Pro Church Podcast With Brady Shearer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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