The traditional Romanesque architecture of St. Monica's Catholic Community cloaks a decidedly contemporary approach to spreading the gospel, incorporating the very latest in cutting-edge technology whenever possible. So, when Daniel Houze, St. Monica Media Ministry Coordinator felt the call to take St. Monica's message beyond the four walls of the church, he called Ustream.
“ I wanted to grow our technology and dream bigger. ” says Houze
As the largest Catholic Church in Southern California, St. Monica serves an active congregation of over 10,000 households, but even so, some souls --- hungry for the church's message but unable to physically attend services --- were falling through the cracks.
“ . . .Young adults, the homebound . . . we wanted to stay in touch, get the message out there,” Houze then arranged for St. Monica Christmas Eve Services to be broadcast live on Ustream.
“Over 14,000 people watched. ”
Today, as a ministry to those who are unable to attend in person, St. Monica now provides live streaming coverage of the Sunday 5:30 p.m. Mass, in addition to live coverage of special events. For St. Monica Catholic Church, 21st Century streaming technology is just another approach to carrying out a heavenly directive: simply put, St. Monica uses Ustream because, as Houze states, “We want to spread our message to as many people as possible.”
And what is it that separates Ustream from all the other live streaming platforms? Despite reaching out on multiple occasions, “It was very difficult to get a response from other providers,” says Houze. “The biggest advantage to using Ustream is that it feels like a partnership . . . Ustream is like an additional member of our team.”
Is your church or ministry searching for ways to reach a larger audience, increase community outreach and explore a new way of raising funds to support and expand your ministry? Ustream is the affordable, easy way for congregations of any size to share their message and bring blessing and encouragement to more people than any building could ever hold.
