Livestreaming Worship

08.28.20 | Congregational Development

    Seeking to expand your reach via broadcasting or live streaming worship or other elements of congregational life? You have come to the right place.

    READ: Alphabetical list of churches offering online worship

    Whether you are seeking to offer a prayer and brief reflection, or a more full-bodied worship experience including music, sermon, and announcements, you will need a platform to get it online. Some of the easiest and most popular platforms for creating and streaming an online worship experience for your church are YouTube, Zoom, and Facebook Live.  Details, below.

    WATCH: Learn how to live stream on multiple platforms

    READ: How many people are watching your worship on Facebook? Here's how to tell.

    People worshipping remotely are asking, “How do we do this? How do we worship during a live-streamed service?” Where one or two or three are gathered, how does this work? For families with young children who find it tough to turn their attention to a worship service on screen, what could help? For a household of one, how can it seem like they are not alone?  Learn more.

    NEW: Jason Moore offers 10 tips to improve your online worship

    READ: Preaching Through a Camera: 4 Ways to 'Be' for Your Congregation

    Download these Tip Sheets for using:

    Watch a "Training Tuesday" webinar, "Worship Beyond The Walls," from March 23, 2020.

    Additionally, view the setup video from the West Virginia Annual Conference or read the step-by-step instructions to Stream Your Church Services with Facebook by Church Tech Today.

    You can also pre-record your devotion, prayer, sermon or worship experience on your phone, tablet, or laptop and upload it to YouTube or Facebook if you don't want to do it live. You can also share links to your worship recordings to your church website or send them directly to members, visitors, and friends via email or text.

    Want to create collaborative worship without anyone being in the same room and without prerecording? See these helpful tips by Peter Jarrett Schell for how to use livestream worship using Zoom and Facebook or YouTube.

    Click here for more information about Zoom

    Just starting up?

    Taking Your Church Online: Ben Trawick and Rev. Chris Bishop provide a comprehensive, practical guide to help you reach out to worshippers, during the coronavirus response and beyond. 

    A Beginner's Guide to Online Worship: A video for pastors looking to create Online Worship. Pick your goal: Rebroadcast, Outreach, Teaching, or Community. Then pursue your goal with the right mix of video skill and technological connection.

    How to Preach to an Empty Room: From the Baptist Press, words of advice to pastors preaching in online settings.

    COVID-19 Lockdown: Creating Live-Streamed Worship in 3 Days: Jeremy Smith, in the blog Hacking Christianity shares practical advice on how to do worship online from his church’s experience.

    Getting Started with Church Online Equipment: Life. Church offers tips on equipment from free to high-budget items. 

    LOOKING FOR MORE?

    Additional Tools for Broadcasting Video Online Discover the pros and cons of popular streaming options available to you. And/or explore additional options:

    • Outreach: Free Live Streaming for Your Church Website: Offers a free solution for streaming your church services online, including chat, notes, and the Bible.
    • Church Online Platforms: A free service to remove barriers to help you take worship online.
    • Amplify Media: A streaming service from Cokesbury that offers resources for all ages. They offer a free 14-day trial for their full library, but everyone can view a limited library of free resources.
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    For those of you who are interested in exploring the possibilities of using technology to extend worship beyond the sanctuary, we commend a two-part series by United Methodist Communications.  

     

    Creating sacred worship space: Rev. Sarah Dorrance walks you through how to make a holy setting for worship in your home