The Resonate Group - Blog

What’s YOUR Platform? Choosing the Right Social Media Outlet for Your Ministry

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Year-End Giving 2020 | Oct 28th

2020 is NOT the year to use the same old formula for Year-End Giving. Learn why this is true and what you should do differently. Join Jim Sheppard, Julie Bullock, Dave Ronne, Carla Maxwell Ray, Kerry Bural and more for this crucial conversation on October 28th @ 1:00pm Eastern.

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From Social Content to Socially Connected

People will always crave connection—with each other, with people having similar experiences as them, with hope—and with ministries like yours. And, call me Captain Obvious, but this has been a tough year for connection. Even people who venture out and have resumed in-person activities and worship aren’t getting the deeper engagement they crave.

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6 Surefire Ways to Hurt Your Ministry’s Social Media Engagement

You work like mad to grow your ministry and stay relevant. And hopefully you know by now that social media strategy is a requirement. You’ve also done all the things you thought you needed to do to wield social media in your favor. Facebook: check. Instagram: check. Twitter: check. LinkedIn: check. And man, the learning curve is real.

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Processing a Changing Future When Our Nation Reopens from Covid-19 Shutdowns

Did you ever think you’d get so many emails about “these changing times” and actually know precisely what is meant by that vague euphemism? Did you ever imagine the world, economy, and your own job, could all change so dramatically overnight without an impending war or other obvious signs of warning? One of the big questions we are all asking right now—how will our lives have changed after the country is reopened?

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The Resonate Group

“I’m Here to Help You, What Can I Do?” And Other Stories From a Tornado Survivor

At the beginning of March, our home and car were devastated in the Nashville tornadoes. We were in the house when it happened. By God’s grace, my wife and I heard the alerts going off just a few minutes before the tornado struck, which gave us time to wake up our son and all huddle in a closet with a twin mattress covering us.

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Relationship Building

Touching Base (in a Social-Distance-Friendly Way) about Covid-19

Would you believe us if we said we have been preparing for Covid-19 for almost 11 years? You shouldn’t ... because that is definitely an overstatement. However, the Resonate team will have been remote and virtual across the United States for 11 years, as of April 1, 2020.

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HE > I

Start this year with a challenge (because you don’t have enough already. JK.) The challenge: When pondering your ministry plan, goal and/or strategy for this year, make one question the epitome of everything you do . . . Is this going to bring fame to my name or Jesus’ name?

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Why You Need to Tell Your Story

Jesus often spoke in parables, from mustard seeds to vineyard workers, and although there are times when (admit it) we all think, “Lord, just tell it to me straight up. What do you want me to do??” More often, the Spirit can work most poignantly through a simple parable, because parables have a way of seeping into our own stories—if our hearts are open to it—in a way that a direct statement doesn’t.

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Relationship Building

22 Keys to a Life-Giving (As Opposed to Soul-Sucking) Team Meeting

There are days (Don’t count them. Instant downer.) when it feels like your life revolves around meetings. And let’s be real. Years back, when your family asked you why you wanted to go into this, you didn’t say “because business meetings just ... complete me.”

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Team Collaboration

24 Nonprofit Leadership Conversations to Cultivate the Giving Spirit and Optimize the Giving Season

Your nonprofit faces unique challenges when it comes to raising funds. Not to incite rivalry … but churches have built-in weekly gatherings and a tithe mandated by Scripture (okay, maybe some friendly competition is in good fun!).

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27 Church Leadership Conversations to Cultivate the Giving Spirit and Optimize the Giving Season

Rather than jumping aboard the sleigh full of hype, the Resonate team genuinely helps your church leadership discern where to focus your generosity efforts. One solid snowball packs a lot more punch than 10 handfuls of sludge.

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Your Ministry Brand Needs Soft Power

Hard power is pretty straightforward in that it is coercive and largely based on military might and economic strength. On the other hand, soft power represents the non-coercive side of influence.

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Three Layers of a Total Church Communications Strategy

Plenty of churches communicate well, at least in one aspect of communications. What we often lack, however, is a comprehensive and cohesive total church communications strategy.

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Optimize Internal Communication for Maximum Impact

Internal communication affects your ministry’s external impact more dramatically than you might realize. If you want what emerges on the outside to be compelling, then you should strengthen your internal communication by practicing healthy habits.

