Expert-Led Workshops
Archived Workshops
Small & Rural Church Communications
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Unlock the full potential of your rural or small church with our transformative workshop on digital communication strategies. This workshop provides practical, actionable takeaways, such as crafting consistent, impactful content with limited resources, enhancing community engagement through strategic digital channels, and integrating traditional and digital methods for a hybrid communication strategy. Participants will also use Learning Forte's Unlock Constraints Model, which guides leaders and teams through a process that enables them to leverage the creative possibilities of their context by engaging their imagination to transform limitations into opportunities. This workshop was led by Lisa Brown from Learning Forte. Recording | Slides
Worksheet
Unlocked Constraints Model Explainer
Practical AI & Your Work
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
How might Artificial Intelligence help you in your work? AI can help church staff be more efficient, effective, and strategic in their work. Discover how AI can revolutionize routine tasks, provide data-driven insights, and improve communications, freeing up time for church staff to focus on building relationships and serving the community. Learn to leverage technology practically with this demonstrative workshop chock full of examples and ideas. (Full disclosure: AI helped write this workshop description.) This workshop is led by Canon Mike Orr, Canon for Communications & Evangelism, The Episcopal Church in Colorado. Video | Word Doc | Powerpoint
Canva for Churches
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Canva, known underground as “Photoshop or InDesign for Dummies,” is a fantastic online tool that allows you to create snazzy graphics for your social media, redo documents, or even create a bulletin! If you know what Canva is, that is a great start. If you have already signed up for Canva for Nonprofits, that is an even better start! We will work together to create 1 or 2 projects, walking through templates, elements, styles, and more. Recording
Is Your Database Failing You?
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
This workshop dug into database systems as the very heart of congregations’ operations (pumping blood — i.e. information — to all other areas of your church. Kelly Champagne of Evoke discusses the top 4 reasons to replace your database and what to look for when you start the search process! Recording | Slides (PDF)
Empowering Church Communications with VoIP
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
This workshop was designed to introduce church staff, lay leaders, communicators, and administrators to the transformative potential of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. In an era where effective communication is paramount, in the right setting, VoIP is a versatile and cost-effective solution to foster connectivity within church communities and beyond. Recording | Slides (PDF)
Designing Purposeful Digital Ministry Content
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
In this workshop, we discussed practical strategies for developing thoughtful digital content that aligns with your ministry context. We explored two content planning tactics to help you sustainably create and curate blogs, videos, podcasts, and other forms of digital media. We looked at how to align digital content to themes from your community's worship life, liturgy, and preaching. Finally, we explored using AI tools like ChatGPT to simplify the content design process. This workshop was facilitated by Ryan Panzer, a digital ministry author and former Google employee with over ten years of digital marketing experience. Video | Slides (PDF)
SEO & Digital Marketing Essentials for Church Communicators
Thursday, November 16, 2023
This workshop was designed to help your ministry extend a wider-reaching digital invitation. Learn to differentiate between marketing and ministry communications while discovering the basics of how your ministry shows up in search engines. Define the metrics that determine your website's visibility and discover tactics to boost your online visibility. Plus, get hands-on guidance on applying for Google Ad Grants, a resource to increase your website's presence on Google search. You will leave the session feeling empowered to elevate your church’s digital voice and share your message with a wider audience. This workshop will be facilitated by Ryan Panzer, a digital ministry author and former Google employee with over ten years of digital marketing experience. Video | Slides (PDF)
Social Media Ministry 101: How to Create Effective and Relevant Content Online
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Join Deja McGhaw, a Social Media Manager and Consultant, for a workshop on Social Media Ministry. Discover the power and importance of ministering through social media. Learn effective strategies, avoid common mistakes, and stay updated on the latest trends in Social Media Ministry Marketing for churches. Gain valuable insights and skills to enhance your social ministry efforts, while maintaining a balanced approach between online and offline interactions. Don't miss out on this opportunity to grow your social ministry impact. Video | Slides
Church IT 101
Thursday, September 7, 2023
Let’s talk about Google vs Microsoft 365. And servers vs. cloud-based storage. Parke Nimmons, an IT consultant who serves many churches and businesses throughout Colorado, will guide us through the ins and outs of what to plan for and choices to make when planning for both now and the future. Powerpoint | PDF | Video
The Power of a Small Church
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
The Power of a Small Church is a high energy, fast-paced hour of ideas that might just work for your church. We will discuss publicity, music resources, the internet, services on-line, revenue ideas, your niche, and innovation. You’ll hear how a small church of 14 having a positive abundance mindset negates any perceived lack of resources. Learn how your church can be an inspiration for those seeking a meaningful relationship with our Lord. Enthusiasm is contagious and hopefully, you’ll be infected. Our workshop leader, Fr. Dexter Lesieur, was ordained in 2020 and is the Vicar, St. Matthias, Devine, TX, co-chair for the Diocese of West Texas (DWTX) Military Ministry, and member of the DWTX Small Church Ministry. He retired from the Air Force (SMSgt) as a Czechoslovakian cryptologic linguist and motivational speaker. He is an Air Force 12 Outstanding Airman of the Year, Jimmy Doolittle Fellow, and coach of two world-champion problem-solving teams. Fr. Dexter’s passion is helping small churches find their place in the community of faith. Video
Know Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Neighbor
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Discover creative and practical ways to know your neighbors and make genuine life-giving connections. And, discover the strategies employed by healthy, growing churches to create intentional environments where relationships grow deeper with God and with one another. This workshop is led by Canon Mike Orr, Canon for Communications & Evangelism, the Episcopal Church in Colorado. Video | Slide Deck
Videography & Sharing Stories: From Gear to Post-Production
Thursday, April 20, 2023
In 2022, video made up a staggering 83% of content across digital platforms like social media (LinkedIn). This means that videography is growing as a way to share our story meaning more people will be viewing instead of reading. So, how do we share stories of Good News through the ministry of videography? In this workshop, we dove into gear, how to get people to share their stories authentically, and post production flow. This workshop was led by Canon Easton Davis, Canon for Communications & Digital Evangelism, the Diocese of Atlanta.
