The Pro Church Tools Show with Brady Shearer

Churches have never published more content on more platforms. So why does everything feel harder?

Today, we'll unpack the state of church social media in 2026 - what the latest reporting says, and what it means for your church online.

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

1:03 - 1. We've Reached Peak Content

9:53 - 2. Short-Form Is for Discovery, Not Depth

13:13 - 3. Social Media Is Becoming Search

21:25 - 4. Your Follower Count Matters Less

22:58 - 5. YouTube Is Still the Main Event

25:53 - 6. God Is Not Dead - Neither Is Facebook?

31:36 - The Changing Landscape of Social Media

34:49 - What's Coming Next

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com


GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

ALL CITATIONS

METRICOOL

- "2026 TikTok Study" — PRIMARY https://metricool.com/press-release-tiktok-study-2026/

- "2026 Social Media Study" — PRIMARY https://metricool.com/press-release-2026-social-media-study/

- "2026 YouTube Study" — PRIMARY https://metricool.com/press-release-youtube-study-2026/

SPROUT SOCIAL

- "2026 Influencer Marketing Report" — PRIMARY https://sproutsocial.com/insights/press/new-research-finds-influencer-reach-is-no-longer-tied-to-follower-count/


- "Q2 2025 Pulse Survey" (2025) — PRIMARY https://investors.sproutsocial.com/news/news-details/2025/New-Research-from-Sprout-Social-Finds-Social-Media-is-the-Top-Place-Gen-Z-Turns-to-for-Search-Surpassing-Traditional-Search-Engines/default.aspx

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

- "Americans' Social Media Use 2025" (November 20, 2025) — PRIMARY https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/11/20/americans-social-media-use-2025/


ABOUT ME

Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

Smaller church, deeper discipleship - right? Lifeway surveyed 2,130 Protestant churchgoers, and both extremes came out on top.
Today, we'll unpack the church-size discipleship paradox, and why being in a group matters more than church size.
=============================
Table of Contents:
=============================
0:00 - Intro
1:46 - The Methodology - 8 Signposts of Discipleship
3:38 - 1. Both Extremes Win
7:08 - 2. Small Churches Have Relational Gravity
7:53 - 3. Small Churches Still Have Blind Spots
13:27 - 4. Large Churches Build Discipleship Infrastructure
15:39 - 5. Groups Matter More Than Size
18:14 - The Seafood Boil - Deep Knowing Relationships
23:23 - 6. Different Sizes Need Different Mechanisms
27:37 - 7. Every Church Can Borrow From the Other Extreme
31:19 - 8. Size Is Context, Not Destiny
THE 167 NEWSLETTER
📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com
GET IN TOUCH
🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com
🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church
📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer
ALL CITATIONS
LIFEWAY RESEARCH
- "Smallest, Largest Churches See Strongest Discipleship Scores" (August 2026, n=2,130) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/08/25/smallest-largest-churches-see-strongest-discipleship-scores/
- "Discipleship Deficit Exists Among U.S. Churchgoers" (January 2026) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/01/27/discipleship-deficit-exists-among-u-s-churchgoers/
BOOKS REFERENCED
- Henri Nouwen, "The Return of the Prodigal Son"
ABOUT ME
Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

7 in 10 American churches are under 100 people. Yet over half of churchgoers worship in churches of 500 or more.
Today, we'll unpack American Christianity's two competing versions of "normal" - and what small, large, and mid-sized churches should do about it.
=============================
Table of Contents:
=============================
0:00 - Intro
2:04 - The Math Behind the Paradox
3:23 - Two Different Versions of Normal
10:25 - Trained Big, Hired Small
12:19 - Big Churches Set the Standard
19:47  - Growth Feeds Growth
21:26 - Scale Makes Room for Everyone
22:50 - Small Churches Win on Commitment
24:47  - The Middle Gets Squeezed
29:30 - Big Churches Control the Story
31:12 - Final Thoughts

IMPORTANT LINKS
Church Chaos Episode 4: https://youtu.be/ToD6BaY7ssk

THE 167 NEWSLETTER
📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com

GET IN TOUCH
🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com
🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church
📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com 

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer 
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer
ALL CITATIONS
LIFEWAY RESEARCH
- "1 in 6 Protestant Churchgoers Attend Megachurches" (August 2026) — SECONDARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/08/12/1-in-6-protestant-churchgoers-attend-megachurches/
- "Smallest, Largest Churches See Strongest Discipleship Scores" (August 2026, n=2,130) — PRIMARY https://research.lifeway.com/2026/08/25/smallest-largest-churches-see-strongest-discipleship-scores/

HARTFORD INSTITUTE FOR RELIGION RESEARCH
- "Megachurch Resurgence" (June 2026) — PRIMARY https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf

NATIONAL SURVEY OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS
- "Clergy in America" (2025 report, n=1,600 clergy) — PRIMARY https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65417aab75d81771950d332f/t/67cb42e5cad1c1762527f317/1741374184941/NSRL-report-2025-clergy-in-america.pdf

ABOUT ME
Well hey there! I'm Brady Shearer, the creator and director of Pro Church Tools. I started this channel more than 10 years ago. Today our company is a team of 30+ creatives dedicated to helping your church navigate the biggest communication shift in 500 years.

Many churches are borrowing the same trends: 360 stages, LED walls, AI artwork, sermon series rebrands. Some push mission forward. Most just recycle.

Today, we'll put each one on trial and deliver a verdict: keep it, kill it, or reinvent it.

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

1:12 - The 360-Degree Stage

10:01 - The Pyramid Projector

16:19 - Cinematic Sermon Reels

21:49 - The Rage Bait Interview Trend

26:04 - A New Visual Identity for Every Sermon Series

31:25 - LED Walls as the Stage Centerpiece

34:23 - AI-Generated Artwork

39:31 - Trendy Typefaces That Sacrifice Readability

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week.
Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com


GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/4bSjIZf

Ask how to sign up for an event and you'll get five different answers. Fewer options equals more action.

Today, we'll unpack the series capstone - one destination for every next step - and the steps to launch yours.

=============================

Table of Contents:

=============================

0:00 - Intro

2:53 - The 7 Building Blocks

6:20 - Where This Philosophy Came From

9:20 - Building Block #7: Launch Your Central Hub

17:03 - Testimonies From Real Churches

20:38 - How Movie Theaters Get This Right

24:28 - The Three Rules Of The Central Hub

33:27 - The Physical On-ramp

40:06 - Final Thoughts

IMPORTANT LINKS

GET YOUR CHAOS SCORE: https://prochur.ch/4bSjIZf

The 7 Building Blocks PDF: https://prochur.ch/building-blocks

The Church Communications Masterclass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETNv9BoDzQ

The Launcher: https://www.nucleus.church/the-launcher

THE 167 NEWSLETTER

📫 62,646+ churches read our free newsletter to figure out the 167 hours beyond Sunday service every week. Sign up: https://167.prochurchtools.com


GET IN TOUCH

🌍 The Company: https://prochurchtools.com

🖥️ Nucleus, The Church Website Builder:  https://www.nucleus.church

📱 SocialSermons, The Social Media Agency For Churches: https://socialsermons.com


JOIN THE COMMUNITY

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bradyshearer

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradyshearer