The Pro Church Tools Show with Brady Shearer

http://prochurchtools.com/015 - The hardest part of your church media journey doesn't have anything to do with the necessary skills, gear, or talent. It has everything to do with mindset. I couldn't get over this for a long time.

http://prochurchtools.com/014 - We've produced more than 1000 video announcements in the last year. It's not easy being a presenter for video announcements. And it's very different than being a presenter live and on stage. Here I share 10 tips that you can use to be a great video announcements presenter. I'll also tell you what camera we use to shoot every one of our video announcements. 10 Video Presenter Tips You're on camera, not doing this live, so tone it down Facial expressions are more important than hand gestures Don't read announcements as if they are written Invest your own, real personality in your presentation Avoid novelty or kitschy humor, costumes or characters Do not exceed 3 minutes Use a signature tag line Have a signature fashion style Watch yourself on video and judge your performance Be patient with yourself; excellence takes time

http://prochurchtools.com/013 - Using the right tools can propel your church website from ordinary to extraordinary. In this session I share 16 website tools I use to ensure my websites are running at their peak potential. 16 Website Tools I Can't Believe You're Not Already Using Google Analytics Clicky Serpfox Crazy Egg Click Tale Typekit Squarespace Unsplash Picjumbo Gratisography ThemeForest Email capture form Pippity Mailchimp Facebook Like Box Responsive website

http://prochurchtools.com/012 - Church websites all look the same. Well, for the most part. They have a certain feel to them. It wouldn’t be hard to pick out the church site from a website lineup. They just have a distinguishable look. In this session I share 3 of the most popular church website trends and why I'd like to see them end.

http://prochurchtools.com/011 - Our guest on the show today is Jeff McIntosh, the director of Church Motion Graphics. Jeff is also the author of The Worship Media Handbook and he shares the simplest way to improve your church's media. We also giveaway 3 copies of Jeff's book - stick around until the end of the session for that. Show Notes & Resources Mentioned The very best deal in church media. 15 brand-new motion backgrounds every month from Church Motion Graphics for only $10/month. Seriously, the best value around. Get it here. Jeff is the author of The Worship Media Handbook. A steal of a deal for only $19.99. Jeff's #1 font recommendation for lyric projection - Gill Sans. Download it here.

http://prochurchtools.com/010 - Kendall Conner of TheCreativePastor.com stops by and we have a discussion about all things church media. If you stick around until the end of this session I also share how you can get a BRAND NEW & FREE worship motion background every single month. Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Kendall Conner's popular blog TheCreativePastor.com ProPresenter Church Motion Graphics Monthly Mega Packs HootSuite Buffer Follow Kendall on Twitter @creativepastor Get a NEW & FREE motion background every single month

http://prochurchtools.com/009 - If you've worked or volunteered in a church for more than an hour you've probably come across this mindset: "Well, we just don't have enough money for that." But a lack of resources isn't what will inevitably stop your church from moving forward in quality and quantity of media; dwelling on it, however, will.

http://prochurchtools.com/008 - In this session of the Pro Church Podcast I continue my conversation with Pastor Brett Esslinger from last week. We talk about video announcements, traditional vs. contemporary worship services, confetti canons, awkward video pauses, and that's just the beginning. Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Follow Pastor Brett on Twitter here. ProPresenter: mentioned and highly recommended on the podcast. Brand new motions graphics every single month from Church Motion Graphics for only $10/month! Haters Video Brett Esslinger, senior pastor at Engage City Church answers questions about media in the church in this session of the Pro Church Podcast. 2 Instant Takeaways Digital relevancy is subjective. Younger congregations, urban congregations, or pastors with a strong media emphasis will have different ideas about how much media to bring into the church. When making your choice, consider your demographic. But keep in mind that young people -- and this includes everyone under 35 -- live lives embedded with media, technology, images and digital effects. If your church wants to attract that demographic, you need to speak their language. Don't be a miracle worker. If you are the worship media person at your church, back off on the complicated stealth maneuvers that save the day. You are scrambling to meet a standard that no one else can meet (and that includes you) so make it easier on yourself and other volunteers by investing in decent software that minimizes errors, hangups, delays, buffering and frozen screens.

http://prochurchtools.com/007 - How do you convince stubborn leaders that media is important? I thought the best person to answer this question was a lead pastor himself. On this session of the Pro Church Podcast I have a discussion with Pastor Brett Esslinger, the lead pastor of Engage City Church. We talk about closed minded pastors, and what NOT to say when you're proposing a church media idea to leadership. Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Follow Pastor Brett on Twitter here. ProPresenter: mentioned and highly recommended on the podcast. 3 Instant Takeaways Make allies. If you're a media-savvy churchgoer or volunteer with great media ideas, get some weight and influence on board before you approach senior leadership. No doubt you know exactly what you're talking about, but gaining some credibility with other leadership will make it easier for the senior leader to value your input. Once you have an audience, be sure you have a solid plan to present. Come under the church's vision. While you may have the best media ideas ever imagined, you won't get any traction if your vision contradicts the church's. Bring your digital plans to the leadership in ways that media will enhance and support the current goals. Find the intersection between the church's passions and your own. Don't start with an all-in approach. Walking up to your pastor with a comprehensive makeover -- fog machines, expensive stage lights, and stage backdrops -- is probably too much too soon. Introduce a few useful, purposeful changes and keep a long-term perspective. Too much change can freak people out.

http://prochurchtools.com/006 - The songs you play before church starts and after church ends are very important. It's easy to think of this portion of church as a throwaway time. But wait! Don't. Choosing the right songs can positively impact your church service in ways you've never likely considered. Plus, it's free and easy. Show Notes & Resources Mentioned 5 Practical Tips For Choosing Better Songs To Play Don't play a song you're about to play in worship as well. It's not fair to your worship band. Match the energy of the church service (ie. Good Friday = solemn; Easter Sunday = high energy) Play music that matches your church's story & culture, or the story & culture that you're trying to build. Time the playlist to have no gaps and sync well with the countdown. Make the playlist consistent with genre, tempo, and emotion. Highly Ambitious Playlist Alive - Hillsong Young & Free (remixed by pKal) My Lighthouse - Rend Collective (remixed by pKal) Break Every Chain - Jesus Culture (remixed by Kevin Aleksander & pKal) Your Love Never Fails - Jesus Culture (remix) I Know - Lecrae (Cardec drums remix) You Are My Vision (remixed by pKal) Where the Spirit of the Lord Is (remixed by Leandro Alencar) Tell the World (remixed by Matthew Parker) God's Great Dance Floor (remixed by pKal) Relentless (Young & Free remix) More Average Playlist My Lighthouse - Rend Collective Joy - Rend Collective Every Little Bit of Praise - The Royal Royal The Lights - The Royal Royal New Song - Carlos Whittaker In Sync - Hillsong Young & Free Brighter - Hillsong Young & Free Praise Him - The Royal Royal iTunes Tip For Seamless Transitions You don't have to be a crazy DJ with mad skills, or mad hardware to seamlessly transition songs and avoid those nasty silent moments. This playback tricks works inside of iTunes and it crossfades the playback of two songs. For instance, when a song has 5 seconds remaining, iTunes will begin to fade that song out while automatically fading the next song in simultaneously. Here's how to set up iTunes to automatically transition songs seamlessly: Click on Preferences Click on Playback Check the Crossfade Songs option Choose your crossfade time interval (between 5-10 seconds is recommended) And that's how it's done! Do you have any songs or remixes you can recommend? Let me know in the comments!