The Pro Church Tools Show with Brady Shearer

Americans gave a record $617 billion to charity last year. Giving to religion barely kept pace with inflation.

Today, we'll unpack what the national research and our own data from $1B+ in church giving reveal - and where churches can respond.

============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 0:41 - The Unexpected Findings - Record Giving, Flat Church Giving 2:05 - 1. More Money. Fewer Givers. 5:58 - Inside Nucleus' Church Giving Data 8:13 - 2. Small Gifts Become Big Annual Support 17:46 - 3. Their Generosity Isn't All Coming to Church 22:01 - 4. Wanting to Give and Being Able to Give Are Different 26:22 - 5. Modelling Financial Stewardship Builds Trust 32:40 - Final Thoughts

IMPORTANT LINKS - Church Giving Statistics 2026: https://www.nucleus.church/blog/church-giving-statistics - Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church - Nucleus Giving Fee Savings Counter: https://www.nucleus.church/giving

THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

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

JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ALL CITATIONS GIVING USA - "Charitable Giving Rose to $617.20 Billion in 2025, Surpassing the $600 Billion Mark for the First Time" (Giving USA 2026, covers 2025 giving) — PRIMARY https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-charitable-giving-rose-to-617-20-billion-in-2025-surpassing-the-600-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/

FUNDRAISING EFFECTIVENESS PROJECT - "Full-Year 2025 Findings" (via AFP Global) — PRIMARY https://afpglobal.org/news/fundraising-effectiveness-project-reports-strongest-revenue-growth-five-years-even-fewer Note: Broad nonprofit dataset, not church-specific.

GIVELIFY - "Giving in Faith: 2025-2026 Church Giving" — PRIMARY https://www.givelify.com/giving-in-faith/2025-2026-church-giving Note: Describes Christian donors, not all Americans.

LAKE INSTITUTE ON FAITH & GIVING - Insights (July 14, 2026) — SECONDARY https://lakeinstitute.org/resource-library/insights/july-14-2026/

ABOUT ME Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

Rural pastors name resistance to change and tight budgets among their biggest challenges. Yet 88% expect their church to be stronger in ten years.

Today, we'll unpack what rural pastors count as success - and why presence beats programs.

============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 0:39 - The Unexpected Findings - 88% Expect a Stronger Church 5:48 - 1. Their Scoreboard Is Bigger 12:16 - 2. Five People 16:44 - 3. Showing Up Counts 23:13 - 4. Your Town Remembers 24:48 - 5. Don't Romanticize the Struggle 26:36 - Simple Exercise - Define "Stronger in Ten Years" 28:45 - Final Thoughts - Hope Takes Work

ALL CITATIONS LIFEWAY RESEARCH - "Rural Churches Today: Pastor Report" (October 2025, n=1,000+) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025-Rural-Churches-Today-Pastor-Report-Final.pdf - "Rural Churches Today: Pastor Qualitative Report" (October 2025) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025-Rural-Churches-Today-Pastor-Qualitative-Report-Final.pdf - "Rural Church Pastors Face Obstacles With Optimism" (October 23, 2025) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2025/10/23/rural-church-pastors-face-obstacles-with-optimism/

THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

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

JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ABOUT ME Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

91% of pastors are married. Only 46% of the adults they're trying to reach are.

Today, we'll unpack how the American family has changed - and two simple exercises to spot the assumptions your church doesn't know it's making.

============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 0:49 - The Asymmetrical Report - 91% vs 46% 6:05 - 1. The "Normal Family" Is Now the Minority 7:49 - 2. Pastors Live in a Different Reality 12:27 - 3. We Want Their Labor More Than Their Lives 14:25 - 4. Adulthood No Longer Follows a Tidy Timeline 19:58 - Exercise 1 - Audit Ten Sermons 27:00 - Exercise 2 - Test Six Real People 29:33 - Final Thoughts

THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

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

JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ALL CITATIONS BARNA GROUP - "2025 Family Trends" (2025) — PRIMARY https://www.barna.com/research/2025-family-trends/ - "Pastors and Today's Families" — PRIMARY https://www.barna.com/trends/pastors-and-todays-families/

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU - "Families and Living Arrangements" (2025) — PRIMARY https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/families-and-living-arrangements.html - "Milestones to Adulthood" (August 2025) — PRIMARY https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/08/milestones-to-adulthood.html

LIFEWAY RESEARCH - "Pastors Minister to Single Adults, Some Provide Specific Ministries for Them" (August 2022) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2022/08/16/pastors-minister-to-single-adults-some-provide-specific-ministries-for-them/

PEW RESEARCH CENTER - Adults living without a spouse or partner (2023 data) — study not specified in script

ABOUT ME Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

The number of Christians whose friends don't know they're Christian has more than doubled since 2013. The easy explanation is that nobody wants to hear about faith anymore. Today, we'll unpack why Christians stopped talking about faith - and the simple exercises that help you start again without becoming awkward or pushy.

