ROCK Cast

Episode 212: What's Possible When AI Does the Heavy Lifting

In this episode, Jon, Emily, and Nicole dream about what's possible for church admins and ministries when AI does the heavy lifting. Jon shares where AI is headed in 2026 and why writing the spec first pays off, with the Spark API Gateway story as proof. Nicole then makes the case for becoming a Rock Star. You don't have to be technical and the barrier to entry is lower than you think, you just have to start engaging now. Emily wraps up the conversation by showing how to turn James Clear's Atomic Habits into a working system inside Rock with workflows as the engine, Step Programs as the discipleship backbone, and AI Agents as the intelligence layer. Visit the show notes [https://community.rockrms.com/connect/rock-cast-episode-212] to find all the resources talked about in this episode. Don't forget to join the new Rock Cast Rocket Chat Channel [https://chat.rockrms.com/channel/rock-cast] to see what other churches are saying about this episode. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 211: How Church Leaders Should Respond to the AI Race

Jon and Emily are joined by a new voice on the show, Nicole Shibata, who handles marketing, fundraising, and conference planning for Rock. In this conversation, the team covers the most consequential three months in AI since ChatGPT launched. They talk about what shipped in the industry, why the rapid pace matters, and what church leaders need to do about it now. Emily then unpacks Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality to understand how service is different than hospitality. This is where ministries have a unique opportunity to lead because Rock empowers churches with the tools they need to intentionally care for people. The real question is whether those tools are being used to create moments that are unexpected, meaningful, and unforgettable. Visit the show notes [https://community.rockrms.com/connect/rock-cast-episode-211] to find all the resources talked about in this episode. Don't forget to join the new Rock Cast Rocket Chat Channel [https://chat.rockrms.com/channel/rock-cast] to see what other churches are saying about this episode. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 210: The Science of Finding Greatness in People

In this episode of Rock Cast, the team gives a brief update to v19 heading into pre-alpha and revisit the heart behind Rock. More than a ChMS, Rock was designed as a relational management system to steward people, not just data. The feature, Following, is one of the most underutilized tools that acts as a personalized digest to help you respond with care and track major life events. They deepen the conversation by challenging listeners to invest in volunteers and build a simple volunteer growth framework. Visit the show notes [https://community.rockrms.com/connect/podcast-episode-210] to find all the resources talked about in this episode. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 209: Escaping the Complexity Trap

Complexity is a well-intentioned trap that all churches fall into. In this episode, the team unpacks what they call the Complexity Trap, the moment when tools meant to support ministry start creating friction instead. Jon describes the first two steps of Elon Musk’s 5-Step Algorithm to help simplify your requirements and they apply it to real ministry functions like baptism forms and children's check in. Listen to the complete episode to hear their discussion and visit the show notes [https://community.rockrms.com/connect/podcast-episode-209] to find the resources they mentioned. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 208: What Vibe Coding Means for Rock Churches

In episode 208 of Rock Cast, Jon and Emily tackle a hot topic in tech right now, vibe coding, and explore what it means for church software and digital ministry. As AI rapidly reshapes how software is built, some are asking whether traditional software is becoming obsolete, but what does that mean for churches? Listen to the complete episode to hear their discussion and visit the show notes [https://community.rockrms.com/connect/podcast-episode-208] to find the resources they mentioned. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.