Have you ever thought about starting a podcast?
Podcasting is an effective way to reach people in your ministry circle of influence whether it’s a Bible study class or youth group, your whole church family or even your community. This is part 2 of Creative Ways to Connect with your Church Family, so click HERE if you’d like Part 1’s ideas for communicating with and relating to your people.
Every time Greg and I go to a new church, it’s not long before he preaches his “Triangle Sermon”–his way of teaching about what spiritual growth should look like. Our spiritual transformation triangle has three legs: 1-our identity in Christ as believers, 2-our relationship with Him through prayer, Bible study and choices of faith, and 3-our ministry to others.
As the new pastor and wife at our current church, we decided that a podcast would be a fun platform for reaching our new congregation. The church had been through a long difficult journey. Lots of things were broken and things weren’t the same as they had been before. So we wanted to come in with a fresh approach and and Greg also really needed additional opportunities to speak to our people and train them. Do some discipleship stuff beyond Sunday morning or the occasional Wednesday night opportunities. We were also hoping that it would get us into relationship with our people on a deeper level more quickly.
Our Church’s Triangle Podcast
We started the Triangle Podcast, a weekly show where we discuss a variety of topics that pertain to our church but that always connect to an aspect of spiritual growth and how to stretch one of the legs of our triangle. What kind of things do we talk about?
- interview people in our church: testimonies or how they prepare a Sunday school lesson
- feature different ministries or activities in the church–opportunities that would give our people a chance to stretch their triangles
- share devotions or short Bible study lessons
- expound further on recent sermon topics
It’s been an effective way to connect. We are not trying to build a global following. We are not trying to sell ads. We are only doing this for our church family. The only advertising it ever gets is in our church website or bulletin, so that has taken the pressure off. There’s no performance anxiety; we’re not trying to impress anybody. It’s just a love gift from Greg and me to our people. It’s been very effective. Our people are listening and they’re enjoying it. They’re talking about it. It’s just been good for our church. Click HERE to listen to the Triangle Podcast.
More ministers and churches are embracing this communication tool. Some of you in the Married to the Ministry audience have even reached out to me about starting a podcast–that’s so exciting!
Wren Robbins, podcast coach
I invited my friend Wren Robbins to share her expertise on why you might want to consider podcasting as a good platform for your ministry. She is an experienced podcaster and she coaches Christian women entrepreneurs in starting podcasts to grow their businesses. Wren also talks about how easy and inexpensive it can be to get started. Click HERE to listen to my entire conversation with Wren Robbins..
Here are some of the main points Wren and I discussed.
Why are podcasts so popular?
There are two main reasons from the listener side:
1. Podcasts are just really easy to enjoy. We can listen in the car, doing the laundry, waiting in the carpool line, on a road trip, while you’re exercising. It’s so popular because it’s just on the go, very accessible.
2. Listeners can make connections with a larger community. Wren used to joke and say, oh, some of my best friends are podcast hosts, only they don’t know yet! The intimate connection that you can form with your voice is powerful. Voice is one of the most intimate ways to communicate. When you make those connections, you feel like you’re a part of a larger community and you don’t feel alone.
Then, from the creator’s point of view:
If you have a message that God has given you, statistics prove that podcasting is a highly effective marketing tool. Maybe you’re a speaker, maybe you’re a writer, but you know He’s called you to give this message. I think it’s the best way to market your business. Like what we were saying before about connections, podcasting can reach a wide audience. You speak to one, but you reach a ton. And that’s so beneficial.
The Concept of “Niche Down”
From Janet: With podcasting, you really are zoning in on the stuff that your audience really wants to listen to, which increases its effectiveness as a communication platform. For example, I love the Girl Camper podcast, where a woman teaches other women everything they need to know about camping and towing a trailer… without a man. That’s a pretty narrow topic! With podcasting, you can really pick what specifically interests you and not waste your time going through a whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t.
From Wren: Absolutely! And I love that you brought that because when you niche down, people may think, oh no, I’m going to exclude people. Actually no. You start drawing more people in because you’ve really centered in on who you serve. And the cool thing is people can search for you. Now in podcast apps, your audio content is searchable, it’s Googleable. So that’s the cool part is that you can be found and people are out there and you can serve those people in that niche.
Why should pastors’ wives consider starting a podcast?
Would this be a good option for a pastor’s wife to connect with her group, her church family, her women’s ministry, or whatever aspect of community she’s trying to build?
Wren: Yes! I love this idea for pastor’s wives. I think every pastor needs to have a podcast for their church. I think it’s dynamic and effective, yet so simple in the scheme of things. You want to be authentic, and this is a great way to do that.
Also, you can be concise. You do not have to have this whole huge long episode. It doesn’t have to go on for hours or even 45 minutes. You can get in there and give a tip for 10 minutes. It doesn’t have to be an expository Bible lesson that you’re giving. It can just be a short and sweet little message. Whether you’re doing it for a business or you’re doing it for your women’s ministry or you’re doing it for your church, it’s easy for people to enjoy the connections that you have. You have those emotionally authentic conversations and that comes across.
You can be entertaining. That’s the fun part. They can see maybe a little bit a different side of you that maybe they don’t see on Sundays and Wednesdays. They also will hear your enthusiasm about your topic.
I was listening to yours just a few minutes ago, about when y’all are talking about your transformational triangle. I love it. It’s such a visual. It’s so good. And your energy was just out the gate high. I was like, yes! But also there is that air of authority that you can come across and talk to them, not in a negative way, but in a positive way of, she really knows what she’s talking about. These are her experiences. And so all of those things make it excellent for a pastor’s wife or a pastor or a church to have a podcast, for sure.
How hard is it to get started?
It’s not! Wren says you just need about $100 worth of equipment, a computer with free editing software, and $7 per month subscription to a hosting service. You can listen to her “Don’t Wing It” podcast for free, where Wren teaches you everything you need to know about starting a podcast. If you want more intense coaching, Wren also offers Flight Group classes, where she walks her clients through the entire process of launching a podcast and cheers them on the whole time. Click HERE to learn more about Wren’s podcast and coaching services.
Does this get your wheels turning at all about a possible future behind a microphone?
Go for it! You may be surprised how the topic ideas start flowing once you seriously consider this tool for expanding your ministry influence. And if you do dip your toes into podcasting, please let me know–I’d love to listen to your show!
