As churches across the country and around the world adjust to social distancing restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), live streaming services have become a new standard for communicating with congregations.
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The change in workflow, including the addition of new gear and technologies, has meant that entire production teams at some places of worship have changed strategy in order to fulfill the need for online experiences.
“Before the virus outbreak, Plantation SDA Church held multiple services each with vibrant praise and worship music,” says Linden deCarmo, a software engineer at Plantation Seventh Day Adventist Church. “When the shelter-in-place order was issued, we instantly were reduced to a single service, no live music and stringent limits on personnel on-site.”
The instantaneous change in technological demands has fast-tracked the move to online for many churches.
Photo courtesy of Plantation Seventh Day Adventist Church, Plantation, Fla.
“Before this sudden change, we’d been gradually improving our live stream experience via broadcast cameras, production switchers and routers from BlackMagic,” deCarmo adds. “While our live stream experience was good, it was clear significant changes were needed since it was now the only means our members could attend services. Consequently, during this time of crisis, the church board set two priorities: help those in our community in need and improve the live stream viewing experience.”
Photo (also lead image in this article) courtesy of GT Church, West Lawn, PA.
At the Plantation SDA Church, the team began to record live services with the intention to rebroadcast. Quickly, deCarmo and his staff expanded the offerings through a consultation with Adorama Business Solutions. The addition of decimators, Eartec wireless headsets, and a BlackMagic UltraStudio 4K Mini in order to remotely incorporate participants further expands the possibilities of live streaming.
Beyond bringing the in-church experience to the at-home congregant, there are additional benefits of expanding into the live streaming space:
1. Reaching those unable to attend
While communities are social distancing as a means to flatten the curve of the pandemic, live streaming also has the added benefit of reaching those members of the congregation who would not be able to attend in-person throughout the year.
2. Reaching communities in different languages
Communities with a need for translated services may see this moment as an opportunity to expand into multiple language offerings. With the help of interpretation software like Interactio, a laptop, microphone, and Wi-Fi, you can expand the reach of your broadcast and better represent the congregation served, and potentially reaching far beyond the existing community.
3. Connecting more closely with each viewer
Maintaining an engaged audience throughout a service can be a challenge in a congregation of hundreds or thousands. By live streaming, you are afforded a far more intimate, almost one-on-one experience with the audience. The experience of broadcasting into a person’s home, speaking directly and clearly into a camera, and maintaining a connection, allows for closer contact between the speaker and the listener.
4. Getting creative
“There are always seasons in the church production world that consume more time than most, this being no exception,” says Brady Treat, Productions Director at GT Church in West Lawn, Pennsylvania. “It’s not Christmas, it’s not Easter. At this point it is every weekend. We are putting out every resource we have and using every piece of equipment on-site to produce three to four programs each week to publish online. It has been a bit daunting, but the commitment to the message and the mission of the church has kept us moving forward and in this time looking outside the box on how we can get the same experience to people at home as we were in the physical building.”
The need to adapt to an online-first service may have been unexpected, but the move has resulted in impressive creativity at houses of worship everywhere. Adding a live streaming solution for services doesn’t start and end on Sundays. The enhancements — in gear, tools, and talent — open up the opportunity to live stream many more church events. Weeknight prayers, dedicated ministries, and Bible study can all potentially receive the same web-ready treatment.
And these benefits, deCarmo adds, will continue long into the future.
“The best part of all of these changes is that [the enhancements] can be leveraged or repurposed when we return to our traditional service schedule,” he says. “This means the enhancements to the live stream will remain long after the virus has gone.”
If you’re looking to build or enhance your live streaming equipment, the Adorama Business Solutions team is here to help. You can reach us at , 888-216-6700 or at www.adorama.com/abs.
Adorama will free host a webinar entitled, "Worship from Home: The New Normal," May 22, 2020 at 11am Eastern. Register for free, here.
