Sean Coughlin launched FaithStreet.com to help people discover and explore faith communities, prompted to answer the question “Why is it so hard to find a church?” In addition to its church directory with 14,000+ profiles, FaithStreet is home to OnFaith, 11,000+ thoughtful stories from faith communities, and FaithStreet also provides an online giving solution. Sean shares about how all of that works together, for the good of churches everywhere, on this episode of the Social Media Church podcast.
Show Notes
Connect with Sean Coughlin on Twitter @seanwcoughlin or phone 617-230-6853
Contact FaithStreet by phone 347-850-7783 or email faithstreet@faithstreet.com
#article 5 Churchy Phrases That Are Scaring Off Millennials by Addie Zierman, with 43k+ shares on Facebook
OnFaith has over 11,000+ articles, covering topics of faith, Bible, sex, religion, national, Georgetown, religious leaders, religious freedom
FaithStreet.com has been featured in Christianity Today, TechCrunch, and PandoDaily —
Pastor Greg Laurie is a notable pastor (Harvest Christian Fellowship, Riverside, California) and evangelist with Harvest Crusades that has held large-scale outreaches since 1990. He was interviewed by Brendan Stark (Web Director at Harvest) in a keynote address at theCITRT (Church IT Roundtable) Regional event back in March 2014. Pastor Greg Laurie shared his value as a pastor for using technology, the Internet, and social media, and how they must be used for the ministry of the Gospel. Special thanks to CITRT and Brendan Stark for permission to post the talk on this episode of the Social Media Church podcast.
Show Notes
Connect with Brendan Stark on Facebook facebook.com/brendanstark + on Twitter @brendanstark
#video Watch “Pastor Greg Laurie on Technology and the Internet” on YouTube
#event 2014 National Roundtable & Refresh Cache (October 22-24, 2014 @ Peoria, IL) + Call for 2014 Fall Event Ten-Talk Presenters — this is a great event for Church IT (information technology) staff and volunteers to talk shop and faith, topics include: web dev tools, help desk tools/tips/tricks, personal productivity, remote support, SQL best practices, social media analytics, training tools or methodologies, OSX on a windows network, and social media should show up somewhere in the mix too.
Social Media Church celebrated the launching of OnlineChurchLeaders.com with a livestreamed web event, hosted by Innovation Pastor Nils Smith (@NilsSmith) of Community Bible Church and its OnlineChurch.com, previously on #81 and #2, with special guests:
Jason Caston (@jasoncaston) – on SocialMediaChurch.net #86 and #13
Jason Morris (@jasonandmaria) – on SocialMediaChurch.net #67 and #11
Jay Kranda (@JayKranda) – on SocialMediaChurch.net #19 + his new eBook Social Media Made Easy for Small Businesses @ socialmediamadeeasysb.com
OnlineChurchLeaders.com is a new website with free online training for your church to develop its online church campus. 10 learning modules will show you all the how-tos and essentials. Over 100 have already signed up today!
Watch the video of the livestreamed launch party for OnlineChurchLeaders.com [no longer available]
Tech note: We encountered several technical difficulties on the streaming and recording of this episode — Google+ Hangout on Air was not available minutes before our scheduled event due to YouTube maintenance?! We switched the event over toSpreecast.com, and then the audio on DJ Chuang’s computer wouldn’t work. Nils stepped right up to host the launch party, and then Jay Kranda’s computer crashed. Not to mention the bandwidth buffering and a few audio dropouts. #ugghhhh
New domain names ending in .CHURCH are part of the new Internet name space expansion beyond the currently popular .COM, .NET, and .ORG domain names. With an estimated 1,000+ new gTLDs (generic top-level domains) being launched this year and next year, the web addresses and URLs will look very different in 10 years or sooner.
Social Media Church podcast host DJ Chuang explains why .CHURCH domain names matter, how they are a huge window of opportunity and innovation for churches in the 21st century, and praying that the good guys prevail. This episode unpacks what you need to know: when, how much, why, and where to register.