============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 0:59 - What The Research Actually Measured 2:23 - 1. Christian Silence Is Increasing 6:23 - 2. The Silence Starts With Other Christians 11:45 - 3. Uncertainty, Not Opposition 14:39 - 4. People Are More Open Than We Assume 15:45 - The DNA Document Exercise 19:38 - What Happened When He Asked 25:51 - Practicing The Conversation 32:42 - Final Thoughts

IMPORTANT LINKS - Summerside Church Chaos Episode: https://youtu.be/ffgakuWFMxc - Summerside DNA Document: https://app.thecommsdept.com/summerside

ALL CITATIONS

LIFEWAY RESEARCH - "State of Discipleship: Protestant Churchgoer - Living Unashamed Report" (May 2026, n=2,130) — https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/State-of-Discipleship-Protestant-Churchgoer-Living-Unashamed-Report.pdf - "State of Discipleship: Protestant Churchgoer - Sharing Christ Report" (March 2026, n=2,130) — https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/State-of-Discipleship-Protestant-Churchgoer-Sharing-Christ-Report.pdf - "Spiritual Matters Missing from Many Churchgoers' Conversations" (May 19, 2026) — https://research.lifeway.com/2026/05/19/spiritual-matters-missing-from-many-churchgoers-conversations/ - "Most Open to Spiritual Conversations, Few Christians Speaking" (February 2022) — https://research.lifeway.com/2022/02/22/most-open-to-spiritual-conversations-few-christians-speaking/

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE - "Why Inspiring Stories Make Us React: The Neuroscience of Narrative" (2015, Cerebrum) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4445577/

THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

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

JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ABOUT ME Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

Churches have never published more content on more platforms. So why does everything feel harder? Today, we'll unpack the state of church social media in 2026 - what the latest reporting says, and what it means for your church online. ============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 1:03 - 1. We've Reached Peak Content 9:53 - 2. Short-Form Is for Discovery, Not Depth 13:13 - 3. Social Media Is Becoming Search 21:25 - 4. Your Follower Count Matters Less 22:58 - 5. YouTube Is Still the Main Event 25:53 - 6. God Is Not Dead - Neither Is Facebook? 31:36 - The Changing Landscape of Social Media 34:49 - What's Coming Next THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com GET IN TOUCH 🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com 🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church 📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer ALL CITATIONS METRICOOL - "2026 TikTok Study" — PRIMARY https://metricool.com/press-release-tiktok-study-2026/ - "2026 Social Media Study" — PRIMARY https://metricool.com/press-release-2026-social-media-study/ - "2026 YouTube Study" — PRIMARY https://metricool.com/press-release-youtube-study-2026/ SPROUT SOCIAL - "2026 Influencer Marketing Report" — PRIMARY https://sproutsocial.com/insights/press/new-research-finds-influencer-reach-is-no-longer-tied-to-follower-count/ - "Q2 2025 Pulse Survey" (2025) — PRIMARY https://investors.sproutsocial.com/news/news-details/2025/New-Research-from-Sprout-Social-Finds-Social-Media-is-the-Top-Place-Gen-Z-Turns-to-for-Search-Surpassing-Traditional-Search-Engines/default.aspx

PEW RESEARCH CENTER - "Americans' Social Media Use 2025" (November 20, 2025) — PRIMARY https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/11/20/americans-social-media-use-2025/ ABOUT ME Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

Smaller church, deeper discipleship - right? Lifeway surveyed 2,130 Protestant churchgoers, and both extremes came out on top.

Today, we'll unpack the church-size discipleship paradox, and why being in a group matters more than church size.

============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 1:46 - The Methodology - 8 Signposts of Discipleship 3:38 - 1. Both Extremes Win 7:08 - 2. Small Churches Have Relational Gravity 7:53 - 3. Small Churches Still Have Blind Spots 13:27 - 4. Large Churches Build Discipleship Infrastructure 15:39 - 5. Groups Matter More Than Size 18:14 - The Seafood Boil - Deep Knowing Relationships 23:23 - 6. Different Sizes Need Different Mechanisms 27:37 - 7. Every Church Can Borrow From the Other Extreme 31:19 - 8. Size Is Context, Not Destiny

THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

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

JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ALL CITATIONS LIFEWAY RESEARCH - "Smallest, Largest Churches See Strongest Discipleship Scores" (August 2026, n=2,130) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/08/25/smallest-largest-churches-see-strongest-discipleship-scores/ - "Discipleship Deficit Exists Among U.S. Churchgoers" (January 2026) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/01/27/discipleship-deficit-exists-among-u-s-churchgoers/

BOOKS REFERENCED - Henri Nouwen, "The Return of the Prodigal Son"

ABOUT ME Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

7 in 10 American churches are under 100 people. Yet over half of churchgoers worship in churches of 500 or more.

