If you have a business that helps clients solve a problem with a product or service, you need to know how to share that with people so their brain can process it easily without burning a lot of calories/tuning you out! Most elevator pitches don't work because they are all about you and not about solving the problem of the person in front of you. On today's episode, Mark and Laurel will walk you through a 3-step process to write an effective one-liner...

Episode 10 - Why Your Elevator Pitch Sucks!

If you want to increase your sales, you have to get more leads, get them qualified, present them with a clarified sales message, and then provide them with a mechanism to buy now. In today’s episode we will discuss a simple way to do this using a process called a marketing funnel…

Episode 11 - Pump Up Your Business in a Hurry!

Steve Fogg is a Certified Google Ads Specialist based in Melbourne, Australia. Steve gives us a ton of great information to consider about Google Ads and the keys to being successful using them to grow your business. And for our non-profit friends, Steve shares how you can leverage $10k in ads on Google' dime.

Episode 13 - Steve Fogg on Google Ads

Last episode we introduced marketing funnels, but we didn’t really get into what are the ways we use funnels to grow our businesses. In this episode, we will talk about strategies where we employ marketing funnels and then our tip segment will talk about the 5 emails you need in a funnel’s follow up email sequence

Episode 12 - What's All the Fuss About Funnels?

We've discussed marketing and sales funnels to grow sales for a business, but can churches use funnels to reach more people? Absolutely! Hear Mark and Laurel walk you through attract and connect funnels for churches and non-profits.

Episode 14 - Can churches use funnels too?

Have you heard the word leverage being thrown around by business experts lately? But you weren't sure how it applied to your small business or side gig? In today's episode Mark and Laurel offer you some practical ideas for using leverage to grow your business.

Episode 17 - What's Leverage and Why the Big Deal?

Scaling is one of those buzzwords that you may have heard frequently over the past 18 months. It's a fancy way of saying it's how we grow our business by leveraging resources exponentially. Or, its getting max production from a minimal addition of resources. In today's episode we will break down ways to look at and approach scaling in your business.

Episode 18 - Scaling Your  Business, It's Not Mt. Everest

Why do I hear from pastors regularly that they are struggling to get viewers of their YouTube videos?

The explosion of video represents a huge opportunity for churches. If you want to connect with more people, expand your reach into the community, and ultimately generate real growth, you should be using video marketing.  But churches are struggling to understand the platform and how it works.

On today’s episode we will get some expert advice and insight from a successful YouTube creator that also works with churches and nonprofits. Karis Hortin has built a following over 25k subscribers to her YouTube channel that provides life coaching to teen girls. Karis gives the church some great advice as we push further into to the realm of video marketing and YouTube.

Connect with Karis online:
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLNkrc1FXiyvs-

Connect with Karis Online:
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@teentips.co?lang=en
Website - https://www.karishortin.com
Personal Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karishortin/
Teen Page Instgram - https://www.instagram.com/teentips.co/

Connect with Mark Wilson:
mark@churchcmo.com

Episode 20 - Why is No One Watching Your Church's YouTube Videos?

The past two years of the pandemic have really accelerated our media consumption online and in my opinion, the church needs to adapt to new ways to present its message to a digital culture. The main media that is driving this content consumption is video. Do you know what the fastest growing social media channel is right now...

TikTok statistics and trends https://www.omnicoreagency.com/tiktok-statistics/

Connect with Laurel and her social media management business Laurel’s Socials @Laurelsocialsofficial ,  or by emailing her at laurelsocials@gmail.com.

Connect with Mark Wilson, Instagram: @markwvol @churchcmo, Facebook: /markwilson1965, or email Mark at mark@churchcmo.com

Episode 21 - Digital Media Trends the Church Must Face

"How should we be using social media in the church?" is a question Laurel and I are asked regularly! We church folk, or at least us old ones, like a good, catchy formula to simplify strategies. One way to encapsulate the strategy for using social media in our vernacular is to call it an iStrategy: inform, interpret, and invite. Here is that iStrategy on how we use and plan our social media in a church setting. In my opinion, there are three purposes for using social media in business and we will translate them into our use in the church.

Episode 24 - Is there a strategy for church social media?

