The Pro Church Tools Show with Brady Shearer

A key component of communication, especially when you're want to be able to teach or encourage change in people's lives, is trust. Brady discusses a common way communicators build trust quickly from stage.   What's In This Session? Downtime in Hawaii (0:44) Get on their level (1:59) Headed to a conference (2:15) Self-deprecation (3:08) Example #1: Episode #116 (4:22) Example #2: Comedians talk abo...

Royalty-free audio is so useful in so many capacities, with the most common being the backing track in videos. Brady shares the 5 best royalty-free audio sites for churches.   What's In This Session? Soundstripe (2:06) Artlist (4:37) PremiumBeat.com (5:13) Marmoset Music (6:32) Musicbed (7:53)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned ProChurchVlog.com Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Ch...

YouTube is such a huge social media platform, especially with Gen Z. Brady shares some stories from a pastor who has blogged his church planting experience, and how these blogs are affecting people both local and worldwide.   What's In This Session? Trey Van Camp  (2:21) Story #1: Fan of Casey Neistat (5:11) Story #2: Casey invites Dustin to come to NYC (6:46) Story #3: Couple attends church on Ea...

With attention being the most important commodity and engagement being the priority, Brady sits down and discusses using current events to spark conversation.   What's In This Session? Yanny vs. Laurel (0:57) Take advantage of current events (2:44) Engagement is the priority (2:52) Churches with reservations (4:43)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Life. Church on Instagram ProChurchVlog.com Pro...

We wanted to give a Biblical foundation for why we care so much about digital media. Brady shares three Bible passages that inspire us.     What's In This Session? What we found . . . (1:17) Acts 17 (2:26) Parable of the Sower (4:42) The Great Commission (7:27) A history of tech in church (8:59)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Pro Church Vlog Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Ch...

Life long learning is an integral part of being a person progressing toward a goal. It's also an integral part of being a great leader. Brady shares a couple of his favourite books that he's read this year.     What's In This Session? #1: Grit by Angela Duckworth (0:45) #2: Willpower Doesn't Work by Benjamin Hardy (2:59) #3: The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden (5:40) BONUS: The Beauty Of Discomfort...

Brady recently spoke at Thrive Conference in California. After his session someone asked him a question about meshing multiple generations in a single church. He shares his answer for all churches.     What's In This Session? The question from Thrive (0:31) Storytelling is powerful (1:21) Storytelling brings focus (1:36) Storytelling is a solution (2:55) The Pro Church Tools story (7:34) What's yo...

Brady shares a recent experience of a conflict with a colleague online. He talks about some conflict best practices and how to apply them to church.     What's In This Session? Brady's recent experience (0:23) #1: You can't control what happens to you; you can choose how you respond (2:00) #2: What's the narrative? (2:47) #3: It's not always your job to protect your reputation (4:58) How does this...

We often get asked for recommendations of live streaming gear. Brady breaks down a selection of affordable cameras for live streaming recommended by Joel W. Smith.   What's In This Session? Disclaimer (0:24) Joel W. Smith (1:01) Canon Vixia G20 (1:35) Canon Vixia G40 (2:50) Canon XA10 (3:31) Canon XA30 (4:06) Sony PXW-X70 (5:59) Other Considerations (7:04)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned The Be...

Brady has often referred to his belief that live streaming your church service is overrated. He breaks down why this is the case and offers some alternatives.     What's In This Session? An unpopular opinion (0:20) The size of churches (1:02) Brady's claim (1:17) Price (1:39) ROI (3:31) Motivation (5:13) Alex's thoughts (6:27) Alternative options (8:20)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Pro Churc...

Brady talks about how Jesus' call to be fishers of men translates to the church and our use of social media and technology. Go where the fish are.     What's In This Session? Alex talks about fishing (1:01) Best time & place to catch fish (2:00) Matthew 4:19 (3:12) Attention is the most valuable commodity your church can possess (4:40)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Pro Church Tools Pro Church...

Brady often gets asked the question, what are some examples of churches who do social media exceptionally well? Elevation is definitely one of those churches. Brady talks about why this is.     What's In This Session? #StopTheScroll (1:56) Example #1: The Standing Camera (4:44) Example #2: The Text Message (5:41) Example #3: The Camera Roll (6:51) Example #4: The FaceTime (7:56) Study. Observe. Ge...

We often receive emails asking about keys to crafting a perfect sermon bumper. Brady breaks down his top five tips to get you started.     What's In This Session? #1: Short (2:12) #2: Abstract (3:16) #3: Curiosity (4:20) #4: Emotional (5:16) #5: Incomplete (6:30)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Pre-written scripts SermonBumpers.com The Good Place Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pr...

