Just a year ago, we were all comfortably congregating together in our respective houses of worship. While some worship communities were already creating regular, live streamed broadcasts for their members, this practice wasn’t necessarily the norm. Early adopters definitely understood the power of live video and on-demand broadcasts, which catered to those unable to attend physical services. Technology provided the tools to live stream religious ceremonies and celebrations for remote audiences. Yet it wasn’t until March of 2020 when the world was suddenly forced to stop public services that those live streams quickly turned from novelty to necessity.
Adding Video Conferencing as Standard Practice
We’ve learned a lot about engagement, community and technology during these past several months. While live streams were the initial answer to sharing the word of God, the true goal of fostering a communal experience wasn’t being met. That’s where video conferencing and Zoom Video Communications came into play. Zoom has taken the place of our pews and physical locations and now has become our regular space for services, meetings and story sharing. While we can no longer shake hands with our fellow community members in regular services or other worship-related events, we can comfortably meet with them over Zoom.
Michael Begeman, a regular speaker at our quarterly PTZOptics Worship Summit Live, is an organizational consultant and a volunteer with the Church of Conscious Harmony in Austin, Texas. Begeman boldly summarized this new normal, specifically referring to those at-risk of health complications: “Some people are probably never going to come back.” Begeman calls this the “great congregational migration of 2020” and he’s seen some astonishing results from this worldwide movement. According to Begeman, those participating in his congregation’s virtual services actually grew more than two-fold during the pandemic. Could the social distancing directives we need to adhere to actually contribute to greater social sharing?
Within this space, Begeman and I have redefined what a virtual church really represents. Technology helps us facilitate outreach across a global community, and churches especially require a more dynamic relationship, one that can’t happen in a one-way live streamed broadcast alone. Zoom has tools that can enable that two-way communication and foster engagement in several fun, inspiring ways. One such tool worth mentioning is the remote camera control feature already included within Zoom. This feature allows PTZOptics and HuddleCamHD cameras to be controlled remotely by far-end viewers, and we’ve seen remarkable results from its application.
Zoom’s Remote Camera Control Feature for Engagement
To start, there are three simple steps to help enable better community engagement through Zoom’s remote camera control features:
Within a Zoom meeting environment, a meeting host can allow for “Far End Camera Controls” in the Zoom meeting dashboard, giving volunteers the ability to adjust cameras in the church remotely.
Remote participants can then click on the video of the person with a PTZOptics camera and then “Request Camera Control.”
The request must be approved by the meeting host, and the worship meeting attendee will have PTZ camera controls directly inside of their Zoom meeting.
This is a small yet powerful tool for promoting engagement among younger participants, enthusiastic volunteers and those genuinely interested in learning new technologies. The Zoom remote camera control can even help worship communities facilitate teaching, Sunday school lessons, games or Sacrament preparation. Once church volunteers learn this tool and realize how easy it is to use, the opportunities for implementation are far and wide.
Appoint Designated Volunteers for Meetings
Prior to implementing Zoom regularly for services or other special events, it’s important for pastors, ministers or meeting hosts to appoint a Zoom moderator to handle security features, unmute guests and make meeting attendees feel welcome. If the Zoom meeting is happening at the same time as the worship service, pastors and speakers will need an in-ear monitor or an in-worship area speaker system with Zoom connected. All together, Begeman recommends there be a Minister or meeting host, Zoom moderator, an audio person and a video person. Together with Begemen, I was able to update my book Helping Your Church Live Stream to outline some of these new two way communication strategies churches are using. This book can be downloaded for free at ptzoptics.com/book.
The PTZOptics marketing team and engineers are always considering new tools that can help enable worship communities to have richer, more meaningful experiences. We tackle technology tutorials such as this in our regular live streams and events. Join us for the upcoming Worship Summit Live, Wednesday, Nov. 18.
