The Pro Church Tools Show shares "Great vs. Average: A Church Announcement Workshop" (35-minute watch), taking one real church announcement and rebuilding it live to show what separates great from forgettable. It's the natural follow-on to the "Sprint, Sprinkle, Smuggle" framework from our June 28 recap: that episode covered when to promote; this one zooms in on the craft itself. Watch once, apply this Sunday.

Church Production shares "Church Production's Research Series - The State of Church Production" (2-minute watch), opening their "Then vs. Now" research series comparing production leaders' priorities, technology, staffing, and budgets against two years ago. The headline: production teams aren't just running a room anymore — they're running the church's whole communication ecosystem, from streaming and social to campus video. Size-by-size breakdowns come in future installments. “Then vs Now” survey results from which the Church Production post was derived are available here.

REACHRIGHT shares "Which AI Tools Are Actually Saving Churches Time (And Which Aren't)" (44-minute watch), a category-by-category breakdown — sermon prep, communications, social content, volunteer management — of where AI genuinely saves church staff time and where it's still hype. Their frame: AI should handle the admin and creative heavy lifting so staff can focus on people. Start with the one task that drains your team every week. Episode notes include a free church AI policy template.

ChurchTrac shares "Buying Church Software? Avoid This One Fatal Mistake" (5-minute read), arguing the most important question when buying church software isn't features or price — it's who owns the company. Corporate buyouts often bring price hikes (Breeze rose 34% after its acquisition), thinner support, and stalled development, while underfunded startups risk weak security and vanishing overnight. It ends with four ownership questions to ask any vendor before you commit.

Editor's note: ChurchTrac is itself a church software vendor, so read the piece with that in mind — the ownership questions it raises are worth asking of any provider, ChurchTrac included.

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