Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many churches all around the world have actively used digital technologies to live stream their services and also to engage with their congregations. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic prevented many churches from all over the world from conducting their regular services, many have been forced to adopt live streaming services.
On the one hand, live streaming can allow churches to engage with more people all around the world. On the other hand, live streaming a church service can offer various unique challenges.
Here, we will discuss all you need to know about launching church live streaming, starting with some preliminary considerations.
Church Live Streaming: Before You Start
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There are several key considerations before you start to live streaming your church services.
Cost is an obvious thing to consider, and we can divide the cost into two types: upfront investment and ongoing expenses. If you stream solely on YouTube or Facebook Live, for example, then you won’t be charged with a monthly fee to stream on the platform so the ongoing monthly expense can be $0.
The second key consideration is whether your team is ready for live streaming. Not all pastors are ready to deliver their sermons in front of the camera. Also, streaming a full band and/or choir might require extra audio recording/streaming equipment.
Also, ask whether launching a live streaming service might help your church in:
- Whether it can help in Achieving specific church goals (gain more congregations in other countries)
- Whether it will create any friction within your church’s members (i.e. purists that disagree with online services)
- Whether you have the budget available to launch a live streaming church service
- Whether it’s going to be effective in expanding your church’s reach
In short, you shouldn’t start streaming your church services just because others are doing it, but you should weigh on the potential benefits and your church’s current situation.
Picking A Streaming Platform
Now that you’ve decided to start streaming your church services, the next step is to pick a streaming platform.
For church live streaming, there are three main options you can consider: streaming on your website, streaming on YouTube Live, or streaming on Facebook Live.
Streaming on your website
You can stream by using a Viloud church live streaming software that you can easily embed on your website.
The main benefit of streaming your content on your website is flexibility: you won’t have any limitations and (sometimes) censorship than when you are streaming on third-party services like YouTube. However, you can’t take advantage of YouTube or Facebook’s huge user base to amplify your reach.
Streaming on YouTube and Facebook
Youtube is a free and simple option that many churches have used to live stream their content. The key benefit of streaming on YouTube is that it has a huge user database and it’s what most people think of when they are looking for video content.
Facebook Live is another popular platform for video streaming, with over two billion monthly active users, so it’s also a great place to reach more people.
Depending on the complexity of your stream, you might need a streaming platform/encoder like OBS to help with layouts and interfacing.
Another approach is to simply use platforms like Viloud and stream your service on three platforms at once: your website, YouTube, and Facebook so you can reach your audience whatever platforms they use. This is by far the most versatile and cost-efficient approach if you want to grow your audience as fast as possible.
Choosing The Right Equipment for a Church Live Stream
The next step here is to choose the right equipment for your church’s live stream.
Obviously, above anything else, you’d need at least one camera as your video source. You’d basically need an HD recording camera with an HDMI output. Obviously, there is now a wide range of options for video cameras.
If you are a small congregation who just want to live-stream your content, then you can start with your existing smartphone camera (although it’s not recommended.) There are also semi-professional mirrorless cameras under $1,000, and professional 4K cameras that are above $10,000.
Choose the right camera (or cameras) depending on your budget and the scale of your church.
You will also need an encoder to start live-streaming your content. An encoder can be a software or hardware that is used to encode your recorded video into a continuous, streamable video file instead of a series of videos. OBS is an example of a free video encoder, but there are also dedicated hardware encoders with lower latency and better performance
Other Equipment you Might Consider Include:
- Microphone and other recording equipment: as your audio source, will vary depending on what your church needs
- Tripod/stabilizer: to ensure the stability of your video
- Switcher: to easily switch between different video sources and cameras
Plan your equipment needs carefully depending on your church’s services and your objectives. Remember to carefully consider the available budget and whether getting a high-end investment is the right choice for you at the moment.
Planning Your Content
Content is king.
While the easiest approach is to just simply live stream your usual church services, you can provide much more value to your audience if you can provide something special in your live streaming services. For example, you may allow the audience to interactively ask a question to the pastor (via the chatbox, Zoom call, etc.) and the pastor can answer in real-time.
Think of the limitations of online interactions and also the unique environment, and figure out how you can create valuable content in this environment.
End Words
Our advice in starting your church’s live stream is to start small and focus on stability first. You should regularly do a test run and experiment with the content you’d include in your live streaming services.
Video hosting platforms like Viloud provide the most versatility in streaming your services, so you can reach as many audiences as you can on all the different streaming platforms.