Tag Archive for: social media

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

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755 – Social Media Graphics That Matter

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Tune in to WELSTech 755 for a discussion on church social media graphics, including examples and templates to follow. Martin shares his latest gadget pick, plus we talk about a Facebook guide on branding your digital community.

The discussion

Why Social Media Graphics Matter – Martin and Sallie discuss the ins and outs of social media graphics, including keeping it simple, being consistent, using branding, and templating the designs.

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Next time

See you in August for more tips & tricks!

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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

Next time

Attendance tracking

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735 – Digital Ministry

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We’re 15 years past episode 100 of WELSTech and back once again with your 735th dose of WELSTech goodness! Joining us is the first “Director of Digital Ministry” ever to appear on WELSTech. Listen and learn about the work behind that unique job title. Our picks have a gaming theme, and we share a great resource on church text messaging … for FREE!!!

The discussion

Online outreach – Joining Martin and Sallie is Michael Babler, Director of Digital Ministry at Victory of the Lamb in Franklin, WI. Michaels unique job title is intriguing and makes for an interesting conversation about the ministry efforts he is involved with. He emphasizes making intentional choices when it comes to content delivery platforms. He also discusses some of the behind-the-scenes software in use at Victory of the Lamb to create and share content to the digital world.

Ministry resource

Picks of the week

Community feedback & events

Next time

Join us for WELSTech 736 where we’ll discuss our desktop setups.

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700 – Celebrating 700!

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For the 700th time, welcome to WELSTech, a show about technology and ministry and where those two intersect! Martin and Sallie look way back to 2008 when the show started and explore the changing landscape of tech-in-ministry which they’ve observed through the years. Church texting platforms, fancy social media posts, and AI-generated text are some of the 2023 tech-in-ministry topics discussed on this episode as well.

The discussion

A big milestone – Martin and Sallie suited up to celebrate this 700th episode of WELSTech with a look back at where and why it started, tech-in-ministry topics then and now, retro WELSTech images, and book reviews through the years. Plus, the WELSTech “ace in the hole” is revealed!

Ministry resource

Top 28 Church Texting Platforms – Comparison chart in the PDF

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

Next time

Amanda Klemp from WELS Communication Services shares tips for great e-newsletters

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693 – Social Media Graphics

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Thanks for tuning in to WELSTech! This week we have fun graphic design tools to share, both free and fee-based, which do the heavy lifting when it comes to creating social media graphics which look professional. The rest of the show is packed with goodies including Bible study resources, an affordable classroom document camera, Leadership Conference news, and a look ahead at tech of the future. Join the conversation!

 

The discussion

Get creative – A picture is … an expected and well received method of communicating on social media. For those who feel graphically challenged to design social media image masterpieces, Martin and Sallie share some of their favorite sites for creating professional images to share on social media. Check out the sample image library they created using some of the tools discussed and reference this article on the 10 Best Tips for Social Media Photos for additional inspiration and guidance.

Tools for image creation
Stock image resources

Ministry resource

WELS Bible Studies

Picks of the week

Community news & feedback

WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership early bird discount extended

  • Register by November 23 at the discounted rate of $249 per person
  • January 16-18, 2023, at the Hilton in Chicago, IL

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658 – Dan Schmidt

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On WELSTech this week we wrap up the summer “techy-Sem-theses” interview series with recent Sem graduate, Pastor Dan Schmidt, on today’s gospel ministry in a time of dramatically changing media. App and YouTube picks plus a full calendar of WELS events round out this episode.

The interview

Martin and Sallie talk with Pastor Dan Schmidt, a recent Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) graduate assigned to Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, WI, about his senior thesis titled Changing Media and the Changeless Message: Sharing the Gospel Through New Media. You may read the essay in the WLS Digital Library (PDF).

Picks of the week

WELS now

Community feedback

A Google inside street view discussion from WELS Intersections

Coming next on WELSTech

We kick off a new book discussion of A World Without Email by Cal Newport. Pastor Peter Hagen shared the book idea after listening to an author interview on episode 403 of the Carey Nieuwhof podcast.

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657 – Caleb Schaewe

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Our summer WELSTech interview series continues. This week we talk with recent Sem graduate, Pastor Caleb Schaewe, about the blessings and opportunities around a Christian’s use of social media and the pastor’s role in nurturing it.

The interview

A recent graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS), Pastor Caleb Schaewe was assigned to serve Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church in Linden, MI. In this interview, Martin and Sallie discuss his  WLS senior thesis titled Shepherding Digital Sheep: Pastoral Responsibility Regarding Members’ Use of Social Media. You may read the essay in the WLS Digital Library (PDF).

Picks of the week

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654 – More iDols

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On this episode of WELSTech we feature the second half of our iDols interview with Pastor Christopher Ewings. There’s also discussion of a hardware solution for fast internet, great deals on the Microsoft suite of tools, using Facebook Groups for private church connections, stock imagery, and newsletters. And our synod schools are sharing graduation and assignment events happening in the coming week!

The interview

Know the end game – This week we share part 2 of Martin and Sallie’s discussion with Pastor Christopher Ewings from Faith Lutheran Church in Anchorage, AK on his recent iDols: Putting technology in its proper place Bible study. Listen to part 1 of the interview on episode 653.

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

The Sizeable Benefit of Creating Facebook Groups For Your Church

Community feedback

WELS now

Graduation and Assignments

  • Martin Luther College
    • Concert – May 14 at 4:00 pm & 7:30 pm
    • Graduation and assignments – May 15 at 10:00 am
  • Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
    • Vicar assignments – May 19 at 7:00 pm
    • Pastor assignments – May 20 at 10:00 am
    • Concert – May 20 at 7:00 pm
    • Graduation – May 21 at 10:00 am

Next time

Jason Schmidt and Rachel Feld wrap up the school year edtech podcasts

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653 – iDols

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This week WELSTech welcomes Pastor Christopher Ewings and a discussion of the Christian’s relationship and use of today’s technology. Martin and Sallie go retro with picks and resources that have stood the test of time. And Sallie says good bye … to Wisconsin.

The interview

The ultimate technology guru – Pastor Christopher Ewings from Faith Lutheran Church in Anchorage, AK shares details with Martin and Sallie about his recent iDols: Putting technology in its proper place Bible study.

Picks of the week

Ministry resource

The Resurgence of the QR Code

Community feedback

WELS now

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