Today, we'll unpack American Christianity's two competing versions of "normal" - and what small, large, and mid-sized churches should do about it.

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

Table of Contents:

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

0:00 - Intro

2:04 - The Math Behind the Paradox

3:23 - Two Different Versions of Normal

10:25 - Trained Big, Hired Small

12:19 - Big Churches Set the Standard

19:47 - Growth Feeds Growth

21:26 - Scale Makes Room for Everyone

22:50 - Small Churches Win on Commitment

24:47 - The Middle Gets Squeezed

29:30 - Big Churches Control the Story

31:12 - Final Thoughts

IMPORTANT LINKS

Church Chaos Episode 4: https://youtu.be/ToD6BaY7ssk

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

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

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

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

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

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

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

ALL CITATIONS

LIFEWAY RESEARCH

- "1 in 6 Protestant Churchgoers Attend Megachurches" (August 2026) — SECONDARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/08/12/1-in-6-protestant-churchgoers-attend-megachurches/

- "Smallest, Largest Churches See Strongest Discipleship Scores" (August 2026, n=2,130) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/08/25/smallest-largest-churches-see-strongest-discipleship-scores/

HARTFORD INSTITUTE FOR RELIGION RESEARCH

- "Megachurch Resurgence" (June 2026) — PRIMARY https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf

NATIONAL SURVEY OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS

- "Clergy in America" (2025 report, n=1,600 clergy) — PRIMARY https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65417aab75d81771950d332f/t/67cb42e5cad1c1762527f317/1741374184941/NSRL-report-2025-clergy-in-america.pdf

ABOUT ME

Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

Many churches are borrowing the same trends: 360 stages, LED walls, AI artwork, sermon series rebrands. Some push mission forward. Most just recycle. Today, we'll put each one on trial and deliver a verdict: keep it, kill it, or reinvent it. ============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 1:12 - The 360-Degree Stage 10:01 - The Pyramid Projector 16:19 - Cinematic Sermon Reels 21:49 - The Rage Bait Interview Trend 26:04 - A New Visual Identity for Every Sermon Series 31:25 - LED Walls as the Stage Centerpiece 34:23 - AI-Generated Artwork 39:31 - Trendy Typefaces That Sacrifice Readability THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com GET IN TOUCH 🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com 🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church 📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/4bSjIZf Ask how to sign up for an event and you'll get five different answers. Fewer options equals more action. Today, we'll unpack the series capstone - one destination for every next step - and the steps to launch yours. ============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 2:53 - The 7 Building Blocks 6:20 - Where This Philosophy Came From 9:20 - Building Block #7: Launch Your Central Hub 17:03 - Testimonies From Real Churches 20:38 - How Movie Theaters Get This Right 24:28 - The Three Rules Of The Central Hub 33:27 - The Physical On-ramp 40:06 - Final Thoughts IMPORTANT LINKS GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/4bSjIZf The 7 Building Blocks PDF: https://prochur.ch/building-blocks The Church Communications Masterclass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETNv9BoDzQ The Launcher: https://www.nucleus.church/the-launcher

THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH 🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com 🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church 📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/3U2rdXm If your announcements are just dates, times, locations, logistics, the room quietly tunes out. Information doesn't move people; inspiration does. Today, we'll unpack the formula that fixes church announcements for good - one story, one next step - then rewrite real ones live. ============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 1:08 - 7 Building Blocks Recap 6:53 - Building Block #6: The Church Announcements Formula 10:20 - Why Lead With One Story? 19:29 - One Next Step 22:07 - Different Types of Stories 23:36 - Example #1 33:44 - Example #2 45:22 - Example #3 52:11 - Final Thoughts IMPORTANT LINKS - Get Your Chaos Score: https://prochur.ch/3U2rdXm - The 7 Building Blocks PDF: https://prochur.ch/building-blocks - The Church Communications Masterclass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETNv9BoDzQ CITATIONS Robert H. Stein - "The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings" (35% of Jesus' teaching in the synoptic Gospels uses story) National Library of Medicine - "Why Inspiring Stories Make Us React: The Neuroscience of Narrative" https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4445577/ THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

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

JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer