Ryan NelsonOctober is Pastor Appreciation Month. Your pastors do so much for you, your church, and your community. How do you show them that you appreciate their ministry and encourage them to continue? A pastor recently told me, “I work with so many...
Sometimes volunteers are just going to quit, and there’s nothing you can do to change their minds. People move. They get new jobs or go through transitions that make volunteering more difficult or stressful. But sometimes people quit for...
A lot of Christians think they aren’t cut out to be a youth leader. But if you love Jesus and you care about kids, everything else falls into place. In my five years working with middle school students I’ve met multiple 80 year olds who...
The events of the Bible happened in real places, with real people. Today, you can take a virtual journey across the biblical landscape. See the cities where Jesus and the Apostles walked, lived, and changed the world. Logos Bible Software sent...
“What you say and how you say it aren’t disconnected ideas,” says Micah Ellis, the design director at Faithlife. “They aren’t separable.” Communication is more than the words you choose. Tone, body...
Defining your church’s brand is about helping people find their place in the body of Christ. It’s an expression of how the passions your people carry collide with the community you inhabit. It’s a physical reflection of the...
Church growth and church visitors go together. After all, how does your church grow if not by adding new people? Most churches follow one of these two approaches—but which is better in the long run? Approach #1: Full speed ahead Suppose...
In Every Square Inch, Dr. Bruce Riley Ashford surveys a variety of perspectives on the relationship between Christianity and culture. According to Ashford, the conversation boils down to these three main views: 1. Christianity against culture This...
Proclaim’s team of designers constantly produces fresh sermon backgrounds, announcement slides, motions, and more. You may have noticed that with the exception of mini-movies and Bible animations, we produce media “sets,” not...
Proclaim makes it easy to record your sermons, and publishing them online or in a podcast is nearly effortless. But what if you want to review your sermons with staff, a mentor, or on your own? Or, more importantly, what’s the best way for...
Facilitating corporate worship is a big responsibility. Everything you do, every choice you make, is intended to lead your congregation to worship their creator more fully. Some churches play the same songs frequently to make it easier for people to...
When you can’t even get your congregation to say, “Good morning,” it might be hard to imagine those same blank faces giving you personal answers to questions that matter during the service. But thanks to smartphones, that’s...
Anyone who has ever missed a week of school knows what it feels like to be a church visitor walking in on the end of a sermon series. They look around the room and wonder, “Does everyone else know what he’s talking about? Am I the only...
Your church is people, not a place. Your community is not defined by the buildings you gather within, or the spaces you inhabit. When people visit your church, every interaction they have with your members shapes how they feel about your church as a...
People don’t walk through the door of your church with a big tag that says “Visitor” on it. And hopefully, you aren’t handing those out when they get inside. Especially in a big church, it’s hard to tell newcomers from...
“I visited an Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, and the design and silence of the room made me feel like I had to take my hat off to be there,” says Eleazar Ruiz, a senior designer at Faithlife. As the former art director at Mars Hill...
Your follow-up plan for visitors isn’t a biannual program you turn on before Christmas and Easter. Those are obviously the weekends you can expect the most newcomers, but your church should always be refining the journey from visitors to...
“The same way a campfire draws us into conversation and deep thought, on a basic level, abstract animation captures our attention,” says Fred Sprinkle, Faithlife’s motion graphics team lead. But using animation well isn’t as...
It’s not hard for a church to be on social media. But it takes a lot of work to do it well. In an interview with Faithlife Today, Justin Wise, author of The Social Church: A Theology of Digital Communication, shared some things every church...
Imagine if every small group in your church started with a 10 minute video lesson taught by a prominent seminary or Bible college professor. The videos were designed for the classroom, so they’re perfect for watching together. The content is...
Good design is about clearly communicating your message. Every component of your church presentation should visually align with what you’re trying to say to your congregation. But that’s not easy to do. Without a clear understanding of...
“What’s your calling?” How you answer that question could change the way you see your entire life. The answer—and the process of learning how to answer—helps us find our place within the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4–30)...
It’s no secret that conferences are expensive. Unless you live in the right city and incredible opportunities are in your own backyard, the biggest cost of that high-caliber teaching isn’t actually the teaching—it’s getting to the...
You’ve seen it before. Your sermon is going great, but for some reason the sound tech is trying to distract you. They’re interpretive dancing a message to you. You’re supposed to do something—something is wrong—but what? It’s...
When you’re onstage, you don’t see what the audience sees. It’s all bright lights and (hopefully) smiling faces. That’s why it helps to have someone in the sound booth who can discreetly tell you when your mic is off, or...
Right now, there are people in your church who want to volunteer, but aren’t involved yet. Some of them are waiting for the right opportunity—the role that perfectly aligns with their gifts. Others are literally just waiting to be asked. The...
Faithlife’s online church bulletins provide you with a convenient way for your congregation to follow your service. For those in your church who are always skeptical of downloading new apps or guard their email addresses with their lives, this...
Some pastors spend 30 hours or more preparing a single sermon. It takes time to prayerfully study Scripture, craft a relevant message, and prepare to share that message with your congregation. That time is important. Pastors should spend time...
I’ve been volunteering as a youth leader with Young Life for six years. Once or twice a year, one of our regular leader gatherings includes a time where volunteers are recognized for their years of service, and the community of people who...
Buying individual pieces of church media lets you choose exactly what you want from the brands you love. But those purchases add up fast. If you recognize the value of using quality media to visually communicate the gospel, you still have to decide...