unSeminary Podcast

Welcome back to the unSeminary podcast. Today we’re talking with Carey Nieuwhof, a leadership expert, author, speaker, podcaster, former attorney, and church planter. He’s with us today to share about how to address the crisis of overwhelm in our work and lives. Digital scales in a way that physical doesn’t. // After the pandemic, we understand this truth at a whole other level. Digital avenues build momentum which keeps growing and growing. One example is Carey’s podcast, which has enabled him to use his time to help even more people. By contrast there’s no way he could travel to speaking engagements and reach all of those same people at a sustainable level. Moving more to digital has increased reach while reducing overwork, overwhelm and burnout.Control and scale are opposites. // You can’t have total control and also grow things, so you have to learn to trust your team more. Recognize what you do well, hire great people to do the rest, and trust them to do their jobs. Give them room to do their part without you trying to control it. Growth happens when there is more freedom.Find what moves you. // Carey spends an hour in the mornings reading scripture, praying, and reflecting to discern what his next step is and what really moves the needle on any given day. To help you find the things that you need to focus on, think of it like a Venn diagram with concentric circles for gifting, passion and impact. What are you truly gifted at? What energizes you? What produces the greatest results in your life? As you examine your jobs, experiences, and things you’ve been drawn to throughout your life, there is a center line that you’re going to keep coming back to again and again. That’s probably a clue to how God wired you and what is going to help your organization win. Then spend 80% of your time doing the 20% that really moves the needle.Overwhelmed, overcommitted, overworked. // The challenge for us is that there are so many opportunities in life that we can pursue or shiny objects that we can chase. This is why gaining clarity about our gifting and calling is key. Ask what you are really good at, learn how to say no, and learn how to keep other people from hijacking your time.Time is a fixed commodity. // Your value to the organization is not synonymous with how many hours you work. Learn how to focus your time because you can’t spend it on everything. Figure out how to leverage your energy and how to avoid having your priorities highjacked. When it comes to time management, you are managing a fixed commodity, so there is only so much you can do with that time you have. Take an honest look at yourself and pay attention to your energy levels during the day. Then do what you’re best at when you’re at your best. That is where the exponential returns begin.The crisis of overwhelm. // Carey has a new book soon to be released, At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor. Overwhelm is the crisis of our age, and through this book Carey tries to help us live in a way today that will help us thrive tomorrow. At Your Best will help you replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity, clarify what matters most by restructuring your day, discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems, develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos, and more.Get through the hard decisions. // In At Your Best, Carey explains categorical decision-making to help us get through the hard decisions in life. You decide ahead of time what you’re not going to do to make future decisions easy. What categories can you eliminate today? Your no’s then become automatic in life when you have these decisions made ahead of time. You can find out more information about Carey’s book at his website http://www.atyourbesttoday.com. Plus gain access to a free master class when you preorder the book. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Risepointe Is your church ready? Are you re-opening? Ready to welcome MORE people to worship and grow with your church? Are you out of space or are your interiors dated and needing improvement? The architecture and design team at Risepointe want to help you align your facility with the mission and vision that God has given your church. That’s why Risepointe developed The Needs Analysis. The Needs Analysis is a comprehensive look at your site to seat experience through the lens of your first time guests. Learn more by visiting www.theneedsanalysis.com. Let them know you heard about The Needs Analysis on unSeminary for $500 off!

