Tag Archive for: communication

761 – Comms and Cardigans

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Fall has arrived on WELSTech, and we’re reminiscing about childhood sweater weather.  We share a church communication focused interview as well as details on all the happenings at January’s Lutheran Leadership Conference. The picks of the week include worksheet alternatives for teachers as well as a great place to keep things. It’s time to press play!

Podcast: Download (Duration: 44:22 — 40.6MB)

The interview and discussion

Modernizing Church Communication – Martin and Sallie talk with Dr Kristi Meyer, Prof. of Mathematics at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and part-time communications coordinator at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, WI. She and Pastor Kyle Bitter are teaming up to present a breakout on the topic of church communication at the upcoming Lutheran Leadership Conference. Kristi shares a preview of their breakout content, including one of her game-changing tools for improving communication.

Ministry resource

WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership

  • January 19-21 at the Chicago Hilton
  • 4 Keynotes & 69 Breakouts
  • Register now for early bird pricing – $299

Picks of the week

Community feedback

Get involved

756 – 10 SMART Goals

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The WELSTech summer tips and tricks keep coming with this week’s rundown of church marketing ideas courtesy of Grace Ungemach. Set a goal and see what changes may take place in your outreach efforts. Sallie’s got new hardware, Martin has a new Inbox, and WELS Intersections is talking about church communication guidelines. You don’t want to miss this jam-packed episode!

The discussion

Get SMART – Martin and Sallie’s discussion springboards off of a recent newsletter article titled 10 SMART goals for church marketing by Grace Ungemach at lutheran.marketing. From avatars to Instagram, email opens to runways, you are sure to find at least one goal to adopt, personalize for your church or school, and learn from.

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Next time

Out tips & tricks summer series wrap-up

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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

Next time

Come back for our next tips & tricks summer installment

Get involved

Everything is a nail

742 – Everything Is A Nail

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What’s that? WELSTech goes “anti-tech” this episode? Say it isn’t so!! But it is somewhat true, and for a very good reason. Corralling church tech use can lead to more tech adoption and more satisfied members when tech is done well verses overdone. Seeing straight is another challenge tackled, with a little help from AI. Plus, there’s more. Turn it up!

Everything is a nailThe discussion

Too much tech?? – Martin and Sallie discuss a recent article from Church Leader, Is Your Technology Use Hurting Your Church? Right-sizing technology use in the church and taking the slow road to tech adoption can help ensure success as well as curtail the potential of leaving some people out of the communication. It’s also very important to bake training & support into any tech initiative.

Ministry resources

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Next time

Jason and Rachel are back and the edtech topic is budgeting and procurement, SAMR-style!

Get involved

733 – Silent Mice

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On this episode of WELSTech, Martin and Sallie continue their discussion on ministry volunteers, with a look at the challenges of communication and showing appreciation. You’ll also hear about creating your own online store for branded merchandise from your church or school, learning the ins and outs of church speaker placement, and nominating someone for the WELSTech AI Summit. Plus, keep your eyes peeled for those stealthy mice!

The discussion & interview

Communicating & appreciating – Martin and Sallie return to the topic of volunteers, focusing on establishing and maintaining communication channels as well as ways to show appreciation to volunteers.

Ministry resources

Create an online store for your church and school (and perhaps gift your volunteers some swag)

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Next time

They’re baaaack! Rachel Feld and Jason Schmidt co-host and the ed tech goodness abounds!

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695 – Church Communication Plans

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On today’s WELSTech Wendy Kuschel shares a preview of her upcoming session on communication planning happening at the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership, and Martin chats with Nicole Balza about the Forward in Christ December feature on favorite Christmas hymns. You’ll want to explore the fun, interactive online experience they’ve created!

 

The interview

Martin and Sallie talk with Wendy Kuschel, Senior Communications Coordinator for St Mark Ministries in Green Bay, WI, about her upcoming session at WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership on Creating a Congregational Communications Plan.

You can still register for the Leadership Conference through December 5. It’s happening January 16-18, 2023, at the Hilton in Chicago, IL.

  • Clearstream – Church texting
  • Canva Pro free for non-profits – Graphic design

Ministry resource

Martin joins Nicole Balza on this week’s Together Video Update to talk about the Forward in Christ Favorite Christmas Hymns survey results. Check out the December magazine and the interactive Christmas hymn experience at forwardinchrist.net.

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

  • Join the WELS Technology Team – We’re hiring a Systems Administrator
  • 2023 Awake Alive Conference – January 13-15, 2023, in Mankato, MN

Next time

The WELSTech Christmas special will feature an interview with Pastor Dan Sims from WELS Christian Aid and Relief.