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10 Short Ministry and Church Branding Tips

1. You are always building or eroding your brand, even if you don’t intend to do so.2. Branding is much more than a logo, tag line or website. These are merely identity assets.3. A primary goal of branding should be to initiate, cultivate, facilitate and influence conversations.

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7 Signs It’s Time to Overhaul Your Ministry or Church Website

This is the first post in a series on how to add value to your brand through your website.Your website is your ministry’s new front door. Think of it as your online curb appeal.It tells people that you’re either open for business or nobody’s home.

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4 Secret Tips For Rocking Your Whiteboard

At Resonate, there’s a method to our creative and strategic madness.And today we’re giving you an exclusive peek at a Resonate secret weapon for fostering strategic, creative, and team collaboration. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes tour of our top-secret branding, marketing and communications laboratory.

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How to Keep Your Team from Going Adrift

It happened . . . somehow, you lost your way. Team members have jumped ship, and you’re sailing right past your ministry goals. Despite robust vision and mission statements, your ministry seems to be floating adrift.‍What went wrong?‍

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The Importance of Values Over Ministry Trends

It is relatively easy to create and set trends in ministry these days. It can be as simple as starting a new program for discipleship or changing the style of worship that stretches your people.

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Ministry Branding DNA Convergence—Core Values, Competencies and Passions

Yesterday, I spent several hours in Texas consulting with a great ministry about helping them with a comprehensive rebrand effort, and a subsequent national rollout. At one point in the conversation, I encouraged these leaders to be very intentional about allowing their unique brand attributes and propositions to organically emerge out of their brand DNA. You’re probably thinking, so what in the world does that mean?

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Lean Into What You Love

In my line of work, it’s usually full-on craziness. I mean, typically, we have to remind ourselves to slow down, catch our breath and simply pray. Project details are flying everywhere. Deadlines are smacking us in the face and good things are happening. Really good things!

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Listen & Hear What Your Team Isn’t Saying

A few months ago, I was invited to consult with an executive pastor and one of his team members. It was a large church that had a lot going on, but we were just going to talk and get to know each other. There was no agenda. At least that’s what I thought.

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Technology Should NOT be a Substitute for Meaningful Human Interaction

This weekend, while returning from onsite client meetings, I had a grueling travel experience.It started out with the usual stormy weather concerns, but round after round of delays kept bumping us late into the evening. Things quickly went downhill from there.

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Ministry Leaders: Try Whoa for a Change

On a recent consulting trip, a client suggested that I stay at a quaint little Amish Inn while in town. It was an honest-to-goodness family owned hotel, and they also ran a restaurant next door.On my way to eat breakfast, I came across an intersection with a sign that made me stop and think.

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Feeling Overwhelmed by Ministry Communications?

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the breakneck speed of ministry communications? Does everything seem really messy, complex and challenging right now? If so, you are definitely not alone. That’s at least some good news.

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5 Ways to Keep your Meetings from Wasting Everyone’s Time

Some meetings truly are a waste of time and creative energy (ok, lots of meetings). And we’ve probably all attended meetings that felt like they accomplished nothing but effectively pooling group ignorance. But your meetings don’t have to be so unproductive!

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Ministry Communication Commandment: Thou Shalt Know Thyself

A few years ago I made a really silly mistake. Well, it was probably more like a stupid mistake. I decided to try and fix a broken water pipe under our house and chose to opt-out of seeking professional assistance. At least initially.

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7 Ways to Get Unstuck

Sometimes you just feel stuck. Stuck in a loop of fear or panic. Stuck in the past . . . or the future. Stuck in the now.

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Give Your Poor Logo a Break (Part One)

Your poor logo does not have super powers. It simply cannot communicate everything about you and your vision, mission or values. Nor should it. Why do we expect so much of these poor little guys?

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Give Your Poor Logo a Break (Part Two)

Our team is often asked to create logos that are totally original, crazy unique and significantly different than anything else on the planet.

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Why You Need a Brand Lab and a Wild-Eyed Mad Scientist

You’ve built your team from scratch. You’ve logged some painful hours on interviews, phone calls, and emails to bring them on board. You’ve got bright, skilled, and pedigreed individuals for sure. But, have you truly set them up for success?

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14 Urges Leaders Should Resist Every Day

If you are like every other leader I know, you have to constantly identify and manage certain areas of your life that threaten to take you down. We all have them. Yes, even that leader who seems focused, tidy, successful and super spiritual.

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Three Ways Not to Short-Circuit the Creative Process

I used to think creativity simply required talent. Not anymore. After over 30 years in the creative field, I’ve discovered that effective creative expression takes much more than talent...

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The Difference Between Your Ministry Identity and Your Ministry Logo . . . and Why It Matters

People often confuse their identity with their logo and think the two are one in the same. You may have heard them refer to their logo as their “brand.” While I get what they’re saying, it’s important to be clear in understanding that there are significant differences between the two.

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5 MORE Secret Tips For Rocking Your Whiteboard

A whiteboard can help you engage team members, explore crazy ideas, and expedite problem-solving. They can be powerful tools for transforming a team into an effective, strategic and creative micro-community.

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9 Steps to Slingshot Your Ministry to the Next Level

Every ministry, nonprofit or church leader I know is consumed with growing their organization, and rightly so. They are under tremendous pressure to expand their footprint, enlarge their volunteer base and increase donations.

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Online Transparency Versus True Colors

For years I’ve been intrigued by the dynamics at play in the digital space and how those dynamics influence human interaction, consumer choice and movements. And make no mistake about it—people are heavily influenced by these dynamics, even if they are not consciously aware of such influences.

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9 Ways to Find Your Creative Jam

We’ve all been there and it stings. We dive into the creative process and shape something amazing—or at least we think so. We put all our creative vision, skills, and expertise on the table. Essentially, we bear our soul through creative expression.

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20 Quick Tips to Help You Engage More Effectively on Twitter

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50 Simple Ways to Advance Your Ministry on the Internet

Remember, when you hit buttons like “share, submit or send” online, you are actually leaving a digital breadcrumb throughout the internet. Search engines aggregate those breadcrumbs into search results. Those search results represent your digital footprint.

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Is There a Difference Between a Logo and an Identity?

Most ministries and churches have some sort of visual element they call their “logo.” Understandably, and for good reason, these elements generate vigorous discussion, and sometimes, even tension among team members and stakeholders.

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5 Keys to Sharing a Vision that Resonates with Your Church or Ministry

Some leaders are great at sharing a vision but find it difficult to move people through the process of fulfilling that vision. Other leaders are skilled at walking us through the logistical execution of their vision, but have difficulty getting everyone to “buy-in” and really “own it.”

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20 Ways to Cultivate Resonance in Your Connections and Relationships

Unfortunately, the nostalgia of neighborly conversations on the porch has rapidly transformed into real-time, efficient, digital “communication.” Our connections with other people and the building of meaningful relationships appears to be dwindling under the weight of a quicker, more tech-based, social media era.

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Great Marketing 101: Starbucks, Smoothies and One Great Barista

A week or so ago I was at Starbucks for a client meeting and decided to try their Vivanno Smoothie. The problem is that I’m very particular (this is very different than nit-picky). This is further complicated by a few dietary challenges.

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Why You Should Kill Your Vision and Mission Statements

There is a substantive and critically important difference between vision statements, and vision itself … between mission statements, and mission itself.

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"Kerry Bural and the team at Resonate® are experts at helping churches clarify who they are. But they don't stop there. They will help you develop a communication strategy and take it all the way to execution. A plan is no good if it never gets implemented. Kerry understands ministry and how to ask relevant questions to take you to the next level."

Randy Ongie

Chief Operations Officer / Executive Pastor

Ministry Solutions / Mountain Lake Church

"I have a high level of respect for Kerry and the entire team at Resonate! I hired Kerry to assist me with some critical new messaging and strategy at Generis. He not only fulfilled that objective with excellence, he also helped our leadership team map out an over-arching strategic plan for executing on our vision. Kerry brought a fresh perspective with a helpful balance of creativity and practical guidance around execution. We continue to follow the road map Kerry helped develop for us and enjoy the partnership."

Steve Caton

Chief Growth Officer

Generis

"Kerry is vital for any organization wanting to clarify their message and resonate with their audience. Kerry's experience and expertise help organizations have a competitive advantage in the changing and morphing market. We couldn't be more pleased with our experience with Kerry and The Resonate Group."

