1,400 weekly viewers. 50% of all donations made online. 2x church website traffic.
The Crossing Church in Tampa, Fla., led by Pastors Greg and Tamara Dumas, achieved all this and more with live streaming. With a congregation of 4,000, The Crossing Church streams its multiple weekly services online so that people who can’t physically come to church can still feel like they’re a part of it.
“All over the world, people in the military service thank us because they can tune in live from the Middle East,” says Stephen Robles, Creative Arts and Technology Director at The Crossing Church. “We have missionaries watching. The live stream is a huge part of helping them stay connected to the church even if they can’t be here.”
Building a live stream audience
The Crossing Church streams five services every weekend, a weekly prayer service, a youth service, and special events and holidays. Robles’ team pushes each live stream out to their audience across multiple channels, including:
* Social media
* Homepage
* Branded apps
The Crossing Church’s app, available on iOS, Google Play, Amazon, and Roku, has been downloaded over 3,400 times. Most of their online viewership is from mobile.
“We know a lot of current church members who are traveling or can’t make it to church watch online,” says Robles. “But it also allows new folks to check out the live stream first before coming physically to the church. They can find us and watch us and continue watching and consider themselves to be a part of the church without ever coming in.”
The live streaming efforts have grown The Crossing Church’s reach, helping it spread its message further. Here are just a few ways the church has been able to tangibly measure the impact of its live streaming efforts:
1. Increased viewership
The Crossing Church has around 1,400 viewers tune in to their live streams on any given weekend — a huge increase over the past few years.
“We treat our online audience as another campus of the church,” says Robles. “Vimeo Livestream is compatible with any device, and a lot of people watch on their phones or their smart TVs at home. That’s really helped grow our online audience.”
2. More online giving
They’ve also seen a growth in digital donations, as well as physical attendance alongside their streaming efforts.
“A little over 50% of contributions are done online – that’s huge for us,” says Robles. “When people are traveling they might stop thinking about giving. We let them know they can still watch live, participate, and donate online. That’s helped boost our online contributions.”
3. Doubled web traffic
In the past five years, The Crossing Church has doubled their page views.
“When you look at the pages that are visited more frequently, Watch Live is visited more than any other page on our website,” says Robles. “It’s our most popular, most visited, most regularly growing page.”
While The Crossing Church uses social media to engage with their audience, they believe having the audience watch on their page and owned web properties is crucial.
"We assume that if someone’s watching live, they would like to interact with other content.” Stephen Robles, Creative Arts and Technology Director, The Crossing Church, Tampa, FL
“We wanted to keep people on our website,” says Robles. “We also have several buttons underneath that pertain to people who want to watch online, give online, ask for a prayer, or download our app. We assume that if someone’s watching live, they would like to interact with other content.”
Live streaming as an investment
No matter the size of the church, Robles feels live streaming is an important investment to reach as many followers as possible.
“The last church I was at was much smaller, and when we started live streaming, about 30 people watched,” says Robles. “But when people are in the hospital, or they can’t physically get to church, they still want to go to church. They are able to do that with Vimeo Livestream.”
Robles doesn’t necessarily see Vimeo Livestream as a means to get more people through the church doors – all that matters is that people are watching.
“It’s a great outreach tool, a great way for people to learn more about the church. We want to make it as easy as possible to hear the gospel. Vimeo Livestream is critical to that.” Stephen Robles, Creative Arts and Technology Director, The Crossing Church, Tampa, FL
“You don’t need a huge set up to start out, it can be something simple,” he says. “It’s a great outreach tool, a great way for people to learn more about the church. We want to make it as easy as possible to hear the gospel. Vimeo Livestream is critical to that.”
Peace of mind with the right solution
The Crossing Church had previously tried using Ustream and YouTube, but neither offered an appropriate solution for their ambitious needs. They needed multiple, high-quality streams, as well as an embedded player in multiple definitions.
For Robles, the key priority is a successful broadcast.
“Once I hit ‘go live,’ I know I don’t have to worry about it starting and stopping. It’s peace of mind for me knowing that the people on the receiving end are having a good experience,” he says.
The Crossing Church recently streamed a six-hour webinar live, and Robles was unsure how the product would hold up.
“We streamed for six hours straight, and the quality remained the same. I trust it. I love Vimeo Livestream." Stephen Robles, Creative Arts and Technology Director, The Crossing Church, Tampa, FL
“Every product I’ve used in the past, you hit a certain time streaming and it fails on you,” Robles says. “We streamed for six hours straight, and the quality remained the same. I trust it. I love Vimeo Livestream.”
Robles recommends Vimeo Livestream as the best choice for houses of worship.
“Whenever a church or organization asks me to recommend a live streaming platform, I don’t even think twice about it,” says Robles. “There are other streaming services out there that say they’re geared toward houses of worship, but they’re very expensive. You don’t need to spend that much. Vimeo Livestream is the best value on the market and the most reliable.”
More live streaming success stories
Our free guide, Live Streaming for Houses of Worship, includes stories about how churches of all sizes and denominations, from around the country, have succeeded with a live streaming strategy. The guide also includes:
* Examples of real churches’ technical setups for live streaming
* Step-by-step instructions on how to get started with live streaming at your church
* Case studies about how other churches increased their website traffic, online giving, and more
Download the guide today to learn more.
About Vimeo Livestream
Vimeo Livestream enables organizations to share experiences through live video, unlocking a world where every event is available live online. We are part of the Vimeo family, which empowers video creators of all kinds to tell exceptional stories and connect with their audiences and communities. Home to more than 80 million members in over 150 countries, Vimeo is the world’s largest ad-free open video platform. The company provides professional software, tools and technology for creators to host, distribute and monetize their videos anywhere. Headquartered in New York City and with offices around the world, Vimeo is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IAC). Learn more at www.livestream.com.