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s unSeminary podcast. Today I’m talking with Lisette Fraser, the COO/executive pastor of Hillsong Atlanta. Leading through change is at the core of serving as an executive pastor and church leader. Today Lisette is talking with us about where to begin when stepping out and leading change in this season. Leading change. // So much of the focus of our work as church leaders is leading through change and helping make things better, but at times it’s hard to know where to begin. Lisette realized that she has to start with vision when leading change. It’s not just about changing something we don’t like, or moving things around, it’s about figuring out what the right vision is and what God is inviting you to do. When the vision is clear it allows you to start thinking about everything else.Find what the vision is. // Prayer is a big piece of the puzzle in seeking what the Lord is doing. Often we can have a sense of discontentment in ministry and we know things aren’t quite right. Prayer helps point us to the outcome we desire and that points us to the vision. What are you trying to get after? Be very specific and invite others to help build a picture of what that looks like.Storytelling is a big part of leadership. // One of the things you have to do in leading change is create a shared story of future hope. A story connects to people and moves them. When thinking about change, think about what kind of stories remind us of what we wish we could get to. What do the stories tell us about what it could look like?Change your vantage point. // There are many things that shape how you see the world, from stage of life and age to ethnicity and culture. Our limited view can affect our ability to bring change because we’re trying to move something for a whole group of people. Invite other voices that represent different groups of people, and learn to tell stories that speak to these different groups. If we only tell stories from our limited vantage point, they won’t make sense to others who are outside of our worldview. Ultimately it’s about learning how to be a communicator who can talk to all different types of people, but also a listener who invites the voice of all kinds of different people to give you a fuller perspective.Have courage to step out. // Trying to put together a team made of different backgrounds can sound great, but also can create tension. It is hard work to make sure your table is diverse, but it reflects God’s kingdom so much more than a homogeneous structure. It may take some courage to step out and find those people who don’t look like you and think like you, but it’s worth the effort. Offer a place in the bigger community. // Post-covid people have felt so stuck and disconnected from both community and purpose that they are now very hungry for both of these things. God has designed us to do things for the purpose of the kingdom. Offer people a place to be in that bigger community and to be a part of something greater than themselves. Let them know that whatever part they play, it matters. Keep connecting what people are doing to the vision.Give them the opportunity to lead. // There are a lot of ways to get to the same point. If we want people to be invested, we have to give them the opportunity to lead and help us build what we’re after, while doing so with open hands. When people get to help build, they will be more personally invested in the vision. Don’t be afraid to allow people to experiment and coach them through any future changes. Create spaces for people to try things. You can learn more about Lisette Fraser and her work at her website and the church at HillsongAtlanta. Plus, don’t forget to download the resource “Waking Up: Stories of Jesus, Race & Reconciliation” here. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Medi-Share Medi-Share is an innovative health care solution for Christians looking to save money without sacrificing on quality. As the nation’s largest health care sharing community, Medi-Share members take comfort in knowing their eligible medical expenses will be shared by their community. Click here to download the FREE REPORT: The 10 Things About Mental Health Every Pastor (& Leader) MUST Know!

Welcome to this week’s unSeminary podcast. This week we’re talking with Chad Asman, executive pastor of Heritage Church just north of Detroit, Michigan. He is with us today to talk about developing team culture at your church to create future leaders. Start with culture. // Heritage Church worked to create a leadership pipeline not only to develop future leaders for the church, but also anyone else in their area. Begin by identifying the talent and leaders present in the area and then work to grow them. Focus on developing the culture of the church so that it will be a place that attracts leaders.Learn about your personality. // If it’s fun to be at work and you like the people you’re around, it creates great chemistry. Chemistry is one of the big points Heritage focuses on as they develop culture. Use personality tests to give staff and high level volunteers an awareness of how God has made them. Tests such as Myers Briggs, the Enneagram, StrengthsFinder, or spiritual gift assessments can help them understand how they are wired so a role can be built around their gifts and strengths. Understanding each other’s wiring also helps encourage empathy for one another and builds a foundation of communication. Taken as a whole, you’ll be able to see that your staff covers a range of gifts, strengths and personalities and how you need each other to make up the body of Christ.Bridge generational gaps. // Understanding each other’s personalities has helped tremendously to bridge generational gaps on Heritage Church’s staff. Ages vary from the Gen Z and Millennial to Gen X and Boomers and it can be easy to blame differences on age. In reality it doesn’t matter what age people are, rather we need to recognize God wired us with different personalities. Underscore how the younger generation can learn from the older generation and how the older generation can equip and encourage the next generation coming up. Recognize that you are one team working together toward a common goal and you need each other.Develop the DNA. // Infuse your values and philosophy into your staff and then they will help develop the DNA of the church. At Heritage Church they have staff meetings every