your church produces. Branding interview with Mars Hill State Farm advertisement (focusing on the convenience and comfort) Progressive advertisement (focusing on the price) 5 Action Steps Identify church leadership Examine your church's size Examine church demographics Identify church talents Identify church values Switchfoot Lyrics I wanna thrive not just survive This is your life, are you who you want to be? You and I were meant to live for so much more I

http://prochurchtools.com/001 - What does the future of church media look like? It's not doing what the church down the road is doing. It's not doing what the big guys are doing. In the very first session of the Pro Church Podcast we'll explore the future of church media and what to expect. Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Take the Millennial Quiz - Click Here Millennials aren't materialistic. Newsweek even says so. Read the article. The very first session of the Pro Church Tools podcast, where we discuss the future of church media.   2 Instant Takeaways Millennials are the future. And Millennials love anything tech: videos, devices, on-demand content, live streaming, mobile giving, and worship with backing tracks. The church Millennials grew up with the "staged" church; but they want the "experiential" church. This generation is so media-saturated that they can smell hype a mile away and long for authenticity. All of this needs to be taken into account by the church if they want to reach out to next g