Show Notes
Will Your Church Domain Name Be at Risk? (@ leadnet.org/blog) with 5 reasons why your church should consider how to use .CHURCH domain names
When can .CHURCH domain names be registered? (@ .BIBLE blog)
The fastest way to register a new gTLD domain name like .CHURCH (@ .BIBLE blog) – describes the 2 qualifications and overview of the “sunrise period” for trademark holders to have first priority to register .CHURCH domain names
Important Dates
Where to register .CHURCH domain names – list of known registrars with sunrise period:
How to get the new gTLD domain names you really want (@ djchuang.com)
#audio Everything You Need to Know About .church [Podcast] (@ churchm.ag)
#video DJ Chuang: All About the New .church Domain [Video] (@ churchm.ag)
#episode about .BIBLE domain names = The Coming Internet Expansion: Episode 61 (@ SocialMediaChurch.net)
Matt McKee is CEO of ROAR, a custom mobile app development company, Thought Leader for the reThink Group, and a writermattmckee.me. Matt’s also served for other a decade in family ministries, so you know he’s got a great heart for ministry. Matt has a conversation with Social Media Church podcast about mobile apps, mobile lifestyle, church apps, iBeacon, and more.
Show Notes
Connect with Matt McKee on Twitter @mattmckee + his blog mattmckee.me + his company ROAR
#ebook “Be Social: The Social Media Handbook for Churches” by Matt McKee ~ download it #free or buy on Kindle
SimplyTXT – group texting service
#video the difference between iPhone users vs. Android users – first conversation that DJ Chuang had with Matt McKee in 2011
[UPDATE 7/30/14 – mp3 audio re-uploaded with fix; original audio had a 20-second silent gap – ht: @warrenbird]
Sean Cannell is the campus pastor of The Church OC (a campus of The Church LV in Las Vegas) and author of a new eBook, “YouTube For Churches: How to Make Better Videos, Grow Your Church and Reach More People with YouTube” — Sean talks with Social Media Church before a livestream viewing audience to talk about YouTube, churches, social media, and adeptly fielded a handful of questions too. Listen to Sean’s answer to tough questions like: Why are there so few churches on YouTube? What churches are afraid of on YouTube? How a church can create a viral video?
Show Notes
Connect with Sean Cannell on Twitter @SeanCannell + Facebook fb.com/sean.cannell + YouTube youtube.com/seanTHiNKs
Top 6 Churches That Use YouTube Best by Sean Cannell (at Thinkintl.tv)
Best Christian Youtube Channels by Sean Cannell (at Thinkintl.tv)
YouTubeforChurches.com = FREE 4 Videos Series that will help your church CRUSH IT with YouTube, with a bonus checklist: 17 Secrets for Getting More Views and Getting Discovered on YouTube
Wait, there’s more:
And in case you noticed the brief audio drop-out at 37:00, let me reassure you it wasn’t because he said something censored. What Sean said at that point was: “What is the number one most watched type of YouTube Video? Music content!”
Rich Birch is the Operations Pastor at Liquid Church (New Jersey) and hosts the unSeminary podcast with stuff you wish they taught in seminary. Rich stops by the Social Media Church podcast for a conversation about how he uses social media personally, how Liquid Church uses social media, how they coordinate traditional media with social media, why podcasting, and the topic that there ought to be a podcast about.
Show Notes
Connect with Rich Birch on Twitter @richbirch + Facebook facebook.com/richbirch
Read, subscribe, listen to the unSeminary blog and podcast unSeminary.com
#posts about .CHURCH domain names: How to get a .CHURCH domain name + When you can get a .CHURCH domain name
#raw video of this Social Media Church conversation with Rich Birch
Brady Shearer of Pro Church Tools is a blogger, produces video announcements for churches, and has generously published 2 valuable church resources for free: Pro Church Toolkit and the Church Video Series. Brady joins the conversations here at Social Media Church and makes a case for why email still makes the biggest difference in a social media world.