two weeks with the essence of a leadership lesson included during that time. Once a year, usually in January, there are staff meetings weekly which focus on all of the values, and teaching phrases and slogans to remember.Serve the team. // At Heritage the leadership tries to do one fun team experience every quarter. It could be anything from handing out Grubhub gift cards to the leadership grilling for the team. People love when they are thought about and cared for and these experiences bring a lot of joy to the team. Having the highest leaders in the church taking a role as a servant and serving the team is a culture-setting opportunity.Be openhanded and loving. // As a senior leader do what you can to interact, coach, and care for your team. Be real with your team, love them where they’re at, and help them to be the best possible leaders they can be. Be openhanded with them and understand that the people on your team are not your resources but God’s resources. You can learn more about Heritage Church at www.heritagechurch.com. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Chemistry Staffing It’s important for church leaders to pursue the right fit for the right position, which helps determine a long-term, healthy fit. It all starts with properly assessing the applicant’s resumé. Download Chemistry Staffing’s Resumé Screening Playbook and walk through a screening process that will help you discover which candidates to focus on.

Thanks for joining this week’s unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Allie Bryant from Trader’s Point Christian Church. Although they have six campuses in Indianapolis, currently four are opened along with church online due to covid. Allie is the Strategic Alignment Executive for Traders Point and she loves getting the right people in the room to talk about the right things. Today she’s with us to talk about strategic planning – doing the right work to make sure the church is attaching actions to its vision and focusing on advancing the mission. Organize the execution of the vision. // In the church world people are always asking, how do we get the right work done, move faster and pivot better, but also, how do we do it well? This is where strategic alignment comes in so that we can execute well on the vision at our churches. When trying to figure out how to do the right work, we need to organize it in such a way that we’re not burning out our people or running out of resources. As you plan your strategy, constantly go back to the mission and vision so you don’t waste time or resources.Connect your work to the vision. // We all have an “operating system” running in the background at our churches whether we realize it or not. The question is, how effectively is it running in your organization? Traders Point is upgrading their operating system to become centralized in a way that lets everyone understand the mission, vision, strategy, and how each staff member’s work attaches to the strategy.Quarterly ministry plans. // Quarterly ministry plans allow the Traders Point staff to condense what they are doing into a quarter. During this time they figure out two or three key things that can move them forward, and those are the limited things that the staff prioritizes. From there they evaluate how they did in tackling their goals.Develop action steps. // Quarterly ministry plans each have an owner and a project manager who look at the strategy each quarter and decide what to focus on. What do you need for that strategy? What is the goal, and what is needed to plan it? Lay out action steps about a month before the new quarter starts. Then for accountability, have weekly 30-minute meetings with your team to discuss everyone’s status reports.Decision-making matrix. // Traders Point has created a decision-making matrix to help with alignment when there is conflict between ministries and what they might want to do. There are four categories of decision-making that help the staff understand who makes the decision and how a decision was made. Traders Point will also have a stakeholder meeting that allows the ministries involved to have a conversation and decide what compromises could be made to help each group achieve their goal. To help with these decisions Traders Point is gradually incorporating Agile methodology within their organization as well.Slow down and get aligned. // Some projects and initiatives may take longer than a quarter. Be realistic about what you can complete. If you find that you are behind on what you hoped to achieve in a quarter, the first three months can focus more on discovery, which allows you to determine what the problem is that needs to be solved. Continue to have that strategic conversation, but recognize you may need longer to execute on your plan.Strategic calendar. // This calendar first looks at spiritual themes. There are certain seasons where you plant and certain seasons where you harvest. Many new people tend to come into the church between August and January and this helps with planning out sermon series. Then the quarterly ministry plans are laid out to determine what is needed to help support the themes each quarter.Efficient meetings. // Meetings are where work gets moved forward and decisions are made, but there are some thing you can do to make them really effective. First, have an agenda ahead of time that lets people know what you’re planning to talk about, what was discussed in the last meeting, and the goal of the current meeting. What is the problem you’re trying to solve? Communicate who will be attending the meeting, what are people’s responsibilities and what the expectations are. Be sure to drive towards next steps before the meeting wraps up. You can learn more about Traders Point Christian Church at www.tpcc.org and download a number of meeting resources that they use (including project and meeting templates) at this link. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Leadership Pathway If you are trying to find, develop and keep young leaders on your team look no further than Leadership Pathway. They have worked with hundreds of churches, and have interviewed thousands of candidates over the past several years. They are offering a new ebook about five of the core competencies that are at the heart of the leadership development process with every church that they partner with…just go to leadershippathway.org/unseminary to pick up this free resource.

