14 Ways for a Church to Use Podcasts (Other Than Sermons)

Sermons are often the only podcast a church will have. However, there are a multitude of other formats a church could explore to help the spiritual formation of the flock you’ve been entrusted to shepherd.

Yes I know the title sounds like a prompt for ChatGPT. I try to only use AI for graphics. I enjoy the creative process of brainstorming ideas and writing but I’m not a great visual artist. Moving on…

1. Sermon Recap – Put pastors, deacons, leaders, and members in front of some microphones for an hour. Let them have a discussion about that week’s sermon. What were their take aways? Are there other resources to dive into? What are further steps to live it out?
2. Newcomer Training – Many churches have introductory classes to introduce newcomers to the core identity of the church and how they can get involved. Ours is called “Discover Us” and happens every other Sunday during second service. I could see this being a podcast, public or private, for newcomers to get a feel for who you are as a church.
3. Devotional – These could be super short and wouldn’t require lots of production. You could read an illustration followed by a verse to encourage someone in their day. You could read scripture and play some thoughtful music at the end to meditate with. You could read a prayer and pray over and with your members.
4. Children’s Stories – You’ve heard of Adventures in Odyssey, right? Well thanks to podcasting, radio dramas or audio fiction is making a resurgence. What a great way to bring stories to life for your kids ministry in a cost-effective way! You could do a full production with sound effects and music or just have a single narrator read it dramatically. Just be careful of copywrite.
5. Testimonials – This could be it’s own feed or linked in your sermon feed. I know some people don’t love to be in front of people but would be happy to share their testimony over the phone. A practical way to encourage your community and help people get to know each other.
6. Stump the Pastor – Question and response with the pastor. Could be anonymous to the listener but the pastor could follow up with people if needed. You could set up a phone voicemail box, use one of the many online voice message tools, or just have a designated email.
7. Men’s Group – A round table conversation by your men for your men, discussing challenges and questions specific to them.
8. Women’s Group – A round table conversation by your women for your women, discussing challenges and questions specific to them.
9. Marriage Group – A round table conversation by couples… I think you get the point by now.
10. Young Adults Group – Copy/paste. Insert new noun.
11. Book Club – Got any avid readers in your community? Let them talk round a table about the Bible, spiritual resources, fiction, or other media. Offer reviews and thoughts to other members.
12. Internal Leadership Development – Is your team large or growing? Feed them with valuable encouragement and leadership development with a private podcast! Exclusive for your team, no one else can listen unless they have your link.
13. Internal Volunteer Training – Similar to the staff development above but this could be catered to specific positions like ushers or tech. It doesn’t even have to be updated on a regular basis but it can add a personal touch to a training document and give people options for consuming.
14. Regional Church Round Table – Maybe there is a challenge or topic effecting multiple church communities. Bring leaders together and have a conversation. I haven’t produced something like this but in my head I can hear it coming together.

I wouldn’t recommend every idea for every church so please don’t try to do them all. You know your community. Talk to them! What podcasts do they enjoy listening to already? When do they normally listen? What are they normally doing when they listen? Does your team have the capacity to add another thing to their schedule? Ask yourselves these questions and more to help figure out format, cadence, length, etc. for your podcast.

I hope the wheels turning. But now it’s time to put it into action… Pick one idea from the list and outline how it could benefit your specific community.