753 – Make Announcements Matter

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This week on WELSTech we reveal ways to write church announcements which get the word out on needed topics without being ignored by those you’re trying to reach. AI weaves itself throughout the conversation from personalized AI in picks of the week, an overview of the AI for Education site, and new rules around AI for Google students of all ages. Plus, Android users will be happy to interact with their text messages from their computer.

The discussion

Announcing … – Martin and Sallie discuss challenges that crop up when writing church announcements and guidelines that keep your announcements concise and action driven.

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

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Come back for our next tips & tricks summer installment

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752 – Healthy Church Staff Communication

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Welcome to WELSTech summer series 2025! Join us as we talk about practical tips and tricks to make public and personal ministry efficient and effective. The series kickoff focus is church office communication. Martin and Sallie share AI picks of the week, and there’s a Chromebook discussion thread in the WELSTech Google group.

The discussion

Church Staff Communication – Martin and Sallie chat about tools, etiquette, and standards around church staff communication. In-person or digital, response expectations, and collaboration are all pieces of the communication puzzle. Having best practices in place makes for smooth office operations.

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

From the WELSTech Google group – Teacher Michael Vlieger from Risen Savior in Mankato, MN asked about Chromebook repurposing after

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Come back for our next tips & tricks summer installment

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751 – Making Music with AI

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This episode of WELSTech features an interview with Pastor Nate Seiltz who recently creating 3 albums of music without singing or playing a note himself. With AI at his fingertips, he transformed his ideas for gospel outreach music into reality, and you can to! We also share survey results regarding church use of AI, a handy (AI-generated) summary of recent tech news with an emphasis on its impact on the church, and ideas for using AI to extend the impact of your weekly sermon.

The discussion

Music for outreach – Pastor Nate Seiltz, Director of WELS Multi-Language Publications, talked with Martin and Sallie about his recent AI-assisted production of 3 albums of songs geared toward sharing the good news of salvation in Christ. His artist name is Freetide. “Free” because grace is free, and he is free from sin and eternal death in Christ. “Tide” signifies movement, the Holy Spirit’s work in him through His Word and movement in his life as he lives by grace.

  • Made New (Spotify | Amazon Music) – These songs walk through the darkness of doubt, the fire of trials, and the ache of waiting—but they lead to grace, healing, and freedom. With honest lyrics and uplifting melodies, Made New is a declaration of what God does with the broken: He restores. He renews. He makes us new.
  • Fruits of the Spirit (Spotify | Amazon Music) – These nine songs walk through each fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22–23, reflecting on how they each take root in real life. 
  • Living Proof (Spotify | Amazon Music) – From first steps into grace to standing fearless in Christ, these songs tell a true story — of scars healed, chains broken, hope renewed. We are not who we were. We are living proof that mercy is real, and grace still wins.
  • Suno.com

Ministry resource

Picks of the week

Community feedback

  • Sign up for Concordia Technology Solutions webinar series – Tuesday, June 3, 2025
    • Church Members 360 – 10 am CT
    • Church Ledger 360 – 11:30 am CT
    • Church Unite 360 – 1 pm CT
  • Turn one sermon into a week of discipleship – Facebook post from WELS Intersections

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  • Our 2025 Summer series – Tips & Tricks – kicks off.

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A Season of SAMR - final podcast of the school year. Focuses include SAMR and Leadership, AIAS, earphones, implementation software

750 – A Season of SAMR

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The WELSTech co-hosts for all things edtech are driving this episode as we wrap up our SAMR focus with how it assists education leaders. We also introduce the AI Assessment Scale, a tool for clearly stating acceptable levels of AI use. Rachel has new headphones for “weird” ears that don’t like earbuds, and Jason shares a tool that uses AI to create individual student feedback. Bonus: It’s also a time-saver for teachers.

A Season of SAMR - final podcast of the school year. Focuses include SAMR and Leadership, AIAS, earphones, implementation softwareThe discussion

SAMR and Leadership – We close out our season-long look at the SAMR framework for education technology integration with our favorite edtech gurus, Dr. Rachel Renno, Director of Academic Computing for Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Director of Technology for Oshkosh (WI) Area School District. School leaders may find policy creation and maintenance challenging, but policies are definitely worth the effort as they provide needed structure to make decision making easier. And while a dedicated AI policy may not be needed, incorporating AI guidelines into standard policies – Acceptable Use, Academic Integrity, Data Privacy, etc. – is wise.

Ministry resource

Picks of the week

  • Shokz – Bone conduction open-ear headphones
  • Snorkl – AI student feedback

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  • Pastor Nate Seiltz from WELS Multi-Language Productions shares stories of AI music creation.

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749 – Welcome to our Church

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Welcoming visitors and tracking attendance are the topics of the day on WELSTech 749. We’ve got an interview on a kiosk worship check in system which is guaranteed to make you smile, plus examples of paper attendance tracking and guest welcome stations. We also kick the tires on the recently updated WELS Call Report, share free AI prompt training, and highlight an enjoyable read on all things domain name related.