Welcome back to the unSeminary podcast. Today I’m talking with Tyler Althof, the associate pastor from Action Church in Florida. Tyler is with us today to talk about tensions to manage when you are leading from the second chair at a church. We need a sense of security. // As church leaders we need to have a deep sense of security to do what we do because it’s so important. In Acts 4:13 the Jewish leaders saw that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Jesus is the one calling us and equipping us for our roles. We have a battle between security and insecurity inside of us.Don’t hide things. // In the executive/associate pastor position, there are several tensions to manage. First we have tension in protecting and shielding our leader, but not hiding information from him. Insecurity can make you think that you need to hide information or problems from your leader to keep them from thinking you’re a failure. Hiding is a form of self-preservation. If we give in to insecurity, we give our leader filtered information and that can cause them to develop a warped view of the organization. They only know what little you have told them and so they makes decisions without knowing all of the details. They could lose credibility in leadership as a result. Talk and ask questions. // To combat the temptation to hide things, learn about each other and ask lots of questions. Don’t assume you can do your part well without input from others, so talk to your leader and get feedback.Help develop solutions, but don’t solve all the problems. // Only the senior leader can decide on some solutions and make certain decisions. You might find there is a tension between figuring out what problems they need to decide and what problems you need to help decide. At Action Church the staff knows that higher level issues will need the senior leader’s attention – this includes new things, broken things, and expansion things. Don’t assume that you will solve all the problems yourself; talk with the leader when needed and get another opinion.Be personally involved, but don’t take things personally. // Our hearts are so into ministry that we can put a lot of emotion into our work and feedback can feel like a personal attack on our very life. Find your security in Christ so you can have these conversations with your leader and not be crushed by them.Remember that you are trusted. // Anyone who is in a second chair position is deeply trusted. The senior leader would not give you that level of responsibility if he did not like and trust you. Don’t be afraid to clarify what needs to be done and ask questions about their thoughts and opinions.Think of him as your pastor. // You can be friends with the senior leader outside the church, but when you step on the church property, think of him as your pastor and the one you submit to spiritually. Respect him as the leader and be deeply conscious of how others see you honoring him as your pastor. You can learn more about Action Church at www.theactionchurch.com. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Article’s Sponsor: CDF Capital Since 1953, CDF Capital has helped Christians and churches embrace their part in this story by providing the 3 kinds of capital every congregation needs for growth—Financial Capital, Leadership Capital, and Spiritual Capital. CDF Capital’s XP Summit Cohorts provide an exclusive, year-long experience that brings together hand-selected global ministry leaders and your peers in an intimate, small-group setting. Visit http://cdf.capital/UnCohort to learn more and enroll today!

Matt Gilchrist, executive pastor at Hope City Church in Missouri, discusses the challenges of being a new executive pastor and how to connect with the lead pastor, staff, and spouse. They also talk about the growth of Hope City Church and their mission to reach the unchurched. The impact of the pandemic on their role and the importance of building connections with the staff are also discussed.

