REACHRIGHT Podcast

Most churches have a social media presence. Very few have a social media strategy and that gap is exactly what this episode closes.  Thomas and Shiloh break down the complete playbook that high-performing churches are running on social media right now in 2026, including why consistency always beats polish, how to turn one Sunday sermon into a full week of content, why Instagram should be the prima...

The AI tool landscape for churches in 2026 is overwhelming and most church staff do not have the time to figure out what is actually worth using. In this episode Thomas and Shiloh go category by category and give an honest and practical breakdown of where AI is genuinely delivering time savings for ministry teams and where it is still more hype than results. From sermon prep and church communicati...

Every year a new wave of social media trends hits the church world and most ministry teams do not have the time, budget, or bandwidth to chase all of them.  In this episode Thomas and Shiloh go trend by trend and rank every major social media move for churches in 2026 using a simple and honest three-tier system. Hot means do it now. Worth Trying means good if the bandwidth exists. Skip It means st...

Gen Z is already showing up to church more than any other living generation and most churches are repelling them with the exact strategies designed to attract them.  In this episode Thomas and Shiloh unpack the Barna data that completely reframes the young adult conversation, name what chasing looks like and why it consistently backfires, and give pastors a clear and practical picture of what Gen...

AI is already inside your church and the staffing questions it raises are not coming in the future. They are here right now. In this episode Thomas and Shiloh get specific and honest about which church staff roles are most exposed to AI compression, which roles are safest, where pastors are already crossing lines they have not thought through, and a practical three-question framework any church ca...

Seven fresh data points from 2026 just landed and most of them challenge what pastors think they know about who is coming, who is giving, and where their marketing time should actually be going. In this episode Thomas and Shiloh walk through every data point one by one, name the real-world implication for your church, and give one specific action per point that any church can implement this week....

Most church marketing teams are working hard and getting almost nothing back for it. In this episode Thomas and Shiloh apply the 80/20 principle directly to church marketing and get specific about what to stop, what to keep, and what the handful of high-leverage moves actually look like for churches in 2026.  From the death of organic social reach to the untapped power of Google Business Profiles,...

We have been having the pastoral burnout conversation for years and it keeps getting worse. That is because we have been talking about the wrong thing.  This episode is not about workload, time management, or self-care tips for tired pastors. It is about the loneliness and isolation crisis that is actually driving the burnout numbers to levels the church has never seen before. Pastoral loneliness...

A third of practicing Christians now trust spiritual advice from AI just as much as advice from their pastor. For Gen Z and millennials that number is closer to 40%. Four in ten Christians say AI has already helped them with prayer, Bible study, or spiritual growth. This is not a future trend to prepare for. It is a present reality happening inside your congregation right now.  In this episode Tho...

There is a lot of noise about what churches should be doing digitally and most of it is just distraction dressed up as strategy. In this episode Thomas and Shiloh cut through the noise and focus on the trends that are actually moving the needle for churches right now, starting with one that almost nobody in the church world is paying attention to yet. AI search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity ar...

Most churches are spread across every social media platform imaginable and doing none of them well. In this episode Thomas and Shiloh go platform by platform and have the honest conversation most church leaders have never had about where churches should actually be spending their time and energy online. From Facebook and Instagram to YouTube, TikTok, X, and even LinkedIn, every major platform gets...

Your church website is open around the clock and right now it is either welcoming first-time visitors or sending them somewhere else without you even knowing it. In this episode we get practical and specific about what a great church website actually needs in 2026. The conversation covers everything from homepage design and hero sections to mobile experience, Plan Your Visit pages, photography aud...

Ten years ago someone found a new church because a friend invited them. Today they Google it, watch a sermon clip, check the Instagram page, and make a decision before Sunday ever comes. The way people discover and evaluate churches has changed completely and most churches are still operating on an outdated playbook. In this episode we also welcome a new co-host to the show and get two fresh persp...

This is not your typical episode and it is not your typical guest lineup.  For episode 301 we brought two of the sharpest minds at the intersection of church, research, and technology into one conversation. Ed Stetzer, Dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and one of the most cited church researchers in America, sits down with Corey Alderin, C...

 AI is here and it is not going anywhere, but the way many churches are using it right now is doing more harm than good.  In this episode we are getting honest about the most common mistakes church leaders are making with artificial intelligence and what it is actually costing their ministry in trust, authenticity, and effectiveness. We are strong believers in the power of AI as a ministry tool, b...

Every year a fresh wave of technology trends hits the church world and pastors are left asking the same question: is this actually worth our time and money? In this episode we are cutting through the noise and giving church leaders a clear, honest breakdown of what is actually moving the ministry needle right now and what is just hype dressed up in a good sales pitch. Technology is not the enemy o...

If your church outreach feels like a lot of effort producing very little fruit, you are not alone and you are not without hope. In this episode, we are unpacking the real difference between churches that are growing and churches that are stuck when it comes to outreach. The gap is not about budget, building size, or staff. It is about strategy, and the churches winning at outreach right now have f...

Most pastors assume burnout is a staffing problem or a workload problem. But in this episode, we are pulling back the curtain on what is actually driving burnout inside church teams today. It is deeper than a calendar issue, and it is more serious than most leaders want to admit. If you care about the health of your team and the longevity of your ministry, this conversation is one you cannot affor...

✅ - Get your FREE Church Marketing Review Here: https://reachrightstudios.com/analyze... ) Many churches pour time, money, and energy into marketing tactics that look impressive but deliver very little real impact. Flashy graphics, trendy platforms, and expensive campaigns can feel productive, yet they often fail to reach the people who are actually searching for faith and community. In 2026, chu...

Is your church's social media strategy stuck in a rut? You're not alone. In this episode, Thomas and Ian break down 7 reasons why so many churches hit a wall with social media — and what to do about it. https://youtu.be/82CLWbxyi_k?si=ZgSPZTmsVRZq5Zbf We're talking about who you're actually creating content for (hint: it's probably not who you think), why you should stop trying to be everywhere at...

Most churches work hard to create a welcoming Sunday experience. The lights are on, the coffee is hot, the volunteers are smiling. And when new guests walk through the door, everyone hopes they feel like they’ve found a home. But far too often, those same visitors never show up again. They attend once, maybe twice, then vanish. No explanation. No warning. Just gone. So what’s happening? Why do fir...

Every year, churches ask the same question in a hundred different ways: “How do we grow?” And in 2026, the answer might look different from what it did just a few years ago. The pandemic forced churches to adapt. New technologies have emerged. Generational shifts have changed the way people think about community and faith. But some principles have not changed at all. The local church still exists...

The way people find a new church is changing fast. It used to be all about word of mouth, road signs, or searching “church near me” on Google. But in 2026, the landscape looks different. Artificial intelligence is playing a major role in how people search for spiritual communities. Whether someone is relocating to a new city or simply feeling the tug to reconnect with their faith, they are likely...

In this ReachRight Mailbag, we’re unpacking some of the most relevant (and sometimes overlooked) questions churches are asking right now. From how to get started on YouTube, to whether AI poses a spiritual risk, to what prayer software churches are using in 2026, we’re diving into it all. Plus, we tackle a simple but surprisingly common question: If you cut down your church announcements on Sunday...

Church websites are not just digital bulletin boards anymore. They are front doors to your church, spiritual hubs, and key tools for outreach and discipleship. Yet even in 2026, too many church websites still feel stuck in the past. An outdated site can make your church look disconnected or disorganized. It can confuse first-time visitors, frustrate members looking for basic info, and fail to refl...