The Unstuck Church Podcast

Latest Episodes:

More Church Engagement Q&A - Episode 109 Sep 04, 2019

Show notes

You had more questions about church engagement—so we are taking this week to answer them.

We recently hosted a webinar on the topic of increasing church engagement, and as part of the event, we fielded questions from people who tuned in. We weren't able to get through all of the questions live, so in this episode, we're digging a bit deeper.

We saw some themes in the questions that came in. Participants were asking things like...

How do you measure engagement of people before they attend your church?
How do you engage more empty-nesters in serving?
What does engagement looks like in a transient area, where the turnover every year or two is significant?
Does the nature of the serving (internally within the church vs. externally in the community) have any impact on engagement?
What are best practices for churches who live stream their services to increase engagement from those who watch online?
How do you successfully re-engage people who stop taking steps on your discipleship path?

In this episode, Tony and Amy share their answers to these questions and more!

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode109.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook.

Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic.

If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode109] in your post for reference.

Is Multisite on the Downslope? Episode 108 Aug 28, 2019

Show notes

Bus ministry, cassette tape messages, door-to-door evangelism... all ministry strategies have a lifespan. Is multisite nearing its end?

Recently, some high profile multisite churches made the decision to un-multisite. For a variety of reasons, their ministry strategy has shifted from "one church in many locations" to "multiple independent churches," some even boldly downsizing to one location.

Do these public shifts in strategy signal the beginning of the end for the multisite era?

In this episode, Tony sits down with Geoff Surratt, pastor and author of The Multisite Revolution, for a conversation on the future of multisite church, and whether or not it's still an effective strategy in today's culture.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode108.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic.

If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode108] in your post for reference.

Social Media Best Practices for Churches - Episode 107 Aug 21, 2019

Show notes

What's the "win" for your church's social media activity? If you don't know, at best you'll waste time and resources, and at worst you'll do damage to your brand and the potential you have to engage people outside your church.

Social media platforms play a big role in the success of an inbound marketing strategy, and it seems like most churches are struggling to use them well. (Not sure what "inbound marketing" means? We covered it in Episode 61).

Why are they struggling? For one, the nuances of social media are always changing.

In this episode, Tiffany Deluccia from The Unstuck Group's team joins Tony and Amy to help unpack some things you need to know to maximize the potential of social media for reaching more people and increasing engagement.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode107.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic.

If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode107] in your post for reference.

Increasing Church Engagement - Episode 106 Aug 14, 2019

Show notes

Engagement—It's the buzz word we hear church leaders discussing across the country. What does it really mean and how do you know if you're hitting a mark?

Truth be told, we find many pastors are confused about engagement. How do we increase it? Why do people show up, come back, plug in or leave?

Recently, Tony, Amy and Sean hosted a live webinar for church leaders on the topic of engagement. In this episode, we're sharing that conversation with you.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode106.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic.

If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode106] in your post for reference.

Sermon Series Planning - Episode 105 Aug 07, 2019

Show notes

It's one of the big responsibilities every pastor has—the planning process for message series.

Few pastors tell us they have a great process. Often, there's no plan at all, or the plan only goes a few months out and lacks an aspect that brings focus to the big picture. While it may work for the lead pastor's writing rhythm, it rarely serves the rest of the team well.

In this episode, Tony and Amy talk best practices for taking the frustration out of sermon series planning for both you and your team.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode105.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

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If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode105] in your post for reference.

New Guest Connection Strategies for the 21st Century - Episode 104 Jul 31, 2019

Show notes

It can feel like a losing battle. You want to help new guests feel welcome and decide to return, but how do you even identify them? The most common strategies don't work very well anymore.

Many churches don't have an intentional plan to identify, welcome and follow up with their new guests. And, if they do have a plan, it's often too cumbersome for a new guest to engage.

In this episode, Tony, Amy and Sean share the method we've seen some churches use that's working incredibly well, and how simple it is to bring your guest connection strategy into the 21st century.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode104.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic.

If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode104] in your post for reference.

Getting Clear on Brand - Episode 103 Jul 24, 2019

Show notes

The good news is that things have gotten better.

A few decades ago, churches weren't talking about design or brand or project management or technology.

The bad news? Many churches are doing those things now, but overall our outcomes are not better. Many churches are still in decline, and all this cool stuff we're creating is not putting the mission and vision in action or within reach.

In this episode, Tony and Amy interview Kem Meyer, author of Less Chaos. Less Noise., about how we can reframe our understanding of brand and communications for this decade. Kem also shares a practical tool to help you get started.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode103.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

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If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode103] in your post for reference.

3 Reasons Why Your Church Isn't Producing Spiritual Growth - Episode 102 Jul 17, 2019

Show notes

Church growth vs. spiritual growth. Churches often operate like the two are mutually exclusive.

The truth is, Jesus charged us both with reaching new people and helping them learn to be more like Him. We find unstuck churches are effective on both sides of the equation.

In this episode, Tony and Amy share 3 reasons why churches are struggling to help people grow spiritually, and some practical next steps you can take as a leader to turn things around.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode102.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

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If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode102] in your post for reference.

Making Disciples in a Culture of Busy - Episode 101 Jul 10, 2019

Show notes

167 hours per week. That's how much time people spend doing all the things that don't happen at a weekend church service.

If you're interested in redeeming all that time to help people take next steps in their relationship with Christ, there's one particular strategy we'd encourage you to employ.

And very few churches are trying it.

This episode is all about podcasting. A few reasons to look at your church podcast through a new lens:

32% of the US population is consuming podcast content monthly
22% are engaging weekly
The average weekly podcast consumer listens to 6+ hours of podcast episodes
80% of podcast listeners listen to the entire episode or most of the episode

In this episode, Sean Bublitz joins Tony and Amy to talk about how your church podcast could be so much more than a replay of your weekend message and could help you extend the reach of your church directly into people's lives.

Listen for a practical discussion about why and how to get started.

For the full episode transcript and links mentioned during the show, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode101.

Get the Beginner's Guide to Starting a Church Podcast

Instead of the usual leader conversation guide, in this episode we wanted to give you something practical to help you get started. So, we created a PDF guide called A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Church Podcast.

Show Notes subscribers get it free. Not subscribed? What are you waiting for?

Subscribe to the Show Notes

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If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode101] in your post for reference.

Managing Multisite Tensions - Episode 100 Jul 03, 2019

Show notes

Tension. Your multisite church has some frustration bubbling below the surface if you hear team members asking questions like...

Who do I (really) report to? Who made that decision? Why didn't they ask me about that? Why can't we do that?

We find there are 3 areas every multisite church must clarify to reduce tensions in the multisite matrix. In this episode, Tony and Amy dig deep into all of them, and share some practical next steps that will help you get unstuck.

For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode100.

Join the Live Conversation on Social Media

Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic.

If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode100] in your post for reference.

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