Show Notes
#event Social Media Summit for Churches = Free Online Event on 6/4 hosted by Faith Social
Connect with Brady Shearer on Twitter @BradyShearer + his blog prochurchtools.com + his podcast Pro Church Podcast
#post Email Marketing is the X-Factor of Church Media
#post My Seinfeld Social Media Experiment
#free The Church Video Series – a series of 40 free church video training to teach you how to create great videos for your church
#free Get your Pro Church Toolkit – The Pro Church Toolkit is a collection of e-books, videos and the 10-part church media course Church Media Experts
Engage City Church in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
#episode Peter Guirguis of Calvary Chapel South Bay: Episode 42 of Social Media Church
Video announcements for churches provideoannouncements.com
Jason Caston is Internet Church Developer at The Potter’s House / T.D. Jakes Ministries and author of How to Get One Million Social Media Fans and The iChurch Method series with 2 volumes so far. On this episode of the Social Media Church, we wrestle to the ground about how anyone can possibly keep up with all the changes that Facebook keep throw our way without advance notice and how to get more engagement for your Facebook Page content. And, Jason Caston will be one of the many speakers at bioladigital.com – biola.digital conference June 3-5, 2014 @ Biola University in La Mirada, California.
Show Notes
Connect with Jason Caston on Twitter @jasoncaston + Facebook fb.com/ichurchmethod + his website at iChurchMethod.com
Jason’s books:
Praying for Nils Smith http://fb.com/nilssmith
3 blogs Jason reads to keep up with news on Facebook and social media
#socialmediachurch #podcast Episode 13: Jason Caston of iChurchMethod.com
Haley Veturis is the Social Media Manager for Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, with a dozen more locations around Orange County and internationally around the world too. On this episode of the Social Media Church podcast, Haley shares about how social media has made such a difference in her life personally and the amazing God-story of how she became the Social Media Manager at Saddleback Church, how she manages the a purpose-driven social media strategy for Saddleback Church, and her extra effort to help resource churches at large through Social Ecclesia.
Show Notes
Connect with Haley Veturis on Twitter @HaleyVeturis + on Instagram instagram.com/haleyveturis + about.me/haleyveturis
#article #EndOfAnEraForSocialMediaPioneers: Real life has intruded on three sisters who are stars on Twitter, Facebook and other online networking sites. (OC Register, May 2013)
#event Social Ecclesia’s website socialecclesia.com – next micro-conference is June 5th in Griffin, Georgia
#article Seven Reasons Your Church Needs a Social Media Director by Thom Rainer
Dave Bourgeois is Associate Professor of Information Systems in the Crowell School of Business at Biola University and author of the book, Ministry in the Digital Age. On this episode of Social Media Church, we talk about how social media is changing the college campus, what is a post-website world, why there are so few resources for church leaders about social media, and more.
Show Notes
Connect with Dave Bourgeois @davebourgeois on Twitter + his website ministryinthedigitalage.com
#conference bioladigital.com – biola.digital conference June 3-5, 2014 @ Biola University in La Mirada, California – early registration deadline is 4/30 – “designed to empower individuals with the vision, knowledge, and relationships necessary to be thoughtful stewards of digital technologies for the cause of Christ”
#videos Watch the 2013 Biola Digital Ministry Conference on Open Biola – The Disruptive Nature of Digital
#book Ministry in the Digital Age: Strategies and Best Practices for a Post-Website World by Dave Bourgeois. This quote is an excerpt from the book’s introduction:
Kevin Hendricks is editorial director of ChurchMarketingSucks.com, a blog
that has championed church communications for almost a decade. Church Marketing Sucks is a part of the Center for Church Communication, a nonprofit organization where courageous storytellers are welcome. On this episode of Social Media Church, Kevin describes how social media fits within the overall scheme of things with church communications, how to manage multi-channel communications, and the next resources coming from the Center for Church Communication.
Show Notes
Connect with Kevin Hendricks at @kevinhendricks on Twitter + follow @cmsucks for their handcrafted tweets about church marketing that doesn’t stink
Getting Started In Church Communication Ebook Series
2-Day Intensive Certification Lab (Atlanta, GA @ June 9-10, 2014) – intense workshop designed specifically for those who are new to the role of a church communicator, covering topics like: websites, logos, branding, social media strategy, web strategy and design basics. Listen to this episode for the special discount code and save $100 when you register before 4/25.
Church Marketing Podcast – all about church communication for church communicators
Listen to the wide span of insights from Greg Atkinson – pastor, consultant, and Editor of Christian Media Magazine. He’s also author of a new book, Strange Leadership: 40 Ways to Lead an Innovative Organization. Topics we covered include: how to encourage church leaders that are reluctant about using social media, how to use social media wisely instead of wasting time, evaluating the effectiveness of a church’s social media presence, and much more! This episode of Social Media Church was recorded before a live online audience via Google+ Hangout on Air.
Show Notes
Nils Smith is Innovation Pastor at Community Bible Church (San Antonio, TX) and its online campus OnlineChurch.com. Nils stops by the Social Media Church podcast to talk about creating online worship experiences specifically and exclusively for their online campus, how they do ministry effectively on Facebook, why they allow online members, the incredible ministry opportunity for online church, the launching of OnlineChurchLeaders.com, and more.
Show Notes
OnlineChurchLeaders.com – an upcoming network for free resources to launching and running an online church
Connect with Nils Smith on Twitter @NilsSmith + his blog NilsSmith.com
#podcast Episode 2: Social Media Church with Nils Smith
#book The Social Media Guide for Ministry: What it is and How to use it by Nils Smith
Wes O’Haire is a web/ux designer by day and an active member at Higher Vision Church (Valencia, California). Wes launched a blog for online church campuses at LiveCampus.io to share resources and insights he found about doing ministry online. On this episode of Social Media Church, he shares about how his church uses social media, his church’s online campus, and anticipating how ministry must change when there’s more people online than in-person.
Show Notes
Connect with Wes O’Haire on Twitter @LiveCampusIO and @wesohaire
LiveCampus.io – The Blog For Online Church Campuses
see the website of Higher Vision Church and how it puts the most frequently used church info at the upper right corner of its web pages = social links, phone number, location, service times
Take a look at High Vision’s Facebook photo stream for great examples and inspiration
Jed Davis is an avid blogger that I found serendipitously while making my rounds on the blogosphere. What caught my attention was his free eBook titled “The Social Media Guide for Churches: What You Need to Know and Why You Need to Know It”. We connected up and had a quick conversation on this episode of Social Media Church, about his eBook, his work as a church consultant, and how he manages social media.
Show Notes
Connect with Jed Davis on Twitter @thisjed + Facebook facebook.com/thisjed
+ blog thisjed.com
#ebook The Social Media Guide for Churches: What You Need to Know and Why You Need to Know It #free
#blog #post Let’s Take A Look Behind My Motives
Peter McGowan (of Media Social and Plain Joe Studios) sat down with DJ Chuang for an lively conversation about church and culture on this episode of Social Media Church. We covered topics like stewardship, creativity, storytelling, social media engagement, online church, innovation, divergent thinking, long-term projects, leading culture, the human condition, and much more. This is the most important anddisruptive episode ever recorded to date.
Announcement: This episode marks a special occasion as Social Media Church launches its new partnership with Leadership Network to cross-post these conversations with church leaders about social media at the Leadership Network blog! Thank you Leadership Network for lending your platform to spread the innovative ideas emanating from the conversations here at the Social Media Church podcast. And a warm welcome to all the new listeners!
Show Notes
Connect with Peter McGowan at fb.com/plainjoe
Plain Joe Studios – communication design group experienced in strategic ideation, interactive media, and environmental design
Media Social – a Facebook App that provides a broadcast social TV Channel through the internet
OnlineChurch.com, the Internet campus of Community Bible Church (San Antonio, Texas), powered by MediaSocial.tv
Online Campus of Granger Community Church (Granger, Indiana), powered by MediaSocial.tv
#article Lego Boosts Sales And Brand Loyalty With Revamped Marketing Strategy (going from $1 billion in debt to $14.6 billion in a decade)
Van Baird launched Relational Equity to help cultivate meaningful relationships through social media, though he’d prefer to use the word media instead of social media. He explains why on this episode of Social Media Church; we also talk about how to listen well, show love, and tips for launching a podcast.