Welcome to this week’s unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Ken Fisher, Executive Pastor at Church at the Mill in South Carolina. As one of the fastest growing churches in the country, Church at the Mill has doubled in size in the last five years. As a church grows, the staff needs to consider how they operate so they can serve the growing congregation well. Ken is talking with us today about how changing the budgeting process has created unity, strengthened the culture, and accelerated the church’s vision. Get the ministry team involved in budgeting. // It is important for a church to have a good budgeting process. Get the ministry team involved and talk about what they need in their ministries. Together lay out what your expenses are and what you would like to have for the upcoming year. Budgeting will help you with calendaring as well so you’ll know exactly what your plan will be for the upcoming year, and what your expenses will look like. It will give you a high level of confidence when presenting your plan to the congregation.Demystify the idea of budgeting. // Creating a budget can feel intimidating for some ministry leaders because it’s not something that was taught in seminary. Break it down into simple steps by starting from the ground level and asking what you want to accomplish next year. From there, explore what it will cost to pull off certain events or initiatives. Ask yourself how are you operating as a good steward of the gifts being given by the congregation for the kingdom? Are you spending those resources in a way that impacts the kingdom? Align your plans with the church’s vision. // There are lots of things we want to do in ministry, but we need to narrow down our focus, and this is a tough tension to manage. Ask yourself what is working well in your ministry and what you want to start, stop or continue as you go into next year. These questions drive the discussion of whether the areas you want to focus on fit into the overall plan for the church.Plan for the unexpected. // What we plan to do can shift dramatically when something unexpected happens. Have money set aside in savings that could be used if something comes up and there is really a justification for using those resources. An example of this could be launching a new campus from an unplanned merger with another church. Determine creative ways you can offset unexpected or unplanned expenses.How budgeting can impact culture and vision. // Budgeting can be a way to connect people with your church’s culture and reinforce and accelerate your vision. The senior pastor at Church at the Mill put together the 10 Characteristics of Our Leadership Culture. It helps draw out the culture that the church staff aspires to demonstrate and gives basic guidelines in leadership. One of those attitudes is that “we win when my win is helping you win.” The spirit of partnership across the team and ministries is very strong which makes for constructive conversation when having difficult budget conversations.What’s different post-pandemic? // Church at the Mill launched their first e-discipleship program last fall. It’s a weekly curriculum that the senior pastor created, and with over one thousand people involved, it has been one of the glues that has kept the church together. These online groups allowed the church to have connection with those who didn’t yet feel comfortable going back to in-person small groups. You can learn more about Church at the Mill at their website www.churchatthemill.com. You can also email Ken directly. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Red Letter Challenge One of the best times of the year to start an all-in church series is the time after Easter. The team at Red Letter Challenge have become the 40-day church series experts…they created not only a 40-day church series, but offer unique daily challenges as well for everyone in your church to complete. It’s a fun, amazing time and many people take steps towards Jesus! Pastors, grab your free 40-day challenge book here and see what your church can do!

