In my preaching calendar, I am kicking off a new series on February 8, which will be our churchâs February big day. If you are not familiar with some of my language, here, check out The Big Day resource from Nelson Searcy, my friend and pastor coach here https://www.churchleaderinsights.com/offers/2NniMfHr/checkout.
đŹ Videoing Your February Big Day Commercial
Vibe (https://Vibe.co) is a great way to advertise to those who use cable. There is a $2,000 minimum, but it can be spread across several months. Many churches might get sticker shock over such an advertising budget, but those churches might actually grow if they would invest $10K/year in advertising. If your annual budget is >$100K, and your lead pastor is full-time, you should be investing >$10K in advertising. Just last night, I discovered Paramount+ Advertising. I will test it, and let you know how it performs. Meanwhile, here are some keys to capturing a high-quality video commercial even without any experience:
Get a green screen. Hereâs the one I use, and itâs $8 on Amazon.
Get 2 soft boxes. Hereâs what I use, and itâs $35 on Amazon for one.
Get clean audio. You can mitigate room noise later, but I get more views on videos with quality audio. You know you listen to commercials better when they have a professional sound quality. Hereâs a solid option, which I have. $18 on Amazon. Please do your own due diligence on device compatibility.
Think through your script. What do you want people to do? Give your address and website twice. Write out the script and spell out numbers: Eight thirty two, Green Hill Road Northeast, Leland North Carolina. Also spell out âdot comâ or âdot org.â This helps you time the script. Use the stopwatch feature on your phone to time yourself.
Practice it. Record it. Watch it. As many takes as you need to. If you tend to be too forgiving, donât settle for âgood enough.â If you tend to be a perfectionist, donât miss deadlines for something only you will notice.
Bonus Tips: You can get nice instrumental tracks from PremiumBeat.com. Someone in your church (or another church nearby) may be able to pull all your footage into editing software like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro, unless you have experience with it. There are resources online, but it can get expensive. The key is that your background music doesnât cover up your advertising message. I micro-manage my own captions. Select a background. Remember you shot against a green screen? You can remove the green and place yourself against any neutral background.
Remember: Itâs easier than you think to produce high-quality advertisements for your church. The above comes in under $100 for hardware.
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Becoming immune to praise and criticism
Years ago, the founder of my college, Dr. Lee Roberson, shared something with me in a private conversation. He said, âYouâve got to become immune to praise and criticism.â If you listen to the praise of others, youâll start to believe it. This dangerously inflates your ego. If you listen to the criticism of others, it will slow you down and possibly stop you. Youâll get discouraged. You have to become immune to both.
And I think thatâs right. But I stumbled across a recent post on X that got me concerned about an unintended consequence. Keep reading for how I suggest mitigating the issue.
As pastors, we live for the audience of one - the Lord Jesus - our Chief Shepherd. But at the same time, we donât want to train people to stop appreciating us. Not for our sake, but for the Gospelâs. When you see how certain churches appreciated the Apostle Paulâs ministry (Acts 20:37-38, Galatians 4:15, Philippians 4:15), you realize that is not unbiblical for people to appreciate you for feeding them Godâs Word. What is the balance?
Hudson makes a solid point here. I do wonder in our efforts to remain humble if we have caused others to stop appreciating us. Over the years, Iâve tried to use some form of âGlory to God,â and the person will usually echo that in some way. Certainly, all good in us is a result of the work of God through us, and therefore He deserves all the glory. So, how do we give Him all the credit without tarnishing the vessel / damaging the messengerâs value? âPraise God - Iâm so glad that message ministered to you, connected with you.â âPraise God - I appreciate how you always encourage me.â Another possibility is, âIt is helpful to know that the message connected with you; to God be the glory!â You can put these ideas into your own words. Ask God to help you find that balance.
đŁđBirthday shout out to my best childhood friend - Pastor Brandon Hiltibidal.
I remember picking off lizards with bb guns, playing the alto sax, seeing who could get muddier in the woods behind his house, and being college roommates one semester at Christianityâs Westpoint (BJU) before going difference directions. Iâm so thrilled to see God using him in big ways in ministry. To celebrate, check out this clip of him preaching here, and buy your wife some of his wife Scarletâs books on Amazon. Happy Birthday, Brandon!