Video | Slide Deck
Small & Rural Church Communications
Thursday, March 30, 2023
In this workshop, we learned about utilizing traditional rural communication avenues to spread the gospel, communicating with minimal internet, and using social media in rural spaces. This workshop was led by Jonathan Lemaster-Smith, a Professor of United Methodist Studies, Rural Ministry, and Christian Education and a United Methodist Lay Pastor.
Video | Slide Deck
Tasteful & Creative Bulletin Layouts in InDesign
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Ever wondered why Adobe InDesign is such a beloved program for print layouts by professionals? Mystified by the endless array of options and controls? Curious how to leverage InDesign to add polish to those routine bulletins? Join Bro. Andrew Morehead, OC for “Tasteful and Creative Bulletin Layouts in InDesign,” a fun time of exploring the world beyond Word. Bring your next project, your routine bulletin, and curious questions. Led by Bro. Andrew Morehead, Missioner for Communications and Evangelism, Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee. Video
Focus on 5 Communications Areas & Ignore the Rest!
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Updating your website each week, navigating Facebook's constantly changing platform, writing an article for the church newsletter every month, connecting with folks worshipping online… the list of communication-related tasks can be overwhelming for a full-time staff person let alone for the majority of churches that have volunteers and staff sharing the burden. Kelly Champagne, owner of Evoke Engagement Experts, shares the five areas of communication your congregation should focus on when you have limited time or resources.
Video | Slide Deck
Squarespace Web Design 101
Tuesday, November 9, 2022
Do you have a Squarespace website or are you looking to build a Squarespace website? This workshop will show you how to build and edit a website; from starting a website from scratch to launching the site. We will cover adding pages; stylizing your site to align with your brand; editing content with photos, videos, forms; and more. This workshop is led by Mike Orr, Canon for Communications and Evangelism for the Episcopal Church in Colorado.
Video
Year-Round Stewardship and the Vital Role of Communicators
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Stewardship is not about money, it's about our relationship with God. Through the spiritual practice of Stewardship, we come to understand that everything we have is a gift from God and God has entrusted us to be good stewards of God's resources. We are called to use what we have been given - our skills, abilities, time, and financial resources - to further God's kingdom in the world. Doing this requires trusting God with everything we have and everything we are. As our relationship with God deepens, we are able to move from fear to grace; from scarcity to living in abundance. The Ministry of Stewardship requires us to teach people how everything they do, every day, is Stewardship. In this workshop, we will focus on practical ways to incorporate Stewardship throughout the year in the parish and the vital role communicators have in developing the spiritual practice of Stewardship. Tammy Pallot is the chair of the Commission on Stewardship for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, where she shares the joy of Stewardship at workshops and retreats as a guest speaker and works with parishes as a consultant and lay preacher.
Video | Powerpoint
Social Media Strategy
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
A few months ago, this workshop would have looked drastically different. That is how big a shift Easton Davis, Canon for Communications & Digital Evangelism for the Diocese of Atlanta, has seen in algorithms in a short amount of time. Not only how content is prioritized but specifically. This means much less energy on posts and much more energy around reels (the IG/FB Tik Tok rip-off). This isn't a nuts and bolts workshop on social media. This is a conversation about what Easton is seeing in digital ministry in relation to social media and logical next steps in an ever-changing digital world.