Show Notes
Connect with Van Baird on Twitter @vanbaird
Van Baird’s podcast is recorded on internet radio businessradiox.com + the show is called Emerging Enterprise + the first episode is posted
March 13th (2014) in Atlanta GA – SocialEcclesia micro-conference is a one-day event where church leaders “will learn best practices, balance, strategy and how to fully utilize modern tools which can be used to advance our mission in Christ” – follow their tweets #SocialEcclesia
#video Another Perspective on #Ashtag Selfies – Matt Kilmurry of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)’s Department of Communications
#article Questions and answers about Ash Wednesday (RNS)
Ashes To Go ashestogo.org – taking worship to the streets
Kent Shaffer is the founder of ChurchRelevance.com and OpenChurch.com. Kent met up with me (DJ Chuang) in-person during his road trip through Orange County, California and we sat down to talk about how he got into social media, his spiritual life and dynamic journey in recent years, going from LifeChurch.tv to an inner city missional community, his nomadic lifestyle with a young family on the road in an RV, how to best understand the top churches lists that he curates, how sermons are like lifehacks, church communications, and of course we talk about how churches are using social media.
Show Notes
Connect with Kent Shaffer on Facebook facebook.com/kentshaffer + LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/kentshaffer
ChurchRelevance.com (resources and lists for creating relevant & effective ministries)
OpenChurch.com – free downloadable resources + ideas from the global church, helping disciples of Jesus collaborate, learn from each other, and share resources
#list Top 200 Ministry Blogs (as of 9/2013), in which DJ Chuang is #83
#list Top Ranked Churches in America (in the areas of church growth, size, innovation, church planting, influence, and overall)
#list 108 Great Church Logos
#list 40 Great Church Websites of 2013
Church Conference Calendar List (@ churchrelevance.com)
The Big List of Theological Seminaries, with sortable info by denomination, tuition cost, and location
Clint Schnekloth wrote this new book titled, “Mediating Faith: Faith Formation in a Trans-media Era“, and is lead pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Fayetteville, Arkansas). He joined the Social Media Church podcast for a conversation about the back story of his new book, how social media is used in his church community, and his experience of joining others for worship in the virtual world of Second Life, and, of course, we do talk about the book too.
Show Notes
Connect with Clint Schnekloth at http://ClintSchnekloth.com + on Twitter @Schnekloth + on Facebook fb.com/Schnekloth+ his blog http://lutheranconfessions.blogspot.com
#post 11 Reasons I’m Proud to Pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
#transcript Interview — Mediating Faith: Faith Formation in a Trans-media Era by Clint Schnekloth on the #chsocm blog by Meredith Gould
#podcast Meredith Gould of #ChSocM : Episode 30 @ Social Media Church
#video Interview with Clint by Abigail Letsinger
#interview Fortress Press Author Q&A for Mediating Faith
#meme #bookselfies #mediatingfaith – photos of people with the Mediating Faith book
Social Media Church has a lively conversation with Justin Wise, author of a brand new book, The Social Church: A Theology of Digital Communication, just released 1 week ago and the print edition was already sold out on day 1 and it is still temporarily out of stock. But good thing the Kindle edition never runs out and you can buy it instantly! Get the back story of how the authoring and publishing experience went for Justin, how they decided to focus the book’s big idea on the “why to” rather than the “how to”, how Justin is training and coaching churches and entrepreneurs to be more effective with social media, and listen for the special offer for Social Media Church listeners. By the way, Justin Wise is currently a professional social media strategist, based in Des Moines, Iowa, a city that he’s very proud of.