Today’s episode is a conversation I had recently with a former client of mine that is making a major paradigm shift in her church. Kristen Clark-Banks is the Senior Pastor of Forest Hills UMC in Brentwood, TN, a suburb of Nashville. She and I, along with her Director of Discipleship, Sarah Wheatly talk about shifting from a membership driven church to a discipleship focused church. We talk about what their culture looks like now, overcoming obstacles along the way, and what it means to intentionally make disciples in today’s church.

Episode27 - Becoming a Discipleship Focused Church

In this episode, we are talking about the second phase of our Proactive Disciple Making Strategy. The Engaging phase has two primary objectives. First, it is identifying how best to help the newly connected disciples formulate their growth and fulfillment plan and take their logical, first step on that journey.

The second objective of our Engaging phase is to build personal relationships with disciples. I heard recently a phrase from a peer that “Bible studies don’t make disciples, people do.” The Guide community that we will discuss in the next episode is the means to building personal relationships with disciples to help them find resources and next steps as well as providing support and encouragement.

Episode 30- Proactive Disciple Making: Engage Phase

So, we have talked about what Proactive Disciple Making is, and we have discussed the three components of the strategy - connecting, engaging, and guiding. In today’s episode, we are going to talk about how we begin to implement this strategy in real life. 
In the show notes, I have included a link to get one of our free resources. It’s called the Checklist and its a guide to help you start implementing this strategy with your congregation. If you can’t find the link in the show notes, simply email me at mark@churchcmo.com and tell me to send you The Checklist.
The Checklist is a list of 10 steps to guide you through implementing this strategy. We won’t go through each step in detail, but we will discuss the 3 groups of tasks that make up the list.

Link to Checklist http://eepurl.com/h8raI5

Email mark@churchcmo.com to:
1) Pre-Register for FREE Workshop - August 2023
2) Early Register for Online Course - Sept '23 (20% off thru 8/15)

Episode 32 - Proactive Disciple Making Implementation

In today’s episode we will meet a new colleague and friend of mine, Jessie Cruickshank. Jessie is a Harvard educated, neuroscientist, theologian, and outdoor adventurist. Our paths have crossed because she has spent two decades applying neuroeducation research to discipleship, ministry training, experiential education, and organization development. 

Jessie is respected globally as a leader in missiological thought and a church and denominational consultant. She is the founder of [Who]ology. Jessie's newest book, Ordinary Discipleship, was released in May 2023 from NavPress. Let’s get to know Jessie Cruickshank…

Ordinary Discipleship Link: https://www.tyndale.com/p/ordinary-discipleship/9781641587327

Ordinary Community Cohort (Fall 2023) 
https://www.whoology.co/ordinarycommunity

Website: https://www.whoology.co/

Episode 33 - Interview with Jessie Cruickshank

Today’s episode is a little different from our normal show. I had the honor and privilege of sharing a message with a client church, Second United Methodist in Knoxville. The pastor, a dear friend, was retiring and asked me to fill in a Sunday before the new pastor started. So, I spoke on what I know best, football, err no, discipleship in the church.

In the show notes, I have included a link to get one of our free resources. It’s called the Checklist and it's a guide to help you start implementing this strategy with your congregation. If you can’t find the link in the show notes, simply email me at mark@churchcmo.com and tell me to send you The Checklist.

The Checklist is a list of 10 steps to guide you through implementing this strategy. We won’t go through each step in detail, but we will discuss the 3 groups of tasks that make up the list.
Link to Checklist http://eepurl.com/h8raI5

Email mark@churchcmo.com to:
Pre-Register for FREE Workshop (August 2023)
Early Register for Online Course (20% Discount - September 2023)

Episode 34 - Commitment to Discipleship

In today's episode we talk to retired UMC Pastor Charla Shebakoff about life/career transitions. We extrapolate her experience to the challenges our congregants face in traversing their own transitions. We discuss the questions: what are the challenges you face? Where do I belong? Has my purpose that gives meaning to life changed or am I supposed to live it out differently? 

Transitions are a reality whether you are a pastor or pew sitter. They are not always difficult and some give us the opportunity to take a fresh look at our God-given purpose in life and how we are living out our purpose. Check out our conversation...

