The Blackbar Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this week's two part episode, Nick, Caleb, and Zach are joined by Brian Lee, friend of the Blackbar crew and coach at Gospel Centered Enneagram to discuss the Enneagram - a simple personality system with vast implications. In part two of the conversation, Brian shares how the Enneagram can be used within creative teams and ministries to better foster a healthy environment...

Send us Fan Mail At Blackbar we believe that, despite our differences, there's a seat at the creative table for everyone regardless of denomination, socioeconomic background, political leaning, gender, or race. But, in seasons like this in which systemic racism is still so clearly ingrained in the society we live in, we can't possibly ignore the reality of prejudice or stay silent on the...

Send us Fan Mail At Blackbar we believe that, despite our differences, there's a seat at the creative table for everyone regardless of denomination, socioeconomic background, political leaning, gender, or race. But, in seasons like this in which systemic racism is still so clearly ingrained in the society we live in, we can't possibly ignore the reality of prejudice or stay silent on the...

Send us Fan Mail On this week's bonus episode, Zach, Nick, and Caleb are joined by their friend, Pastor Aaron Gansler, for a conversation about what to expect as churches begin to reopen in- person services. Pastor Aaron shares a little bit about what his church has done to innovate in this season, and the group discusses the importance of clear vision for the future of church digital strateg...

Send us Fan Mail On this week's episode, the guys talk with Phil Bowdle about how vital understanding social and digital media is and will continue to be for the church. Phil, author of Rethink Communication, has had years of experience with both social and digital media, and he's currently the Creative Arts Pastor at West Ridge Church in Georgia. On the conversation today, Phil shares h...

Send us Fan Mail On this week's episode, the guys talk about online church with Jay Kranda, Online Pastor from Saddleback Church. As one of the early adapters of the "Online Pastor" role in ministry, Jay's had years of experience learning what church could look like in the digital space. Jay shares a little about what he's learned in regards to live streaming, hosting onli...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Caleb talks audio mixing with three of the Blackbar Discord Certified Pros: Jason Kelly, Justin Angle, and Michael Fusaro. Each guest has years of experience in mixing audio for church services/events, and they've show themselves capable of adapting to online audio strategies in the midst of this quarantine season. They each share a little bit about their own...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Nick, Zach, & Caleb join Tim Jackson, Dom Garcia, and Dan Desrosiers for another conversation on the University of Valley Forge's Digital Media Webinar. Throughout this series of webinars hosted by the University of Valley Forge, the panel of alumni and staff discuss editing, directing, and post-production for a successful church live stream. Be sure to join th...

Send us Fan Mail So, your church made it online thanks to all the work you put into learning OBS, Facebook Live, and YouTube Premier. Now, how in the world is this whole social media thing supposed to work?! On the team's second Facebook live episode, Zach, Nick, & Caleb tackle some of the most important things that you and your church need to learn about social media. They cover some ext...

Send us Fan Mail On this week's conversation, Zach interviews Matt Morgan & Steven Hudgens from the Life. Church broadcast support team as they talk about online church during the COVID-19 quarantine. Matt and Steven share some tips for churches starting out in the live-streaming world as well as some practical examples of how Life. Church is being proactive with their online communities....

Send us Fan Mail On this week's conversation, Zach & Caleb join a talented panel of alumni and faculty from the University of Valley Forge Digital Media Department. In a preview of the first in a series of live webinars focused on live-streaming and the online church, the group shares best practices, tips, tricks, and techniques on a variety of topics. Join the "UVF Church Media Help...

Send us Fan Mail Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, many churches are finding it impossible to meet in person, and they are having to find ways to move their ministries online. Facebook Live, IGTV, and YouTube Premiers have begun to fill the church newsfeeds, and the faces of pastors attempting to preach their first iPhone message to the internet have become common place. So how does all this help...

Send us Fan Mail Learning new programs can be pretty intimidating, and when you have a software as prolific and professional as Adobe Photoshop, it's easy to get discouraged. Even though there's tutorials all over the internet, it's hard to figure out where to even start in the first place. On this episode, Nick & Caleb talk tools, tips, and best practices for designing in Adobe...

Send us Fan Mail In the world of video production, planning and preparation is everything. From developing your concept to understanding your allotted resources, a good production rises and falls on the effectiveness of the planning phase. In video-speak, this planning phase is called "Pre-Production" and should be the first of three very important steps for every single video project. O...

Send us Fan Mail There's not an advertiser alive that doesn't want a bite of your church's marketing budget. They all seem to have convincing arguments as to why their platform is the most potent and cost-effective. How can you tell which ones are actually the best for your situation? On this episode, Nick, Caleb, and Zach talk about impressions, conversions, and mass media. They di...

Send us Fan Mail Graphic design is a staple in today's culture as it's effectively used in everything from professional business strategies to marketing for Tik Tok. We see time and time again that the culture around us is on the front lines of understand relevancy, leveraging innovative design, and creating trends. So what does that mean for the church? On this episode, Nick and Zach pl...

Send us Fan Mail On the first part of a two episode interview, the guys talk with their old college professor Dan Desrosiers, who is now the Creative Arts Pastor at Connections Church in Pennsylvania. During part 1 of the interview, Dan talks about his background in media, his experiences in ministry around the world, and the importance of relationships within ministry. Click the link below to joi...

Send us Fan Mail On the second part of a two episode interview, the guys talk with their old college professor Dan Desrosiers, who is now the Creative Arts Pastor at Connections Church in Pennsylvania. During part 2 of the interview, Dan talks about the disconnect between creative roles & expectations, the prevalence of disenfranchisement specifically in church creatives, & the importance...

Send us Fan Mail The church bulletin has been a staple of most modern Christian churches for as long as we all can remember, but is it really a good use of our time and resources? On this episode, the guys talk about how Grand Rapids First killed their church bulletin. They discuss why they killed it, how they killed it, and how they managed to get a huge change like that through to their church&a...

Send us Fan Mail When your paycheck is dependent on your creative output or your ministry is hinging on an "original" project, a drought of inspiration can set you back for weeks. Whether you're in ministry or not, we've all spent hours wasting away in front of a blank canvas. Not only is it frustrating, but it's also discouraging. On this episode, Caleb, Nick, and Zach ta...

Send us Fan Mail You only need to shoot or film a service once to know how easy it is to feel out of place. Finding the balance between getting the perfect shot and not disrupting the service can be tricky, but it’s possible. On this episode, Caleb, Nick, and Zach talk about best practices for everything from personal mentality to professional gear when preparing to take pictures or record video i...

Send us Fan Mail Everybody's doing them – they must be worth the time, right? Pre-recording your announcements feels like an easy way to spruce up your service and communicate more effectively. Unfortunately, video announcements almost always turn into a time sink. On this episode, Zach, Caleb, and Nick discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of church video announcements and whether or not t...

Send us Fan Mail On the first episode of the Blackbar Podcast, join Zach, Caleb, and Nick as they talk about church marketing vs. church branding and how modern churches need to do a better job at distinguishing between the two. They also discuss the questions that churches should ask when developing a solid marketing strategy paired with a practical (and outrageous) example to clarify each of the...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Blackbar Podcast, a brand new series with the goal of uncovering the secrets of church media & marketing. On this introductory episode, the show's hosts, Zach Snyder, Caleb Weidman, and Nick Meo, explain what Blackbar is and why it matters to you. They also share a little bit about their own experiences and how what they've learned makes Blackbar what...