Video | Chat
Camera Tech & Getting Started
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
From camera gear and accessories to gadgets and programs, we explored various photography setups for your ministry. Explore the benefits of using dedicated camera equipment while demystifying photography jargon and shopping. Whether you are wanting to get started or looking to upgrade your setup, this is a great workshop to get started. With over a decade of photography experience, Bro. Andrew Morehead, Missioner for Communications and Evangelism for the Episcopal Church in East Tennessee, leads this workshop.
Video | Powerpoint
Branding Workshop
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Meghan Lamkin, Lead Designer for Digital Media for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, presented a workshop about social graphics, newsletters, For Faith, and other new projects. Meghan covered: What is branding? What does it encompass? Why is branding important, and how is it relevant in your ministry? Examples of great church branding & ideas and learnings.
Video
Live-Stream Engagement
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
In this workshop, Sarah Martinez, Communications Director for Trinity Episcopal Church, Fort Worth, discussed what to do to make your live-stream engaging and participatory for viewers. She talked about how you can strategically welcome online viewers, and give them opportunities to share in the worship experience. We talked at a macro-level without getting too far down into technology specifications, but if you have those questions, Sarah and her team are happy to answer those questions offline. Video | Presentation Slides | Chat
Canva for Churches
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Join Alli Gannett for a hands-on workshop about Canva for Churches. Canva, known underground as “Photoshop or InDesign for Dummy’s,” is a fantastic online tool that allows you to create snazzy graphics for your social media, redo documents, or even create a bulletin! If you know what Canva is, that is a great start. If you have already signed up for Canva for Nonprofits, that is an even better start! We will work together to create 1 or 2 projects, walking through templates, elements, styles, and more. With Canva for Nonprofits you can also upload your logo and fonts, if you have those easily available. Video
Improving Your Church’s Web Presence
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
How do people find a new church? How do you control and edit your search listing as a church in Google? How do you build a "hub" for communications? What are the pros and cons of website platforms? and what information and content should you utilize to build a website and then link that back to make sure people see your website and connect with you? Eric Seiberling is part of a husband-wife duo working to help the church embody “1 > 99” at brokensheep.com. He leverages his 20+ years of marketing and consulting experience to help churches “baptize” and use secular techniques to be more effective at reaching the lost, the least, and the last for Jesus Christ.
Video | Presentation Slides
Healthy Practices for Social Media
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Join Alli Gannett, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Oregon and the Episcopal Church in Western Oregon, for a conversation discussing some of the healthy practices for navigating social media as a parish/diocesan/church communicator in order to create an engaging, safe, and wholesome account. We will think through the “why” of using social media, and talk through boundaries, politics, trolls, and more. This workshop will focus more on the theory of engaging within social media and the establishment of protocols rather than the “how to post/get more followers/etc.” Spoiler alert: Alli doesn’t know how to do one of those TikTok dances, so unfortunately that will not be on the agenda. Video | Presentation Slides
Podcasting 101
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Podcasting continues to thrive and in the United States growth is up 10% from 2020 to 2021 with over 117 million downloads per month (according to Insider Intelligence). And that makes sense. Podcasts are a great way to meet people in a space where they don't have to be looking at or reading something. They can simply listen. In the world of ministry, podcasting can be a way to share stories of faith and even be a teaching tool. In this workshop, we do a full podcast walkthrough from recording, to editing, to hosting sites. These are the broad strokes, but in the details we dive into gear, recording remotely, and how to make the perfect template to work smarter and not harder. Your presenter is Easton Davis. Easton serves as Canon for Communications and Digital Evangelism in the Diocese of Atlanta and is the producer of For People with Bishop Rob Wright and A Brave Space with Dr. Catherine Meeks. Video | Resource Sheet | Presentation Slides
The Trinity of Graphic Design: Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
This workshop was led by Jason Franklin, Director of Communications at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Jason shared his screen as he talked us through Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, walking us through the difference of what each is used for; and giving examples of projects. He shared the interplay between the three programs; they all do graphic design work, but each has a purpose and a reason for co-existing. This workshop mainly focused on the fundamentals of all three programs. Video | Resource Sheet
Squarespace Web Design 101
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Do you have a Squarespace website or are you looking to build a Squarespace website? This workshop will show you how to build and edit a website; from starting a website from scratch to launching the site. We will cover adding pages; stylizing your site to align with your brand; editing content with photos, videos, forms; and more. This workshop is led by Mike Orr, Canon for Communications and Evangelism for the Episcopal Church in Colorado. Video
Communicating Across Political Divides
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Political divides are growing deeper and more tangible, and many of us look to ahead with concern and worry. We do not have to continue this way. Peacebuilding involves learning from and working with others, while also sharing different perspectives with humility and vulnerability. To solve our world’s greatest challenges, we must learn to unlock the diversity of ideas and viewpoints as an asset for creating stronger solutions. This brief session on civil discourse aims to introduce you ways we can build our community capacity for more constructive engagement on political issues. This workshop is led by Alan Yarborough, Church Relations Officer, Office of Government Relations for The Episcopal Church.