Beth Bowman

executive director

The Journey Church

"I've known of Kerry for several years. I now KNOW Kerry as one of our "go to" partners in our business. I've been impressed with Kerry since our first day of consulting with him. He took me and my team to school on "brand equity" and the power of it. Since then, both he and his quality team consistently produce responsive results in several aspects of marketing and branding for our businesses. Without hesitation, I wholeheartedly recommend Kerry and Resonate® to you. You can thank me later."

bryan miles

ceo and founder

Belay Solutions

"We wholeheartedly recommend The Resonate Group®. They bring their ‘A game’ and combine creativity with class."

Dr. Dan DeWitt

Director, Center for Biblical Apologetics and Public Christianity
Associate Professor of Applied Theology and Apologetics

Cedarville University

"Kerry is the epitome of an executive who leads through passion and creative ingenuity. I had the privilege of speaking with Kerry and gaining invaluable training in marketing, promotion, networking, branding and creating DNA that represents the heart of my organization. I would highly recommend partnering with The Resonate Group®."

Colleen Batchelder

Founder and CEO / Podcast Host / Business Consultant and Motivational Speaker

LOUD Summit / LOUD Conversations

"Kerry Bural did a great job leading us through a branding process for Aspen Group. As a result of his leadership, we have refreshed our brand and launched an "Inbound Marketing" strategy. We are already experiencing significant impact from both efforts. Our trust in the marketplace is growing along with revenue and backlog. Kerry was comfortable to work with and brought real IP that shifted our thinking. A great guy who brought us great results."

Ed Bahler

Chief Executive Officer

Aspen Group / FBi Buildings

"Kerry is a generous leader. He's one of the sharpest minds in Kingdom-building I know, but Kerry isn't satisfied with simply being brilliant. He wants to give back. He wants to invest in the next generation of leaders. Kerry believes in people and wants to make lives better for all. This is a seasoned, genuine, humble leader. God can use a guy like this! And He is!"

Ron Edmondson

Chief Executive Officer / Church Leadership Consultant

Leadership Network / Mustard Seed Ministry

"Not many can think both big-picture and think about minute details. Kerry effectively does both! His creative skills, marketing acumen, attention to detail and strategic think-outside-the-box mindset helped in achieving great success in several key projects I led in my organization. Kerry genuinely cares about helping you to succeed with excellence."

Lori McDaniel

Former Church Initiatives Leader / Global Mission Catalyst

International Mission Board (IMB)

"Kerry is a design, marketing and public relations expert—humble in character, focused on details and perceptive in design. Kerry is articulate, knowledgeable and on time—a leader with class, integrity and unbeatable ethics. I recommend Kerry for any art direction, public relations, coaching or difficult marketing project. Whether online, traditional or integrating the two, Kerry is Class A for the job."

Jennifer Norene

Program Manager Contractor

Harvey Nash@Microsoft

"Resonate® has a great ability to take a vision and quickly turn it into something tangible and functional. Their work is excellent and their solutions are simple and effective. Kerry's experience and expertise have played a huge role in the development of a ministry I will be launching this fall. I have spent the past 9 months processing and practicing the valuable insight and guidance he provided during our branding session. His input positively influenced the direction of my brand."

Jessica Wolstenholm

Editorial Director / Founder / Podcaster

JellyTelly Press / Gather and Grow / Bloomtown Faith Podcast

"Once The Resonate Group® entered my world, everything changed for the better. Those guys are thinkers!"

tony nolan

President / National Speaker / Author

TNT Ministries

"When Kerry is placed into the mix the environment gets instantly more creative and strategic. The yield of using Resonate® is measurable results. You can't afford not to hire them."

devin maddox

Trade Books Publisher

LifeWay Christian Resources (B&H Publishing Group)

"Kerry has a lot of valuable experience and knowledge that really enriched the exhibit project our team was working on. His work with our team provided not only great advice on our current project, but also equipped us with new filters to think through in future projects. Kerry was great at listening and understanding our needs, while also pushing and challenging us to bigger and better ideas. Highly recommend if you need help bringing your project to the next level."

jenny sowers

marketing project manager

Trevecca Nazarene University

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