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635 – PR & A Pandemic

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This week on WELSTech we hear from the Martin Luther College Director of Public Relations about the challenges and changes to communication during the pandemic. In addition, there’s a wide variety of tech tools and tips that may benefit your ministry including safely back to school webinars, Gmail organization, Bitmoji classroom images, and farewell to classic Google Sites. Tune in and turn it up!

The interview and discussion:

Communicating to a college community – Bill Pekrul, Director of Public Relations at Martin Luther College (MLC), talks with Martin and Sallie about the levels and multiple channels of communication they utilize. Bill also shares tips that congregations and schools can use as they devise communication plans.

Additional examples to consider from MLC communication:

Picks of the week:

Community feedback:

Featured videos/online course:

MLC Update

Next time:

Summer interviews on pandemic ministry continue, next time with Dennis Maurer, WELS Director of Human Resources.

Get involved:

615 – Bitmoji All Around

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On WELSTech this week we learn a lot of things … how to facilitate school-home communication, where to find security guidelines for churches and schools, how to remotely operate Google Slides, that Apple has a new MacBook Pro on the market, and that the trio of co-hosts are all Bitmoji users. Who knew!

The discussion:

Connecting Guardians and Schools – In the recently released Future of the Classroom report, Google shares 8 trends which they believe will have an impact on how schools prepare students for a yet-to-be-defined future. Teacher-parent communication, one of the 8 trends outlined in the report, is an area where technology can assist, and Jason Schmidt, Instructional Technology Coach for Oconto Falls School District, joins the conversation to share his experience with a tech tool designed for this purpose.

  • Seesaw for Schools
  • WELSTech 593 includes an interview with Stephanie Krahn and Kurt Gosdeck on Student-Driven Portfolios using Seesaw

News in tech:

New MacBook Pro 16″

WELS now:

General Information Security Guidelines for WELS Organizations

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

Remote for Slides

Community feedback:

Google’s rollout of RCS chat for all Android users

Featured video:

Enjoy Koine Worship Media’s Now Thank We All Our God.

Get involved:

594 – Talking Design with Bri

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WELSTech is back, and we’re all about design this week. We get tips and tools from WELS in-house graphic designer, talk identity/logo guidelines, and feature videos on the topic. There’s also chatter about three tech giants including news from Apple, magic for Google Drive, and new Microsoft hardware.

The interview and discussion:

Visual Communication – Briana Lambrecht, Creative Services Coordinator for Communication Services, talks with Martin and Sallie about graphic design, WELS communication resources, and favorite (sometimes FREE) tools to get creative!

News in tech:

Thoughts on Apple’s News+, Card,  Arcade, and TV+ event — something for everyone

WELS now:

  • Request a mission speaker
  • Congrats to Alissa K. & Joel J., winners of the WELS Education, Technology, and Leadership Summit giveaways!
    • Register now for early bird pricing

Picks of the week:

Ministry resource:

WELS Identity Guidelines

Community feedback:

Featured videos:

Check out these design tutorial YouTube channels recommended by Briana:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 595 – Jason Schmidt joins the conversation as we continue our edtech book discussion of Faithfully Connected, looking at chapters 6 and 7 – Digital Law and Digital Rights & Responsibilities. Release date: Thursday, April 11.

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545 – Awesome Apps: Communication

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The WELSTech April series called “Awesome Apps” continues as Martin and Sallie share some of their favorite smart device communication tools for texting, emailing, video conferencing and more. Sallie has to figure out how to say the name of her new car but in the process found a great car buying app, and Martin, tuning in from a conference in Salt Lake City, found the benefits of handwriting notes…digitally.

The interview:

Care giving tech – Dan Stelljes is the Product Development Lead for First Layer Health, a software development company owned by WELS members which focuses on making social and healthcare communication easier for older people. He shares details of their newest product, TheirCare, which delivers video calls, messages, and more to certain internet-connected televisions. One of the uses of the tool is for church shut-in ministry. Contact Dan if you’d like to pilot a program in your congregation.

The discussion:

Communication apps – Reaching out to touch someone via a plain old phone call, is so yesterday. Martin and Sallie discuss their favorite smartphone apps for many forms of communication.

News in tech:

Google shutters it’s goo.gl URL shortening service

Picks of the week:

Ministry resources:

Check out Faithlife’s new Ministry Team magazine

Community feedback:

The Ultimate Guide for Using Trello at Home

Featured video:

What made us laugh in Star Trek IV (circa 1986) is turning into our reality in 2018 – voice controlled devices. Enjoy this throwback to Mr.Scott (a.k.a. The Miracle Worker) communicating with a computer.

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 546 – Prof. Rachel Feld co-hosts, and the discussion centers around awesome apps for the classroom. Release date: Wednesday, April 25.

Get involved: