Podcast more than the sermon

How to make your message podcasts feel more like 'one-on-one'

Podcasting your sermons is a great way to edify the body, but sometimes listeners want to feel like they are more intimately connected to the speaker in a one-on-one conversation. Most people would love to sit and talk with their pastor, asking questions about the message they just heard. What if you actually offered a Q & A podcast?

You're thinking, "Great, more work" but it doesn't have to be. All you need is 10 to 20 minutes of the pastor's time and a small digital handheld recorder. Of course, you will want to have some questions prepared in advance so that you don't waste any time when you are ready to record (it's a good idea to send the pastor a list of the questions in advance too!).

Here's what you do: take your digital recorder and sit with your pastor in his office, car, coffee shop, or wherever you want to get together. You start asking relevant questions regarding their latest message and they answer. You might even ask your congregation to email you with possible questions. Once you're done recording you will take the digital file and turn it into a podcast just like you would the sermon.

Other possible podcast ideas include small group discussions, special classes, prayer meetings, testimonies and other local body related events. Obviously you can't capture everything and podcast it all but you can get enough to allow your congregation to feel like they are connected to everyone else.

You don't have to have full blown sound systems for everything you record. Again, simple digital handheld recorders will work great. The Zoom H2 with its 360 degree recording capability is ideal for recording small groups, prayer meetings or other events where you want to actually capture the sense of being in the room. Other devices like the M-Audio MicroTrack or the Edirol R09 can work just as well.