GraceLed Conversations

The Work of Revitalization

Church Revitalization is a challenging but incredibly rewarding (and needed) work. We sat down with Byron Brown, Pastor at Redemption Church in Lacombe, LA to talk through what he's learned from his own experience in revitalization as well as the role of mentoring in the life of the pastor. One of the results of this ministry has been the formation of the Remind Conference, an annual event serving pastors in the region with the encouragement from John 21 to "Feed the sheep, Shepherd the sheep, and Follow Him." For more information on the Remind Conference or to sign up for this year's event on August 11-12, 2025, visit https://remindconference.org [https://remindconference.org/]. Byron Brown has been the Pastor at Redemption Church in Lacombe, LA for over 21 years, previously serving at churches in both New Orleans and Grand Isle. He is also the founder of the Remind Conference, now entering it's third year. Rob Russell is the Director of Business Development at GraceLed, a digital communications agency serving churches and nonprofits with everything from branding and web design to social media, print design, and digital marketing. He has been in ministry for over 12 years, both pastoring in New Orleans and church planting in New York City. GraceLed Conversation is a joint podcast by Send Network Louisiana and GraceLed Communications. Learn more about the podcast by visiting https://www.graceled.org/podcast [https://www.graceled.org/podcast].

Building a Culture of Developing New Leaders

Leading a church by yourself isn’t sustainable. Not only does it get increasingly difficult as your church grows, you also set your church up for failure if you become unable to lead. Healthy, responsible church leadership means investing in your church’s future by raising up tomorrow’s leaders. In the latest episode of GraceLed Conversations, we sit down with Ken Schroeder, a pastor with a wealth of experience in church leadership. After decades spent leading his church, Ken was put in the unique position of feeling called to plant a new church in his 60s. He shares some of the insights he’s gained about what good church leadership looks like, and how pastors can invest in the future of the Church by creating a culture of leadership development. Ken Schroeder is the church planter and one of the co-pastors at Sweetwater Church in Abita Springs, LA. After relocating from Texas in the 90s and serving multiple decades at FBC Mandeville, God called Ken to this new work reaching people in Abita and raising up the next generation of leaders.Rob Russell is the Director of Business Development at GraceLed, a digital communications agency serving churches and nonprofits with everything from branding and web design to social media, print design, and digital marketing. He has been in ministry for over 12 years, both pastoring in New Orleans and church planting in New York City.GraceLed Conversation is a joint podcast by Send Network Louisiana and GraceLed Communications. Learn more about the podcast by visiting https://www.graceled.org/podcast.

Rethinking Your Church’s New Guest Experience

We all want to see our churches grow, but how do you actually use digital tools to get more people through the doors, and what do you do once they’re there? From running Plan a Visit ads on Facebook to rethinking how staff and volunteers connect with first-time guests, Christine Aparicio and Colby Rimes from First Baptist Church Covington share their insights on what it means for a church to be a welcoming place for guests.  Christine Aparicio is the Communications Director at FBC Covington, helping coordinate logistics and messaging for ministries across the church. Colby Rimes serve as FBC's Connections Pastor, overseeing the entire process from welcoming first time guests to seeing people get connected and growing through the ministry of the church. Rob Russell is the Director of Business Development at GraceLed, a digital communications agency serving churches and nonprofits with everything from branding and web design to social media, print design, and digital marketing. He has been in ministry for over 12 years, both pastoring in New Orleans and church planting in New York City. GraceLed Conversation is a joint podcast by Send Network Louisiana and GraceLed Communications. Learn more about the podcast by visiting https://www.graceled.org/podcast [https://www.graceled.org/podcast].

Meet Them Where They Are: A New Book From GraceLed

On this special episode of GraceLed Conversations, we sat down with Jay Sigl, the founder of GraceLed, to discuss our new book: Meet Them Where They Are. Jay has been serving churches both as a church member and through his digital marketing business for over 20 years. In our book, we dive into every aspect of a church's online presence and offer a practical, step by step guide for digital outreach. Whether your ministry uses GraceLed's services or not, we want this to be a resource to you and your team, which is why we're offering Meet Them Where They Are for FREE (All we ask is that you cover the shipping cost!). You can learn more and request your FREE copy at https://www.graceled.org/book [On this special episode of GraceLed Conversations, we sat down with Jay Sigl, the founder of GraceLed, to discuss our new book: Meet Them Where They Are. Jay has been serving churches both as a church member and through his digital marketing business for over 20 years. In our book, we dive into every aspect of a church's online presence and offer a practical, step by step guide for digital outreach. Whether your ministry uses GraceLed's services or not, we want this to be a resource to you and your team, which is why we're offering Meet Them Where They Are for FREE (All we ask is that you cover the shipping cost!). You can learn more and request your FREE copy at https://www.graceled.org/book]

Getting Your Church Google Verified and More Visible in Your Community

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/X8ux0FqAzfc [https://youtu.be/X8ux0FqAzfc] Two of the most helpful tools your church can use to be more visible with your surrounding community are the Google Business Profile and Apple Maps. Getting listed and verified on these services isn't always straightforward, unfortunately, which is why we filmed this episode! We sat down with Andrew Hollingsworth, a church planter in Mandeville, LA, to walk through the practical steps he took to get his church listed and begin optimizing their profiles with Google and Apple to make their new church more easy to discover online. Claim your church's Google Business Profile: https://business.google.com/us/business-profile/ [https://business.google.com/us/business-profile/] Create your church's listing on Apple Maps: https://www.apple.com/business/connect/ [https://www.apple.com/business/connect/] Watch our webinar with steps on building and optimizing your profiles: https://www.graceled.org/webinars/the-2024-guide-to-google-business-profile-for-churches [https://www.graceled.org/webinars/the-2024-guide-to-google-business-profile-for-churches] Fr. Andrew Hollingsworth is the Priest and Vicar of Church of the Holy Trinity: An Anglican Mission. He resides in Mandeville, LA with his wife, Katie, and son, William. In addition to being a priest and church planter, Andrew serves as a philosopher and theologian, publishing books and articles on the philosophy of religion and important Christian doctrines, such as the Trinity. He teaches with Kairos University as an Affiliate Professor. Rob Russell is the Director of Business Development at GraceLed, a digital communications agency serving churches and nonprofits with everything from branding and web design to social media, print design, and digital marketing. He has been in ministry for over 12 years, both pastoring in New Orleans and church planting in New York City. GraceLed Conversation is a joint podcast by Send Network Louisiana and GraceLed Communications. Learn more about the podcast by visiting https://www.graceled.org/podcast [https://www.graceled.org/podcast].