Show Notes
Connect with Justin Wise at justinwise.net and on Twitter @JustinWise
#podcast Justin Wise: Episode 33 of Social Media Church (prequel to authoring the book) goodies from Justin Wise:
#video [raw recording session] Google+ Hangout on Air with Justin Wise for this very episode
#video #SocialChurchBook Hangout – book launch day Google+ Hangout with Justin Wise and Clark Campbell
#post Vision is Viral: Talking Social Media & Church with Justin Wise (churchmarketingsucks.com)
#review of The Social Church – Kevin Hendricks (churchmarketingsucks.com)
#post Social Media: Another Greeter for Your Church by Jane Halton
#mentioned Scott Stratten @unmarketing of unmarketing.com
On this special episode of the Social Media Church podcast, listen to keen insights from Brandon Cox — church planter, social media enthusiast, and author of a new book, REWIRED: How Using Today’s Technology Can Bring You Back to Deeper Relationships, Real Conversations, and Powerful Ways to Share God’s Love. Recorded before a live online audience via Google+ Hangout on Air.
Show Notes
Brandon Cox is Pastor of Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas
Connect with Brandon Cox on Twitter @brandonacox + on Facebook facebook.com/pastorbrandoncox +brandonacox.com
#book Rewired: How Using Today’s Technology Can Bring You Back to Deeper Relationships, Real Conversations, and Powerful Ways to Share God’s Love by Brandon Cox
Rewired book website is rewiredbook.com + on Facebook facebook.com/rewiredbook + on Twitter @RewiredBook
#list The Ultimate List of Social Media Policies for Churches & Ministries #resource
#book The Social Church: A Theology of Digital Communication by Justin Wise #mentioned
Social media management dashboards #mentioned: Buffer, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck
Mei Ling Starkey is the Media Relations/Social Media Director at The Rock Church in San Diego, California, founded & led by Pastor Miles McPherson. She connected with us on the Social Media Church podcast while en route between one thing and another; we talk about Rock Church’s approach to communicating through social media, how to integrate volunteers into the flow of their church’s social media, engaging people on their online campus, a newly-launched video devotional app, and more.
Show Notes
Connect with Mei Ling Starkey on Twitter @mlstarkey
The Rock Church is on Twitter @therocksandiego, Facebook fb.com/therocksandiego, Instagram instagram.com/therocksandiego, YouTube youtube.com/therocksandiego
Rock Live – Watch The Rock Church services live online
Miles A Minute – The 60 Second Daily Video Devotional app – Every day for a year with Miles McPherson
#new Real-time dashboard of the most popular church Facebook pages
DJ Chuang pontificates on where to get content for feeding social media, Christian podcasts produced for podcast listeners, and what every church website needs to make plain and simple. More importantly, he wants to hear from you! Call 949-354-3216 and leave a message with your feedback or email me@socialmediachurch.net with your burning question.
Show Notes
#blog post by Josh Burns – Your Church’s Problem in Social Media
Josh Burns was featured on Episode 21 of Social Media Church; Josh is Director of Web & Social Media at Park Community Church (Chicago, IL)
browse the Christian Podcast Directory at SocialMediaChurch.net
Pete Mitchell and Peyton Jones together publish the Church Planter Magazine and host the Church Planter podcast – both are great resources by church planters for church planters. How they do all that they do I don’t know, but they made time to talk for this episode of Social Media Church podcast, and how social media and texting work for church plants and connecting with the next generation.
Show Notes
Read + Subscribe to Church Planter Magazine, a free digital publication, and the Church Planter podcast
Connect with Pete Mitchell on Twitter Bustoutbigguns (Pete Mitchell is the Chief Marketing Mercenary at Big Guns Marketing) and publisher of the Church Planter Magazine and the Church Planter podcast
Connect with Peyton Jones on Twitter @PeytonJonesPunk (Peyton Jones is team leader of Refuge Long Beach and founding coach ofNew Breed Church Planting UK/USA. He also authored the book Church Zero: Raising 1st Century Churches out of the Ashes of the 21st Century Church.)
#church Refuge Long Beach on web refugelongbeach.com, on Twitter @RefugeLongBeach, on Facebookfacebook.com/RefugeLongBeach
#video raw recording of this video conversation – this extended recording also includes Peyton’s answer to the question “So who is Jesus Christ? Is He the son of God or is he God in the flesh?” and the recording for Church Planter Podcast episode #34: the one about social media with DJ Chuang
#article Why church planters must use social media by DJ Chuang