The Pro Church Tools Show with Brady Shearer

Latest Episodes:

The Rulebook For Church Communications [Building Block #2] Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/4fyiowP More announcements. More stage time. More reminders.

That's how most churches try to get people to listen - but across the audits we've run, the average service crams in 7 announcements and points people to 8.7 different destinations, and the more we say, the less they hear. Today, we'll install Building Block #2: a six-part publish policy that decides what your church says from stage, where every promo points, and how to move people from awareness to action. ============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 0:00 - Intro 5:01 - Recap of Building Block #1 5:57 - Building Block #2: Publish Policy 8:24 - Policy Item #1: Awareness Is Not Interest 16:35 - Policy Item #2: Sunday Is Not Your Savior 18:48 - Policy Item #3: The More You Announce, the Less They Listen 25:35 - Policy Item #4: Inspiration Over Information 38:49 - Policy Item #5: One Destination for Every Promo 43:26 - Policy Item #6: Values Dictate Voice IMPORTANT LINKS - GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/4fyiowP - The 7 Building Blocks PDF: https://prochur.ch/building-blocks - The Church Communications Masterclass: https://youtu.be/aETNv9BoDzQ THE 167 NEWSLETTER 📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com GET IN TOUCH 🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com 🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church 📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com JOIN THE COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ABOUT ME Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

Church Communications 101: The 7 Building Blocks Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/4p2CGSk

Sunday announcements drag. Too many events, too much competition for attention, ministries quietly fighting to be heard from the stage. But the problem isn't effort - it's the lack of a system underneath. This is The 7 Building Blocks, our summer blueprint for fixing church communications, and today we start with Block 1: assigning a level to every ministry. We'll break down the four communication levels and audit two real churches to show you exactly what no hierarchy sounds like from the stage.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

0:37 - Why Churches Struggle with Communications

2:46 - The 3 Problems of Church Communications

8:02 - The 7 Building Blocks

9:53 - Building Block #1: Assign Levels To Every Ministry

16:21 - Church Announcement Example #1

35:43 - Church Announcement Example #2

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Get Your Chaos Score (Free 38-Point Diagnostic): https://prochur.ch/4p2CGSk

- The 7 Building Blocks PDF: https://prochur.ch/building-blocks

- The Church Communications Masterclass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETNv9BoDzQ

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Great vs. Average: A Church Announcement Workshop Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://churchchaos.com/

Most church announcements are forgettable. In this episode, we take a real one and rebuild it live - showing what separates average from great, step by step.

Turn average church announcements into clear, compelling moments that actually move people to action.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

5:39 - Version 1: Information

9:46 - Version 2: Information + Values

16:37 - Version 3: Information + Values + Voice

23:39 - Version 4: Information + Values + Voice + People

28:03 - Version 5: Inspiration + Values + Voice + People

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Church Chaos Index: https://churchchaos.com/

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Sprint, Sprinkle, Smuggle: How to Promote Anything at Church Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://churchchaos.com/

Church promotions can start to sound the same - repetitive, predictable, and easy to ignore. Today, we'll show you three better approaches - Sprint, Sprinkle, and Smuggle - so your announcements drive action without sounding like promotions.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

2:40 - The No Promo Code

6:30 - Sprinkle Promotions

17:53 - Sprint

28:13 - Smuggle

34:20 - When To Use Which

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Church Chaos Index: https://churchchaos.com/

- The Church Communications Masterclass:

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

1 in 3 Christians Trust AI as Much as Their Pastor (Now What?) Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

Get the AI Policy Template: https://prochur.ch/4cZowNq

30% of practicing Christians say AI is as trustworthy as a pastor for spiritual advice - closer to 40% among younger generations. And many are already using it for prayer and spiritual growth.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

0:56 - The Barna Data

4:47 - Why This Is (and Isn't) as Alarming as It Sounds

11:00 - What Your Church Should Do About It

17:33 - AI POLICY

IMPORTANT LINKS

- AI Policy Template: https://prochur.ch/4cZowNq

- Barna Group, "State of the Church 2026: Key Trends Shaping Faith": https://bit.ly/4elW7Cz

- Christian Post, "A third of Christians trust spiritual advice from AI as much as pastor": https://bit.ly/4vKdQcN

- Christian Post, "Most pastors use AI, some worry it could replace their guidance": https://bit.ly/4cqVO7V

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Nobody Trusts Your Pastor Anymore (The Numbers Are Ugly) Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

In 1985, 67% of Americans rated pastors high in honesty and ethics. Today? Just 27% - and only 17% among those under 35. It's one of the steepest trust declines of any profession. The question isn't if this affects your church - it does. The question is what you do about it.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

1:15 - The Numbers Are Worse Than You Think

3:38 - Why This Happened

13:18 - How to Rebuild Trust Through Communications

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ALL CITATIONS

- Gallup, "Honesty and Ethics" Survey (December 2025, n=1,016, nationally representative sample) — PRIMARY. 27% rate clergy "high/very high" in honesty and ethics (historic low); down from 67% in 1985 and ~56% average in the 2000s; largest trust decline (−29 points) among tracked professions; generational breakdown: 55+ (38%), 35–54 (~24%), under 35 (17%).

- Lifeway Research, "Americans' Trust in Pastors Hits Historic Low" (January 2026) — SECONDARY (analysis of Gallup data). Confirms generational trust gaps and historic decline. https://research.lifeway.com/2026/01/16/americans-trust-in-pastors-hits-historic-low/

- Christian Post, "Americans Rank Clergy at Record Low in Honesty and Ethics Ratings" — SECONDARY (summary/reporting on Gallup findings). https://www.christianpost.com/news/americans-rank-clergy-at-record-low-in-honesty-and-ethics-ratings.html

- PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), "Religious Change in America" (2024) — PRIMARY. Clergy sexual abuse scandals cited as a reason for leaving religion increased from 19% (2016) to 39% (2024).

- PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), "Health of Congregations" (2024) — PRIMARY. 34% of former evangelicals cite scandals as a reason for leaving; 45% among former Catholics.

- Pew Research Center, "Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?" (December 2025) — PRIMARY. 50% of religiously unaffiliated ("nones") don't like religious organizations; 49% don't trust religious leaders.

- Gallup, "Confidence in Institutions" (2025 update) — PRIMARY. Confidence in the church as an institution increased from 31% (2022 low) to 36% (2025), indicating a modest rebound despite declining trust in clergy.

People Are Asking ChatGPT to Find Them a Church. Are You Showing Up? Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

Here's what's already happening - a family moves to a new city and asks ChatGPT for church recommendations instead of Googling. Seconds later, they get a curated list they trust.

So the question is - is your church on it? Today, we're giving you a simple 5-step checklist to make sure you show up in this new era of search.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

0:51 - The Shift Is Happening, But Let's Get the Data Right

7:12 - How AI Decides Which Churches to Recommend

13:55 - The 5-Step Church AI Visibility Checklist

21:06 - What This Means for Your Website Strategy

IMPORTANT LINKS

- ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/

- Claude: https://claude.ai/

- Superprompt: https://superprompt.com/

- Technical SEO: https://bit.ly/4sn5IfC

- Practicing the Way: https://www.practicingtheway.org/

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ALL CITATIONS

- SSRS/Edison Research, "AI User Metrics" (February 2026, probability-based national panel, ~1,000 U.S. adults) — PRIMARY. 52% weekly AI usage.

- Orbit Media, "AI-Search Adoption Survey" (March 2026, survey of digital professionals) — PRIMARY (but industry-specific sample, not general population). 55% AI chat as primary/frequent research tool; 24% prefer AI for local queries (down from 26%); 25.7% of marketers developing AI-specific content.

- OpenAI — ChatGPT 800M weekly users (2026).

- Superprompt.com, "AI Search Traffic Converts 5x Better Than Google" (2025, analysis of 12M visits across 350+ businesses) — PRIMARY but vendor study with commercial interest. 14.2% vs. 2.8% conversion comparison. E-commerce/SaaS data, not church-specific.

- Princeton University, "Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Research" (peer-reviewed) — PRIMARY. Up to 40% increase in AI visibility (measures visibility in AI responses, not click-throughs or real-world conversions).

- TechnicalSEO.com, "Schema Markup Generator Tool" — PRACTICAL RESOURCE. https://technicalseo.com/tools/schema-markup-generator/

Father's Day at Church 2026: Fresh Ideas May 27, 2026

Show notes

Most Father's Day services fall into the same tired clichés. So in this episode, we share simple, fresh ideas your church can actually use - no stereotypes required.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

4:30 - Idea #1: First Father's Day

12:48 - Idea #2: Letters From Kids, Sealed For Next Year

14:46 - Idea #3: One Story, Multiple Parts

19:29 - Idea #4: The Grandfather's Blessing

24:28 - Idea #5: The Anonymous Dad Survey

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

Stop Promoting Church Small Groups Like This May 20, 2026

Show notes

Today we're unpacking a different approach to getting people into small groups - backed by national data so you can see where your church stands. We'll also walk through a simple exercise to identify who isn't joining and why.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

1:38 - THE BENCHMARK (Know Your Number)

6:45 - THE PHILOSOPHY (Groups as the Ultimate Value)

9:26 - THE PERSONAS (Know Who You're Talking To)

14:12 - THE GROUP TYPES (Broaden the Definition)

20:08 - THE CAMPAIGNS (Sprint vs. Sprinkle)

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

13 Church Social Posts for Summer (steal these) May 13, 2026

Show notes

Today - 13 summer social media post ideas your church can actually use. Real formats you can copy, with examples ready to drop into your calendar. If you're stuck or repeating yourself, this will help.

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Table of Contents:

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0:00 - Intro

1:11 - Church Summer Bucket List

3:33 - Come With Me...

10:46 - B-Roll Inspo

16:23 - The 'Stance' Post

20:22 - Summer Event Photo Dump

22:00 - Happy Birthday To Pastor

23:04 - The "What Our Pastor Actually Does in Summer" Post

24:23 - Mic Someone Up On Sunday / Who Volunteers At VBS

27:40 - "This Or That" Summer Edition

31:04 - Summer Reading Recommendations

32:58 - The "Caption This" Post

33:40 - The "Best Summer Moments" Recap Carousel

IMPORTANT LINKS

- Church Social Media Audit: https://auditmychurch.com/

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder: https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

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