Five Ways a Church Can Use Social Media when Weather Threatens
By Jonathan Howe As I write this article, a potentially disruptive snowstorm is headed toward the southeast United States. Unlike some parts of the country, the South does not handle winter weather...
View ArticleFive Church Communications Questions for the New Year
Annual evaluation is commonplace in work, in school, and in life. A new year presents the opportunity for us to take a moment to evaluate where we are at the beginning of the year, where we want to be...
View ArticleYoung Influencer List: January 2017
By Jonathan Howe As always, the goal with this list is not to inflate the egos of those named, but to make you, the readers of ThomRainer.com, aware of the dozens and dozens of Christian leaders who...
View Article4 Simple Steps to Improve the Effectiveness of Your Online Sermons
By Jonathan Howe Online sermons have become ubiquitous with churches. What used to be an added bonus for members of large churches has now become standard in churches of any size. Thanks to technology...
View ArticleFour Steps to Make Your Church Communications More Efficient
By Jonathan Howe Bigger. Stronger. Faster. It’s a mantra you hear from professional athletes and coaches all the time. Successful athletes and teams are often the ones who simply can do more than their...
View ArticleFive Reasons to Recommend Books to Your Church Members
By Jonathan Howe I’ve been privileged to work for a voracious reader and also be pastored by one. These men have modeled godly leadership for me, but have done something else, too—they’ve taught me to...
View ArticleSeven Tips for Guest Email Follow-Up
By Jonathan Howe Email is one of the easiest ways to initiate a connection with first-time guests to your church. However, many churches either fail to use it or fail to maximize its capabilities if...
View ArticleFive Ways Churches Can Encourage Members to Share on Social Media
By Jonathan Howe For much of the past 14 months, I’ve encouraged churches to engage members and prospective guests online. Whether through Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, your church can reach,...
View ArticleShould You Start a Podcast? Eight Diagnostic Questions
By Jonathan Howe The popularity of podcasts has exploded over the past few years. In 2016 alone, 57 million Americans listened to a podcast each month. I’ve seen this explosive growth with both...
View ArticleSeven Reasons Your Church Members Aren’t Using Your Church Website
By Jonathan Howe As we’ve stated countless times here at ThomRainer.com, your church’s website is the front door to your church. I’ve written about why your website needs to be guest friendly, but I...
View ArticleFive Reasons Why This Millennial Still Likes Using Hymnals
By Jonathan Howe I might lose my Millennial card for admitting this, but: I like hymnals. A lot. Yes, I realize I’m supposed to want to worship with fog machines and song lyrics on projector screens...
View ArticleThe Pros and Cons of Facebook for Pastors and Church Staff
By Jonathan Howe While advocating for social media and online engagement by pastors and church staff, I’m continually asked about parameters for engagement. The problem is that every situation is...
View ArticleEight Considerations for Family Photo Stations at Churches on Holidays
By Jonathan Howe A recent trend that is really catching on around holidays in churches is the use of photo stations. Easter, Mother’s Day, and Christmas seem to be the top three times churches use...
View ArticleThree Actions Churches Can Take in Times of Crisis
By Jonathan Howe The past few weeks have been quite eventful for the communications teams at Cracker Barrel and United Airlines. In case you’ve missed it, Cracker Barrel faced a deluge of complaints...
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Churches, Social Media, and Customer Service
By Jonathan Howe I recently came across the infographic below at Entrepreneur.com in an article related to the recent customer service woes of Cracker Barrel and United Airlines that I mentioned last...
View ArticleFour Elements of a Successful Podcast
By Jonathan Howe In the past two weeks of the Rainer on Leadership podcast, we have experienced two of our top three days ever on the show in terms of downloads. For this, we are obviously grateful to...
View ArticleThree Questions to Ask of Your Church Communications
By Jonathan Howe In a recent internal meeting at LifeWay, Vice President Eric Geiger shared the SKS process for evaluating people, systems, or companies. The process itself is rather simple, yet...
View ArticleThe Five Major Formats of Podcasts
By Jonathan Howe For the past three years, podcasts have exploded in popularity. We’ve seen tremendous growth with Rainer on Leadership, and barely a week goes by where I don’t hear about someone else...
View ArticleEight Essential Items for Your Church’s FAQ Page
By Jonathan Howe A good church website answers questions for guests and members alike. While not every question and appropriate answer can be foreseen, an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your...
View ArticleSix Details to Include in Your Church Staff Bios
By Jonathan Howe When we talk with first-time guests about church websites, many of them share their surprise that the website fails to include bios or any information other than a name for the church...
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