The Peter Bowden Show

This is the recording of a LIVE session presented for the digital ministry unit of an asynchronous seminary class on November 12, 2020.   

What do covid19 and the acceleration of digital trends mean for seminarians, clergy, and our congregations at large?

I' share observations, trends, and strategy recommendations in this one-hour session including Q & A.

Thanks to all who joined us live! We had students tune from multiple seminaries with clergy joining from four countries -- United States, Canada, England, and Ireland.

I'm an educator at heart and love supporting ministry, nonprofit and other justice leaders.  Contact me if you'd like me to speak to your classes, association, or professional group.  

Get my updates for ministry and congregational leaders including invitations to live free strategy sessions at https://www.peterbowden.live/congregations-subscribe

In this digital ministry strategy session, Peter Bowden shares how to turn your congregation's YouTube channel into a newcomer welcome center in 5 simple steps.

Many congregations are on YouTube, but only a percentage of those are utilizing YouTube's channel customization features to welcome and support their online visitors.

Watch the video of this strategy session and notes at https://www.peterbowden.live/blog/congregations-youtube-channel-welcome-center

Hi friends!  I wanted to let you know that the COVID19 pandemic has created a huge demand for my support from congregational leaders - my core training community.   

In response, I am shifting the focus of this podcast -- primary focus on congregations, digital strategy,  and community organizations moving online, and less on community building face to face.  

Previously I was working with a growing range of organizations with an increasing focus on helping people build community face to face.   I've put that community building work on hold. 

I am now focusing my working on supporting my network of congregational, nonprofit, and community leaders as they work to adapt to covid19,  learn new digital skills, and implement new strategies.  

Feel free to subscribe or unsubscribe in response as appropriate. 

As always, thank you for your leadership!

A digital ministry strategy session with Peter Bowden discussing congregations, COVID19, and the value of prioritizing moving your congregation into online small groups, integrating worship & small groups, and harnessing power of Zoom breakout groups.

Congregational leaders: This is a strategy session to get you thinking about the Covid19 coronavirus and your digital strategy should you face community spread and required “social distancing” such as limiting large gatherings and quarantines.

Specifically, how can we use social media, live video, and other tools to accomplish the work and ministry of your congregation without gathering face-to-face? This is something we need to be preparing for and I have strategy ideas to get you thinking.

REFERENCES

The Epidemic Podcast

‘When Can We Go to School?’ Nearly 300 Million Children Are Missing Class.  New York Times

We're entering a "video first" world where video dominates attention and social media feeds!  What are the implications for leaders?  If you aren't communicating using video you're at risk of getting shut out of people's lives.  In this audio master class, I share tips and strategies to help you bring your leadership online using video.

In 2016 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “Ten years ago, most of what we shared and consumed online was text. Now it’s photos, and soon most of it will be video. We see a world that is video first with video at the heart of all our apps and services.”  Facebook / Fast Company

"The vast majority of Americans – 95% – now own a cellphone of some kind. The share of Americans that own smartphones is now 77%..." Pew Research Center

Video is estimated to be 80% of all Internet traffic. Wordstream.com

According to Forbes "90% of customers say video helps them make buying decisions and 64% of customers say that seeing a video makes them more likely to buy." Adding a video to marketing emails has been shown to double to triple click-through rates. Website landing pages with videos see significant increases in their conversion rates.

With the New Year people are looking to connect with organizations, from visiting a local congregation to joining a fitness club and getting involved in the climate movement. Social media and digital culture are changing how people research and connect with these organizations.  In this episode I share ways leaders and their organizations can support the digital side of this process and help people successfully connect.

An overview of my community-building goals, plans for this podcast, and what we can accomplish together.

Highlights

1 — I want to help you bring new community-building efforts into established organizations that previously have had very little focus on community.

2 — Local organizations directly serving and supporting the community, I want to help you deepen and expand your small group offerings, connecting events and community building efforts.

3— Those of you who are not affiliated with any organization at all, I want to help you create and lead amazing community groups to enrich your lives.

I’m talking community and small groups for life, leadership, activism, and beyond.

I’m going to share with you how to design, launch, and lead a small group that can be created to support whatever areas of life you care about.

Through my project The Small Group Lab, I’m sharing open source models for group gathering.  That's coming after the New Year.

Right now I’m working on new templates and guides.  Whatever you want to explore with others and use as a springboard for discussion, we can put that in a small group session.

I want to empower you and the organizations you're affiliated with to promote connection, conversation, and meaningful community.