In a perfect world, things would be a lot different. Wouldn’t they? Lots of crazy things have come and gone over the last year, but the biggest impact on churches and church leaders has come from nationwide lockdowns intended to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Pastors everywhere suddenly found out that it’s tough to talk to an audience that isn’t there.
As a result, churches are turning to live streaming to stay connected to their congregations. Broadcasting church services on the internet is nothing new…many churches have been making worship services available online for quite some time. However, it has probably been considered more of a “nice-to-have” ministry option for larger churches with media teams and sizable budgets until 2020.
Because so many smaller to mid-size churches have been unable to meet in person until recently (and because many of their members may not be comfortable with coming back just yet), we put together a free PDF to help them understand more about what it takes to live stream church services well.
(You can download your free copy of How to Choose the Best Live Streaming Partner for Your Church by clicking here.)
Keep reading for some bonus content: “Four Church Live Streaming Hacks”…that you can do today.
At WSN, we get it…live streaming can be overwhelming. But since it’s what we’ve been doing for the past decade, we also know what it takes to make the process easy and affordable.
We also understand that you’ve got your hands full doing life-changing ministry. You don’t need to get bogged down trying to figure out how to do streaming for church services. That’s why we see it as our mission to come alongside you as a ministry partner…so that you can focus on staying connected with your flock and sharing some desperately needed Good News.
To get an even better understanding of live streaming for churches, go back and read our last several posts:
- Are Facebook and YouTube the Best Live Streaming Choices for Your Church?
- How to Choose the Best Live Streaming Partner for Your Church
- How to Make Sure Your Church Isn’t Wasting Money on Live Streaming
- What Churches Need to Know to Choose the Best Live Streaming Gear
- 3 Huge Reasons Why Your Church Needs To Be Live Streaming
As you can see, we want to make sure that ministry leaders who now find themselves responsible for making sure their church services are available online have plenty of useful information. We want to help you make wise decisions and be good stewards of the resources you’ve been trusted with.
So, as promised, here is some bonus content that goes along with the free PDF I mentioned earlier.
How to Improve Your Church Live Stream for Free
- Restart Your Computer.
Live streaming uses a lot of RAM (Random Access Memory). Before you begin broadcasting, completely shut down and restart the computer you’re going to be using to connect with your church’s live stream service. When you boot back up, only open the programs you absolutely need to make the service a success. That way, you’ll minimize unnecessary software running in the background that could potentially bog down your live stream feed.
- Don’t Use a Front-Facing (‘Selfie’) Camera.
Have you ever been watching a video and wondered, “why is the writing on their shirt backward?!” Or if someone is live streaming while driving (why in the world that seems like a good idea is a topic for another day), it looks like they’re suddenly driving a British car where the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car!
So don’t use the front-facing camera on whatever device you’re streaming from! Or even better, don’t broadcast from a device that would have a front-facing camera—check out our post on the Best Live Streaming Gear.
- Have Backups Available.
The big pieces of equipment you purchase (computer, camera, microphones, etc.) should be pretty reliable for quite a while. However, just like the proverbial chain…it is always the weakest link that breaks. In the case of live streaming equipment, those weak links tend to be the things that tie everything else together, like cables and connectors. Since those components are generally inexpensive, keep spares around…just in case.
- Have Someone Watching.
Imagine that you are live streaming a church service. Everything seems to be running smoothly. There are no obvious issues in the sanctuary with any of the participants, tech team, or equipment. The worship music and your message are on point, and you are having a great service.
However, your virtual audience may be having a different experience entirely. The feed is lagging, the image is choppy, and at times it seems like your words don’t match your mouth. They’re frustrated…but you have no idea.
Or maybe the issue is something as simple as the camera got bumped, and now your online audience is seeing a crooked image.
If you can have someone who is physically in the room with you watching your church’s live stream in real-time, you can quickly catch (and correct!) many of these issues. Much better than waiting to get a call about it on Monday!
There you have it!
No matter if your church live stream setup is super simple or insanely complex, these quick and simple hacks can make it even better.
Live streaming can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right guide to help you navigate each step, you can confidently present your message to an online world. WSN is ready to partner with you so your congregation can enjoy a quality and distraction-free experience no matter where they are!
Be sure to take advantage of our free PDF download (Click here!).
Then schedule a call to let us see how we can help!