Free Checklist:  http://eepurl.com/h8raI5

Email mark@churchcmo.com to:
1) Pre-Register for FREE Workshop (August 2023)
2) Early Register for Online Course (20% Discount - September 2023)

Church Disciple Making Self-Assessment Survey assess your church’s readiness to proactively make disciples: https://form.jotform.com/230883642498165

Episode 35 - Making Disciples in Transition

In today's episode, Charla and I discuss the obstacles that pastors and churches face when it comes to making more disciples. Charla shares her perspective as a retired UMC Pastor as well as a new perspective on two familiar New Testament stories.

Episode 36 - The Hurdles Pastors Face!

In today's episode, Charla and I want to explore Jesus’ disciple making process which was very proactive. We will look at the how, where, and when of Jesus' disciple making as well as the outcomes. Some examples we will discuss are Jesus calling Simon Peter, interacting with the Samaritan woman at the well, and with the Pharisee Nicodemus.

Episode 37 - Jesus the Proactive Disciple Maker

In today's episode we continue talking about how Jesus used his encounters with people to make disciples and those outcomes. And we segue to the Apostle Paul's conversion and his process for making disciples on his journeys. What was Paul's strategy that helped the Gospel message spread throughout the world? Charla and I will talk about the key parts of what made Paul an effective disciple maker. Spoiler Alert: it has to do with successful multiplication! Tune in for more details...

Proactive Strategy Accelerator Course - $149 thru 11/27 - ChurchCMO.com/Academy (Use Coupon Code: district23)

Email your questions or ideas to mark@churchcmo.com

Episode 38 - New Testament Disciple Making

Today we are going to talk about why we as church congregants should be investing in our own, proactive discipleship journey. The Church is full of people who came to know Jesus as Savior, yet were never taught what it means to actually follow Him. So I think we should start with what Jesus tells us about how we benefit from following in his path.

Episode 39 - What's in it for me?

Starting in this episode, Charla and I want to spend the next few episodes looking at discipleship from the pew, so to speak, from the perspectives of the member, attender, and even a visitor.

It’s a fuzzy view. It’s a concept more than a Jesus directive that impacts our daily lives in what we say and do. It’s not like we don’t want to engage in discipleship. It’s that most church attenders don’t know what discipleship looks like or it’s not our radar. 

We will look at important questions like how does the church help clarify the laity's view of discipleship and translate it into their own lives among others.

Episode 40 -Discipleship from the Pew

Today, I would like to build on the conversation we started in Episode 40 and talk about ways to bridge the perception gap between the laity and the church about what is discipleship. We roughly estimate 10-20 per cent have a clear view of discipleship and are actively engaged in discipleship. It would be an interesting exercise for a pastor or lay leader in the church to ask people of all ages in the church, “How do you define discipleship? What does it look like for you to engage in discipleship?” What else can we do as church leaders to bridge that gap…

Episode 41 - Bridging the Discipleship Gap

In our last couple of episodes, we talked about what discipleship looks like from the pew, or from the perspective of members, attenders, and visitors. In today’s episode, we will look at 4 ways that we can embed a discipleship culture in the local church and not only bridge the perception gap, but get people walking over the bridge!

ChurchCMO.com

Proactive Strategy Accelerator Course: https://disciple-making-academy.getlearnworlds.com/1-click-sales

Church Disciple Making Self-Assessment Survey assess your church’s readiness to proactively make disciples.

Connect with Mark Wilson, Instagram: @markwvol @churchcmo, Facebook: /churchcmo, or email Mark at mark@churchcmo.com

Episode 42 - 4 Ways to Embed a Discipleship Culture

I am so excited about our guest today, Rev. Kristin Clark-Banks, Sr. Pastor of Forest Hills UMC in Brentwood, TN. 

Soon after Kristin was appointed to Forest Hills 7 years ago, she began implementing a new discipleship culture called the Discipleship Pathway. In this episode, we are going to discuss how that culture has grown and how she has bridged the perception gap about discipleship in the congregation.

We talked for so long, as she and I usually do, I split the interview into two episodes so you could digest the lessons we discussed from her experience. Part 2 will air in Episode 44.

