Among the many ramifications of the spread of COVID-19, there is a sudden need for churches around the world to reconsider their Sunday services, moving from a physical meeting to an online meeting, for one season.
But broadcasting a live Sunday sermon or service can be an overwhelming challenge, especially for small and medium-sized churches that don’t have the budget and staff to manage this production. The following is a practical guide to how small and medium-sized churches can begin. broadcasting live.
- The two main options for streaming live videos are Facebook and YouTube.
- But there are other options.
- It’s worth considering the pros and cons of each.
Once you have joined a platform, you should consider the format that your live streaming experience will take. Here are some common questions and best practices to consider.
If you do more than sing songs written before the 1920s, you’ll probably read copyrighted content. There are complex ways to handle this, but for simplicity and for legal reasons, I recommend you omit the musical part of your cult in the live stream. there are ads you want to show or specific issues that you want to solve, keep in mind that you’re reaching a global audience. You should also make sure that your camera is positioned so that it does not capture minors, victims of abuse, etc. for their safety and their own legal needs.
The best use of a live video is not a camera at the back of the room, capturing content, but a video in which the announcer interacts with live commentary, during or after the video, via comments or in person. in an entirely distant congregation you may feel more comfortable maintaining the traditional pattern of preaching, but it is worth considering encouraging viewers to comment with questions or comments that can be answered after the sermon. A person who handles the camera can monitor comments on a separate device and prepare them for the post-sermon discussion period.
Or engage in continuous interaction with the audience throughout the video (?Thank you for your question, (name), will we answer it?). Zooming or other more direct video media may be more conducive to a dialogue environment, if you don’t mind limiting your audience.
Live camera positioning is always better when the angle is at eye level. In an ideal live-only scenario, the speaker or preacher speaks directly to the camera, making eye contact with the video’s viewers. Simple lighting in the form of lamps, a ring of lights or a basic lighting kit can greatly improve your video, depending on how you handle the camera.
If you’re starting from scratch in video recording technology, here are some options to consider, staggered, depending on your budget and the technical skills of your team.
Level 1 is to record live video via a mobile phone, the advantage here lies in its portability and cost, it’s basically free (you can add the cost of a $20 R$ support for your smartphone and a $100 R microphone to improve quality) and offers an excellent casual experience, which fits well to live video platforms , providing a personal and “behind-the-scenes” experience for followers who may get lost as production quality increases.
Level 2 already requires live video recording through a dedicated camera. The main equipment of this niche is the Mevo camera. For around $500 to $1,000, Mevo provides an excellent solution for live video. The quality of Mevo’s production is significantly higher than that of the mobile phone, retains some of the informality of the platform and provides a low-cost live video solution from a fixed point. Starting with Level 2, you can stream simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube.
Level 3 is a mixed solution that offers more control than Mevo, but does not require a substantial media budget. One of the best examples here is the Boxcast. For $100 a month, you get the hardware and software you need to broadcast your service on you will also need to invest in HD-enabled cameras (in the range of $500 to $1,000 per camera), plus a high-quality microphone and amplification (perhaps what your church is already using will work). Solutions (such as Restream or OBS) can achieve some of Boxcast’s results with a little experience and technical expertise.
Level 4 is HD video capture that is processed and streamed live by multiple cameras. This level is generally only available for churches with seven-digit budgets or large media teams. Production quality is extremely high, but it is also important to respect the occam knife principle: the more cameras, audio equipment, computers, streaming software, etc. , the more likely something will go wrong disastrously. An organization should only attempt live production at level 4 when an experienced team is in charge.
The decision between these levels involves three factors
Budget: Level 1 will cost between $0 and $50. Level 2 is between $500 and $1,000; Level 3 is an investment of $1,200 per year with upfront costs of approximately $1,000; Level 4 could easily start at around $10,000.
Team: Talk to your deaconos, shepherds, or A/V equipment to determine what they’re comfortable with or what they use most often. At the same time, be careful when using dark or complex hardware, software, or transmission methods that don’t work unless a single team member has the skills to run them.
Vision: While your church is temporarily committed to live streaming, smart planning on how you’re investing this season can pay dividends for your ministry in the future. Therefore, make sure that the purchases you make or the methods you are experiencing are good for Thinking about future use of your technology if you choose to stop streaming your services live. This may include weekday update videos, pre-recorded announcements, baptisms or other testimonials, special teaching series outside sunday, Q&A videos, or instructional videos in other languages. You may want to consider making a special daily series of videos for Easter or Advent.
When it comes to live streams, start slowly and evolve over time. Don’t get frustrated if your first attempt seems like a disaster, but be sure to search, review comments, review experiences, and make your next attempt a success. in your area or network to provide information on best practices. Consider making a Zoom call with the A/V leaders of each church.
Through this collaboration, you can find ways to improve your efforts, while helping other churches grow in their abilities.
Editor’s Note: Parts of this article have been extracted and edited from a previous article on the author’s personal blog.