The interview & discussion

Attendance tracking and visitor welcome – Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Clark Schultz from Shepherd of the Hills, West Bend, WI about their digital check in process. The discussion continues with a look at examples of Connection cards and

Ministry resources

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

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Jason and Rachel finish out our school year SAMR focus with a discussion of Leadership and EdTech.

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748 – Lori Ehlke Art

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Welcome to Holy Week 2025, and a warm WELSTech welcome to art educator Lori Ehlke. Lori shares her path from art and Spanish teacher through Covid shutdown to YouTube fame, and how she benefitted from learning as she went and being consistent with her work. BONUS: Lori’s work isn’t confined to the K-12 classroom. We have a ministry resource idea that may resonate with adults in your community and congregation. Grab your brush, and tune in.

The discussion

Dude Perfect and art collide – Art educator Lori Ehlke chatted with Martin and Sallie about how she, with her easy-to-follow art tutorials, became a YouTube star with 560+ videos and over 11,000 subscribers, and her best advice for your similar efforts.

Follow Lori at …

Ministry resources

Picks of the week

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Attendance tracking

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747 – Canva for Ministry

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WELSTech is back with a deep dive into Canva waters and the terrific capabilities it has for churches and schools. The toolset is easy and intuitive, even if you’ve never used it before. This episode may be all you need to get started! Martin shares his phone case pick and there’s some AI-generated coding for the classroom happening. See you on the inside!

The discussion

Behind the scenes with Canva – Sallie takes viewers to the design table using Canva and demos design templates and elements, text tools, color palettes, brand kits, and apps while Martin tries to stump her with questions. With the robust feature set and variety of formats which Canva can produce, it’s well worth the price of admission. The amazing news is churches and schools don’t pay a penny!

Ministry resources

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

  • Teacher Michael Vlieger from Risen Savior in Mankato, MN shared programmed resources for the classroom which he created with the help of ChatGPT and Canva. Reach out to Michael if you’d like to learn more or get a copy.
    • Eraser Game (Video)
      • Users enter text, and the application creates an exercise where clicking on a word makes it disappear. For longer passages, this helps with memorization by gradually removing words rather than requiring students to recall an entire section at once.
    • Banned Words Checker (Video)
      • Our writing series includes specific banned word lists for each lesson, but students and I occasionally overlook these during the review process. This tool allows users to input a list of banned words and their text, and provides a count of each banned word’s occurrence within the document which can be printed.
    • Cloze Generator (Video)
      • This enables teachers to create a cloze activity or a fill-in-the-blank memory work worksheet. Simply type the passage name or reference and paste or type the desired text, choose the difficulty level and font size, and click “Generate.” The application then produces a printable worksheet with a set number of words removed based on the selected difficulty. Works great for longer selections
  • From the WELSTech Google group

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Digital art lessons and social sharing from someone doing both!

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746 – Doctors and Suits

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WELSTech is back with so much to discuss regarding SAMR in Secondary Ed, so much brain-power from our newly awarded doctor guest host, so many picks of the week (including a bonus pick that is so tasty), so many e-newsletters on church marketing, so much trade-in value on MacBook Air computers, and so much more that you won’t want to miss! So, turn it up!

The discussion

Secondary SAMR – The edtech discussion resumes as WELSTech welcomes back Doctor Rachel Renno, Director of Academic Computing for Martin Luther College, and Jason Schmidt, Director of Technology for Oshkosh (WI) Area School District. Today’s topic, secondary tech integration, relates to our season-long look at the SAMR framework for education technology integration, as we consider how best to engage and differentiate secondary education to prepare students at this level for the project-based demands of the working world.

Spoiler alert: the “C” word (change) is part of the solution.

Ministry resource

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

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  • A look at all that Canva can do for you!

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745 – WELSTech AI Summit Review

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Wednesday and WELSTech, an unlikely pairing, but so worth it! Join us for a recap of the recent WELSTech AI Summit plus discussion of an AI classroom tool/powerhouse, Lent and Easter resources, and browser tips to enhance your day. Blessings on this Ash Wednesday!

The discussion

There and back again – The WELSTech AI Summit was held February 21-23, 2025, at Divine Savior Church and Academy in Doral, FL. Martin and Sallie share details on the event format and the top AI-related ideas which emerged from the weekend.

Ministry resources

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

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Secondary school tech integration will be the SAMR infused topic of the day as we welcome our resident EDU gurus, Rachel Renno and Jason Schmidt.

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744 – Smarty Pants AI

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WELSTech is back and talking AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the perspective of a pastor-in-training. Senior seminarian Jon Pederson shares insights from his thesis work on the topic. A teen online Bible study opportunity is coming up soon, and WELS is celebrating a special anniversary with a new online interactive timeline which details WELS history since the beginning.

The interview and discussion

AI and the public ministry – Martin and Sallie talk with Jon Pederson, a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, about his thesis topic, AI Associate: Examining Artificial Intelligence and its Potential Impact on the Pastoral Ministry.

Ministry resources

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Next time

It will be a bit longer wait for our next episode, but totally worth it as we’ll be sharing all the WELSTech AI Summit goodness!

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