Forest Hills UMC - https://foresthillsumc.org/

Episode 43 - Interview with Kristen Clark Banks 2024

We are continuing my conversation with Rev. Kristin Clark-Banks and her work embedding a discipleship culture at her church. In this episode, we are going to talk about how we keep bridging the discipleship communication and perception gap in the congregation, 7 years into the process. Plus, we know the saying  “what gets measured, get’s done.'' How does Forest Hills measure their effectiveness in their discipleship mission? Let’s jump back into the conversation with Rev. Kristen Clark-Banks…

https://foresthillsumc.org/

Episode 44 - Interview with KCB, Part Two

In this episode, we are privileged to talk with one of the great Christian minds of our generation, Dr. Leonard Sweet. Len’s two most recent books, Jesus Human and Designer Jesus combine to paint a picture for Christians how we are to be faithful humans and disciples. Jesus Human - Primer for a Common Humanity, explores how Jesus, in showing us the way to God, shows us the way to ourselves and the way to be human. Listen to the first half of our conversation with Dr. Leonard Sweet…

Show Notes:
Amazon Books: search Jesus Human and Designer Jesus or simply Len Sweet Books

LeonardSweet.com

Napkin Scribbles Podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts

Episode 45 - Interview with Leonard Sweet, Part 1

In Episode 47, we continue our conversation with Dr. Leonard Sweet about his most recent book, Designer Jesus. Len shares with us his thoughts on how we are designed to be like Jesus. Our human identity comes from Jesus as he shows us how we are to be “fully human.” As followers of Jesus we have to be like trackers looking for fresh footprints to follow because Jesus is alive and in the world. We look for his fresh prints, where he is healing and saving people and join him in his work. Let’s continue our conversation with Len Sweet…

Amazon Books: search Jesus Human and Designer Jesus or simply Len Sweet Books

LeonardSweet.com

Napkin Scribbles Podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts

Episode 46 - Interview with Len Sweet, Part 2

A few episodes back when we were talking with our friend Pastor Kristin about her journey embedding a Discipleship Pathway culture in her church over the past 7 years, she mentioned speaking to “spectators” in the congregation. We all have different labels for this group, but every preacher out there is picturing people in their congregation right now.

When pastors and the leadership team seek to implement change such as a new culture of discipleship, what do we do about the spectators? I mean, they don’t work for change but they don’t work against change either, they just sit it out. Is that ok? Should pastors push or pull to get everyone in? What is our response to the apparent apathy of the spectators in our churches?

Hear Charla and Mark explore ideas around engaging the spectators in your congregation.

Episode 47 - What do we do with the "spectators" in our churches?

In this episode, we talk with Rev. Anna Lee, the Executive Pastor at Cokesbury UMC in Knoxville, TN. Anna shows us how Cokesbury is living out the Great Commission by inviting people to take their next step because everyone has one! Next steps look different for everybody and are not limited to individuals, churches have next steps too.

Anna shares how Cokesbury Church over the past decade has made taking Next Steps a vital part of the embedded conversation in the conversation. It has become more than an invitation, it is an expectation that everyone always has their own next step. Hear Anna and I talk about how Next Steps got its start at Cokesbury and why it has become more than a promotion or a program.

Cokesbury.TV
@churchcmo
mark@churchcmo.com
ChurchCMO.com

Episode 48 - Conversation with Rev. Anna Lee

A disciple focused church focuses on the next step of the church and the individual to connect with Jesus and serve others. We see that lived out in the explosion of growth in the early church told in Acts 2: 41 -47. The first disciples devoted  themselves to worship, prayer, sharing meals, study and to the community. 

As church leaders, we must also drive the next steps of the church and the next steps of individuals. Is one more critical than the other or is it a chicken and egg dilemma? How do our episcopal leaders and administrations, i.e. in Methodism our bishops and their annual conferences, support disciple making in the local church?

Listen to Charla and Mark discuss these questions and other ways that we support proactive disciple making in and beyond the local church.

Links:
The Alpha Course: https://alpha.org/alpha-online/

Everything Happens with Kate Bowler: https://katebowler.com/podcasts/questions-of-meaning/

Mark@ChurchCMO.com

Episode 49 - Supporting the Discipleship Mission

Are you looking for help making more disciples in your church? But, you don't have time to sort through the oceans of information and posts when you search for help. This podcast is designed to give you regular episodes that are 30 minutes or less that provide helpful tips and ideas that are practical becoming a Proactive Discipleship Church.

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