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s unSeminary podcast. We’re excited to be talking with Vivienne Bechtold, the Director of Studio and Leadership Development at Crossroads Church in Ohio. Crossroads has been one of the fastest growing churches in the country for several years, but this growth hasn’t happened without being intentional about reaching those who are far from Jesus. Listen in as Vivienne shares how Crossroads has used data to make informed decisions about how to be increasingly effective at drawing more people into a relationship with Christ. Use data for marketing. // Most churches try to collect some sort of information from the people who visit or attend. However if you don’t dig into that data, you won’t know how it can help you understand your audience better. Vivienne has spent 27 years in the marketing industry and now runs Studio, an internal agency at Crossroads that interprets data, handles research, design, marketing, social media and other digital products for the church. Their ultimate goal is to help the church more effectively reach people who are far from God. Learning to market to people using the data you collect isn’t just about numbers, but about being curious about people and the insights behind the numbers.Understand who you’re reaching. // Initially Crossroads didn’t have a team handling their data and marketing, but rather started with two people that would do focus groups and one-on-ones to gather research on what attendees were looking for. The church then built an analytics team that mined that data about who was coming, what areas they were coming from, what their demographics were, and so on. Using these insights, Crossroads started to put together a picture of who was drawn to the church and what they needed. This information led to them targeting a group of a dozen 25 to 35 year old men who didn’t go to Crossroads. Church staff went to where these people hung out, interviewed some of them, and invited them to attend two services and then offer feedback on their experiences.Implement changes. // The information Crossroads received from these new guests helped them to see the Sunday experience from the perspective of a visitor. As a result, they were aware of what people connected with and what turned them off. They made changes in training their teams how to recognize new people, right from the parking lot, so they could serve guests better. Crossroads also altered the order of their service. Rather than starting with worship, they started with something that would help connect people coming in with what was going to happen the rest of the time. Seekers often didn’t understand the value of worship and instead wanted to hear a message, so the church wanted to make sure their visitors stayed to hear the teaching.Your strongest marketing tool. // Crossroads discovered that when their people knew the topic of an upcoming message, or some sound bites that would be interesting to their friends, they were much more likely to invite others to church. When your people invite their friends or family to church, it is the most powerful marketing strategy you can use. Empower your people to share about the church and what is coming up in a sermon series by providing tools for social media or email that can be shared. Consider direct mail pieces leading up to Easter or Christmas and work with the natural dynamics of how people interact with your church.Use data to rebrand. // Churches tend to plateau after 20 years and in order to get over that, they need to reinvent themselves. Crossroads found that the seekers coming to their church today were different than ones from 25 years ago, and generally had no experience with church at all. So the church began to ask how to be relevant to these people today and reevaluated its branding. Crossroads realized their branding was very corporate and wanted it to be more unfiltered, fun and and fearless, which better represented what the church had grown into. So Crossroads rebranded in 2020 to better capture who they were as well as target that group of 25-35 year old men they are trying to keep in mind. The rebrand includes new colors and visuals, but also new vocabulary that everyday people use. Crossroads talks about themselves as “Spiritual Outfitters” that equip and guide you through this adventure that you were made for as you follow God. Consider your church’s current branding and if it’s serving to help reach the people you are targeting.Look to the future. // As we continue to collect data and process our learnings from 2020, it can inform changes we need to make for the future. One lesson is that first impressions can happen a lot of different places, including online, and when people do show up in person, they are looking to connect more quickly. Pay attention to when people want to watch sermons online. For some, Sunday mornings may now mean family time. Are your people more likely to listen to a message and participate in worship online, but come to a physical location for groups or service opportunities? The pandemic was a time of isolation so think about how can you help people engage and serve together when they attend church at your physical location. To learn more about Crossroads Church, you can visit them at www.crossroads.net or download their app at www.crossroads.net/app. If your church is considering a rebrand, check out the book “What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest” by Denise Lee Yohn. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Chemistry Staffing It’s important for church leaders to pursue the right fit for the right position, which helps determine a long-term, healthy fit. It all starts with properly assessing the applicant’s resumé. Download Chemistry Staffing’s Resumé Screening Playbook and walk through a screening process that will help you discover which candidates to focus on.

