During this pandemic and the many churches that have temporarily closed their doors, churches are turning to social media and technology to get their message out. I think that is great. However, you can put out a great video message without making it live. You do not have to Livestream. Here are my thoughts:
- Many churches are being forced to suddenly get in on video and livestreaming. They are new to this and therefore the feed is often glitchy. They have bad camera angles. Their audio is not right. The feed doesn’t connect right. Nothing will get people to ‘move on’ more than a broken feed.
- I have found it is so much better to record your video, do some simple editing, and upload it. You can schedule the time you want it to be broadcast. It does NOT HAVE TO BE LIVE.
- Livestreaming by Facebook is designed to be interactive. Pastor’s that are preaching are not interactive. Facebook has set up their format for people to be able to comment and give LIKE signs during the feed. Pastors that are preaching a message cannot respond. It is not set up for that.
- I think it can be discouraging when you see the number (or lack thereof) at the top of the feed. I watched a church service today from a church I have visited that has attendance of at least 700. The Facebook counter at the top said that 36 were watching – and as the Pastor continued to preach the number went down! That has got to be tough for both the Pastor and for those that are watching.
- Building a video ministry takes time. It takes some time to figure out how to edit. It takes time to build up your subscribers. It takes time to figure out how to preach to a camera. Take your time and work on it or you will turn people off. A poor video production is akin to having people come into your church and they find peeling paint, unvacuumed carpet, dirty restrooms, etc.
- Remember – when you are Livestreaming – everything you do is just that – LIVE. On a regular Sunday when your congregation is there, what do you do if someone has a medical emergency during the service? What if someone does something or yells out something inappropriate. It is one thing to control the situation within the sanctuary but when you are Livestreaming it is out there forever. There is a reason TV shows are taped and aired. They can edit, fix, crop things that need to be fixed.
- Don’t give out Prayer Requests with people’s last names. If you are Livestreaming it is not only out there on Facebook but it is also archived on your page. You have got to watch out for people’s privacy.
Last thought and I alluded to this earlier. Get some insight from other people on where to place your camera. I saw one today that showed a great view of the church ceiling and very little of the pastor. Don’t be too close or too far. Don’t cut off the Pastor’s legs in the frame. Don’t show an empty sanctuary. Look at some other videos and spend some time placing your camera at the right place. Especially right now while no one is in your sanctuary – you can put it wherever you want.
Now is the time that others that would not normally watch our videos are checking us out. They are looking around. They are bored. You have more church members tuning in and they are sharing it to more people. Let’s put our best foot forward.
Pastor Wes Gunther
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