If you're looking to create graphics for your church while keeping it quick, easy and affordable - look no further! Brady shares 7 free graphic design tools.     What's In This Session? Canva (0:35) Adobe Spark (1:59) Dribbble (2:33) Noun Project (4:00) Coolors (5:03) Unsplash (6:56) Instagram Stories (8:29)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Canva for work Photoshop Sketch Trello Pro Church Tools...

After doing several episodes on millennials, including a YouTube playlist mini course, Brady discusses a handful of churches that are ministering to this age bracket really well.   What's In This Session? Statistics on Millennials (0:58) Barna Trends 2017 study (1:52) Fortune's 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials (2:19) Elevation Church (2:32) Fuller Youth Institute study (4:19) Erwin McManus & Mo...

Instagram is one of Alex's favourite social media platforms, and he is constantly looking for new ways to engage his followers. He talks about how to use Instagram to engage your church in spiritual practice.     What's In This Session? Looking for creative ways to engage your church community online (0:34) Engaging your church in spiritual practice online (2:25) 800 million users as of 2017 (2:56...

Brady discusses our manifesto - #SeizeThe167 - and why this is such an important change in focus for churches as we live through the biggest communication shift in the last 500 years.     What's In This Session? What do these platforms have in common? (0:35) Social media usage in 2018 (1:47) Industries disrupted in 2018 (4:04) The state of our churches in 2018 (6:00) Fundamental idea #1 (8:22) Fun...

So many people listen to podcasts, and churches are uniquely positioned to use this tool as statistically more Christians listen to podcasts than those who identify themselves otherwise. Brady talks about what you need to get started.     What's In This Session? What do we use? (1:30) Step #1 - Recording Source (2:37) Step #2 - Editing Software (5:06) Step #3 - Hosting & Sharing (8:34)   Show Note...

One of the top priorities of your website is ranking well in search so that you can be discovered by new visitors. Brady shares 7 tools for search engine optimization.     What's In This Session? #1. Google My Business (0:54) #2. Google Page Speed Insights (1:57) #3. Moz Local Listing Score (2:33) #4. KeywordTool.io (4:08) #5. Google Analytics (4:41) #6. Google Webmaster Tools (6:27) #7. Yoast SEO...

Video equipment can add up quickly but you don't necessarily need the most expensive pieces of gear. Brady shares his updated $1000 camera set up.     What's In This Session? Disclaimer (0:53) The Camera: Canon M50 Mirrorless Camera with 15-45mm lens ($899) (1:53) The Audio: Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone ($59) (4:30) The Stabilization: Joby Gorillapod Mini ($47.90) (5:37) Pros (6:12...

"Just preach the gospel" is a common retort Brady sees used online. He discusses why this is bad advice, and how this statement is being misapplied.     What's In This Session? "Preach" is a verb. It demands a medium (1:59) "Preach" requires a listener (2:55) This statement is being misapplied (3:33) Timeless message in a timely medium (4:12) Attention is the most valuable commodity your church ca...

Brady discusses the core values he uses when creating videos, some pitfalls to avoid, and how to apply these concepts in your own videos.     What's In This Session? #1: Show don't tell (2:31) #2: Stunning visuals (3:46) #3: Don't force resolution (4:59) #4: No story is too small (7:46) #5: The responsibility falls on the storyteller (9:27)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned 9 Questions To Ask In...

Some of Brady's favourite projects have been testimony videos he's worked on. He shares 9 questions he uses to help get the best footage of the story being told.     What's In This Session? #1: Tell me about the time when . . . (2:15) #2: Tell me the story of . . . (2:46) #3: Describe the conversation . . . (3:25) #4: Tell me about the day you realized . . . (4:38) #5: What were the next steps tha...

Before founding Pro Church Tools Brady worked in his local church as a media director. He shares a handful of his biggest mistakes and how you can learn from them.     What's In This Session? #1: Stock photos on our website homepage (2:28) #2: Mobile app (3:28) #3: Green screen for video announcements (4:46) #4: Watermelon disaster post on Facebook (6:07) #5: No compass; no "why" (7:27)   Show Not...

Email is still, in our opinion, the second most important platform for your church to be using on digital. Brady shares 7 of his best performing subject lines from this year.     What's In This Session? Example #1: Embarrassing (39.47% open rate) [CURIOSITY] (2:49) Example #2: [Blank subject line] (33.51% open rate) [CURIOSITY] (4:01) Example #3: Pastors are too old (33.9% open rate) [CONTROVERSY]...