This episode is not only the final episode of this season of the podcast, but it's a synthesis of everything this season has been about. Kyle Ranson at Crossroads Church is using just about every tool at his disposal to do online and digital ministry right.

In this episode, we learn how he uses social, blogs, podcasts, video, SEO, and more to reach people during the week and on weekends. And he's not just inviting them to church, he's reaching people with the Gospel online. 

Oh, and you have access to all the same things he's using to do it too! Find out how he does it and what God is doing at Crossroads in this incredible conversation!

LINKS

Crossroads.net 

SOHK Facebook Group

ChurchComm Team

We're wrapping this season up strong with Jennifer Benton from the BLK LYTE podcast. She is an Instagram influencer as well as a content creator for her church and she does it all remotely!

In this episode, we will see just how far online content can go when it is used as a means for discipleship and ministry. Can you impact someone's spiritual life and walk with Jesus while you're asleep?

All this and more in this week's episode. 

LINKS

Jennifer on Instagram | TikTok 

BLK LYTE podcast

ChurchComm Team

Before the pandemic, only 5% of the workforce worked from home. In May 2020 it shot up to a whopping 60% and it looks like there will be a lot of people refusing to go back to an office-only model ever again. If you are in a position where your job can be done remotely, then the pandemic has thrust you into a very interesting future.

Before we start calling these fortunate few “lazy,” you should know that a two-year study by Great Place to Work® of more than 800,000 employees at Fortune 500 companies found that most reported stable or even increased productivity levels after employees started working from home.

On this episode of the podcast, I talk with my Church Comm Team partner Paul Fleming. Paul has launched numerous successful businesses like Church Ink and Church Swag: all fully remote.

He has a ton of insight about how church leaders can utilize remote workers and contractors to fill in the gaps for skilled jobs you need asap! (or you could hire Church Comm Team, but that's whatever). :)

LINKS

Church Comm Team

Church Ink

Church Swag

In 2021, Ryan Wakefield and the Church Marketing University team did something bold. Instead of continuing to talk about what a hybrid worship service would look like, they decided to create one and see for themselves.

Because everybody knows that when it comes to hybrid worship services and vegetables, your mom wants you to try it because you might like it.

What would it look like if both the digital space and the face-to-face worship were seen as equally important on Sunday mornings?

Imagine that no one can tell you "no" and suddenly, you DO have the money and manpower to make it happen. What would you do? Get rid of that organ, that's what. But then what?

Well, we did it and we learned a ton. In this episode, Ryan and Seth talk about what went well and not so well in our test of all these theories in real-time. 

LINKS

Church Marketing University

CMU Facebook Group | Instagram

Church Comm Team

What would it take for your church to embrace the digital space just like you do the face-to-face as a legit ministry? How would you even do it? 

If you're kicking those kinds of questions around, this episode with Jason Moore will help you process the practical side of running a hybrid ministry. He calls it "Both/And" and his new book by the same title lays out the framework. 

We talk about Both/And (physical and digital) ministry, church communications, and more in this episode of The Seminary of Hard Knocks!

LINKS

Jason on Facebook

Both/And Book

Both/And Workshop

Church Comm Team

Did you know that there were more email addresses on file than social media account handles COMBINED? Email still drives much of the communication space and churches need to be able to master the medium.

If you said "the subject line" was the key to more opened emails, you're mostly right. But there are a lot of other factors that Email Marketing specialist from CMU (Church Marketing University) Julianne Alkire and I discuss in this episode.

Especially the art of making automated emails personal. How can you get your website and social media to work for you while you're asleep? Or after hours? Or on your days off? And how do you make those automated responses feel personal for those who are interacting with you when it's convenient for them?

All this and more in this episode of The Seminary of Hard Knocks!

LINKS

Church Marketing University

Church Comm Team - Fix Your Four

Julianne on Instagram | Twitter 

Every comms team struggles with getting good photography. Whether it's finding the talent to volunteer or it's how photographers turn in photos to use or even training them to know what photos you will need, photography impacts your social media, website, and promotional graphics profoundly!

So I talked to a guy who has basically mastered this issue at every step, Zach Zamora. He is the Media and Communications Pastor at New Life Church in Corpus Christi, TX and we talk extensively about how to get good volunteers, train them, get great photos, and how to actually GET them!

LINKS

Fluro

Smugmug

Church Comm Team

New Life Corpus on Instagram 

We all know that social media has some data privacy issues and many users are feeling more than sour about using them, especially in the church.

Not to mention your reach is probably like, less than 5% on your FB page posts. So what do we do?

Enter the private, online community of Discord!

And here are two guys from BlackBar who can tell you all about how to use it, Zach and Caleb! I think that Discord is a must for kids and student ministry digital communities now and in the future, may become more and more important for adults as well.

If you're considering creating your own private, online community for your church outside of Facebook or Slack, you need to hear what these guys have to say about Discord and see what they're doing on their own servers.

LINKS

BlkBar on Discord / YouTube / Instagram / Facebook

Church Comm Team

You don't want to miss this! Ok, maybe you do, but you shouldn't. In fact, we may be contributing to a major problem in the church and culture with that simple phrase and ideology: the inability to observe Biblical rest.

Rhythms and patterns in our lives help regulate our physical, emotional, and psychological health. In this episode, James Kelly, CEO of FaithTech, the creators of Digital Sabbath helps us understand how to incorporate rest in our routines, especially taking rest from technology and social media. 

What if the church led the way in helping people practice Sabbath? Learn more in this episode!

Digital Sabbath

FaithTech

ChurchComm Team

What constitutes Biblical fellowship? Are there any reasons we should break fellowship with one another? I've watched my guest, George Holleway, navigate conversations online as the pastor of his church for the last 2 years. 

Fellowship is more than sitting down to eat together. In this episode, I have a very in-depth conversation with a pastor in the trenches of ministry about how to be in fellowship with people who drive you nuts and maybe believe different things than you.

Church Comm Team

George on Instagram