Most churches are active on social media, but almost none of them are reaching anyone beyond their own congregation, because 95% of the people who see their content don't attend their church. In this episode, we break down the single biggest mistake churches make online, creating content for members instead of strangers, and run through the rest of the list, from broadcasting instead of engaging to avoiding video to spreading thin across too many platforms.

This episode is for pastors and church leaders who want their social media to actually reach new people instead of just reinforcing what current members already know. We also unpack why chasing followers is the wrong goal, why consistency between Sundays matters, and why even a small amount of paid promotion can change everything about who sees your content.

Most churches pour nearly all their energy into attracting new visitors while ignoring the fact that only 10 to 20 percent of first-time guests ever come back a second time. In this episode, we make the case that retention, not acquisition, is the fastest and cheapest path to a growing church, and we break down what a real connection sequence looks like in the critical first 30 days after someone visits.

This episode is for pastors and church leaders who want to grow but feel like they're constantly refilling a leaky bucket instead of building something lasting. We also dig into why much of today's church growth is really just redistribution between churches rather than new conversions, and why small churches often have a quiet advantage when it comes to relational depth and follow-through.

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With 93% of pastors now using or exploring AI, the question for churches is no longer whether to use it, but where the line actually is. In this episode, Thomas goes through a long list of real AI use cases happening in churches right now, from sermon research and discipleship chatbots to pasting giving records into ChatGPT and posting AI-generated prayers without disclosure, and calls each one in bounds or out of bounds.

This episode is for pastors and church leaders who know AI is already showing up in their ministry, whether or not they've officially addressed it. Along the way, Thomas and the team unpack why intent and transparency matter more than the tool itself, and why only 5% of churches currently have a written AI policy even though most leaders say they need one.