Video
Church Apps 101
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Why should your church consider having an application for folks to use on their mobile devices? What functionality is helpful? What are some of the platforms available to help you develop an app? Slides (PDF) | Video
Churches & Copyright: How to Be a Weekend Broadcaster Without Going to Prison
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Learn about how to use print media legally in worship both in-person (reprinted in bulletins and/or on screens) and online. This webinar will focus specifically on print media, like books, Bibles, liturgy, articles, etc. Michael Moore, Rights Management Specialist/Content Management, handles copyrights for 1517 Media, the ministry of publishing of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Slides | Handout | Video
Creating Content that Emotionally Connects
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Knowing your audience, whether it be the mission field of your community or those who already call your church their faith home, is essential to authentic connection. By understanding your various audience’s hopes, motivations, fears, and needs, you’ll be better able to create content that emotionally connects with them and engages them. Wilson Chu, a social media/content manager based in the San Francisco Bay Area, facilitated this interactive workshop that explored the topics of empathy and content creation and emotional appeal advertising. Video | Slides
Designing Logos
Wednesday, March 31
This 60-minute workshop was led by Jessica Beamond, the Design and Communications Director at Maranatha Assembly of God in Forest Lake, Minnesota. She is also a talented graphic designer, whose work focuses on logo design, print materials, and videography and production. She led a conversation on logos; how to make a simple one that goes with your church’s brand and how to design a simple logo using beginner graphic design skills.
Video
Crisis Communications During COVID-19
Wednesday, February 10
We are in a pandemic. We have been ravaged by fires, by hurricanes. We are in a crisis. How do crisis communications plans mesh with current affairs to insure effective communications in trying times? This hour-long workshop was led by Neva Rae Fox, of The Fox Group, a communications consultant to Episcopal churches, dioceses, and institutions as well as secular organizations.
Video | Powerpoint | PDF
Why “Don’t Give Up” is the Worst Advice
Wednesday, January 13
Peter Englert is the Adult Ministries Director at Browncroft Community Church in Rochester, NY. He also holds a M.A. in Theology and is passionate about providing helpful and practical resources for people to live out their faith in the Monday-Saturday of life and not just Sunday morning. Englert leads this workshop that expands on his article, titled, "Why 'Don’t Give Up' is the Worst Advice."
Video
Maintaining Mental Health for Church Staff
Wednesday, December 9
The Colorado Center for Clinical Excellence led this one-hour workshop earlier today on stress reduction and self-care techniques for church staff with a creative approach to preserving your sanity during post-election season, COVID-19, and the holidays.
Video
InDesign Tutorial
Wednesday, November 18
This 60-minute workshop was led by Jason Franklin, Director of Communications at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Jason shares his screen as he talks us through how to create engaging designs like this Stewardship Booklet using InDesign and Photoshop.
Video
Communications Fatigue & Cutting Through the Noise
Wednesday, October 28
2020 has represented a monumental shift in worldwide communication behavior resulting from COVID-19. As the world continues to embrace social distancing the workplace, schoolrooms, and congregations find a new home online. People are creating and consuming content around the clock in this 24-hour digital landscape. In an era already overloaded with text messages, app notification, emails, and phone calls, how much is too much? What are the best approaches to cutting through the noise and being heard in a time when everyone is feeling the effects of communication fatigue? This 60-minute workshop was led by Joshua J. Smith, a faculty member of mass communications and public relations with the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Video | Slides (PDF)
Social Media for Churches
Wednesday, October 14
This 60-minute workshop focused on using social media to further and expand a church’s mission and reach. This workshop was led by Ellen Singer, social media and multimedia specialist at the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Ellen discusses best practices for using social media platforms as a church and different approaches for different platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Video | Slides (Powerpoint)
Graphic Design for Beginners
Wednesday, September 16
This 60-minute workshop was led by Ronda Palazzari, a mixed media artist, designer, author, and photographer living in Denver, Colorado. Ronda teaches on graphic design for beginners and color theory. Presenter email:
Video | Slides (Powerpoint)
Creative Storytelling through Video and Live-Streaming
Wednesday, August 26
This workshop from Wednesday, August 26 was led by David Alexander, Communications Coordinator at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. An Emmy award-winning producer and motion graphic artist with experience in music production and audio editing, David led a presentation on creative storytelling through video and live-streaming. Presenter email: david@houstoncreativemedia.com
Video | Slides (Powerpoint) | Chat