Welcome to this week’s unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with JD Mason, the online campus leader from Liberty Live Church in Virginia. JD is chatting with us today about how church online has evolved for Liberty Live Church since the pandemic and why they made the decision to transition to live, rather than prerecorded, broadcasts. Trial and error. // Though Liberty Live Church had an online campus before the pandemic hit, there was still a huge learning curve during the changes over the past year. Before COVID, they used to pre-record all of the host segments, intros, and outros, but they switched to a live broadcast during the pandemic. When COVID hit, there were no volunteers and minimal staff, so learning how to automate as much as possible while doing a live broadcast was key. While recording live, it takes a lot of trial and error when dealing with technical glitches or unexpected situations, such as a fire alarm. Help the staff stay calm and explain to the audience what is going on so they are in the loop and can pray along with you.Why live? // Having plans for a live broadcast can help bridge the gap to getting to know people who are in their homes. Live broadcasts, with all of the unknowns in the moment, can also still help people feel like they are in the room and a part of what’s going on at the physical campus. As host, sharing something that’s happening in your week makes you relatable. Ask questions in the chat to create conversation and connection. Comment live on what people are sharing, and pray for people as their prayer requests pop up in chat. This interaction makes your online community feel seen and heard.Harness the energy of the room. // Initially the worship used during the online services was prerecorded because it was higher quality, but Liberty Live discovered that people preferred hearing the worship streamed from the main auditorium, even if it was more raw. Create anticipation for your online community and throw to the live broadcast of worship as the energy and music are building.Plan for growth. // If you are building a community of online churchgoers, think about how you can keep growing this campus. What are your goals for the future? At Liberty Live there are online Wednesday night services on certain topics for the purpose of discipleship, and Sunday nights will begin to broadcast exclusive worship nights with an acoustic vibe. Future plans also include an online women’s bible study, and a Right Now Media catalog of all pastors and staff featured in messages, so the online community can get to know the staff. As Liberty Live Church builds an inventory of services and studies, they will also catalog them on a YouTube channel for on-demand streaming. Online church can help you reach out to people everywhere. Create a plan to use your online services to extend your reach, whether it’s locally, regionally or globally. You can learn more about the online campus at Liberty Live Church at https://libertylive.church/online/. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Leadership Pathway If you are trying to find, develop and keep young leaders on your team look no further than Leadership Pathway. They have worked with hundreds of churches, and have interviewed thousands of candidates over the past several years. They are offering a new ebook about five of the core competencies that are at the heart of the leadership development process with every church that they partner with…just go to leadershippathway.org/unseminary to pick up this free resource.

Thanks for tuning in to the unSeminary podcast. Today we’re doing a bonus deep dive about operational reserves and how much our churches should be saving. We have expert Steve Carr from CDF Capital with us to help us think through these questions. Maintain generosity. // During the pandemic, churches trended toward either maintaining their giving levels or increasing those levels. Most churches weren’t drastically impacted financially during this time because their congregation still gave. The blessing during this time is that many churches emerged almost financially stronger. The thing to be aware of now is: How are you cultivating givers to maintain that generosity?Plan ahead in savings. // Pre-pandemic the general rule was for churches to have three to six months of savings in reserve. Many churches are now looking at a six-to-twelve-month trend in judging how much they need to store in savings. It’s up to the church to determine what is a good amount and how long should they maintain it.Help in forbearance. // The Church Assistance Plan at CDF Capital allows the equivalency of two months forbearance for every church in their portfolio. The payment is offset to the end of the loan. 66% of the churches in their portfolio have used this plan for help during this time.Are you really reaching the community? // People tithe and give so that the church can have an impact. We don’t want to keep so little in reserve that it puts the ministry at risk. There is a tension to be managed. Even if your church has a lot of money in savings, for example in an endowment, ask yourselves: are you operating just to keep the organization flowing? Or are you actually being creative in the way you’re trying to reach your community?View through a theological lens. // The teams in churches should talk about their theology of stewardship. How do you allocate the funds you have now? How can you be generous with your abundance? How will you prepare for an economic dip that may affect those funds? View it all through a theological lens and be responsible in not spending everything you have post-COVID. Think about how you as church leaders will embrace the changing world in post-COVID reality.Hold onto humility. // We might think we know what’s going to happen, but we never do, and that shows our limitations as human beings. If we can hold onto being humble throughout this season, our churches will be better off in the years to come.Keep cash readily accessible. // Steve recommends that fifty percent of your church’s reserve should be in a flexible checking or savings account. You won’t get a great interest rate, but CDF Capital can help with that. Additionally, put some of your reserves into a higher yield certificate to get a better rate.Diversify your savings. // Diversification is still a principle that needs to be applied to congregational savings. It’s not wise to have all of your money in a single institution. There is an element of risk in anything done with money, so having them in different places can help lower that risk. You can learn more about CDF Capital at cdfcapital.org. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!