With the power of the internet, organizations are able to connect to a much wider audience and build a strong community both digitally and in person. And since the pandemic, it’s not just businesses and educational institutions that rely on teleconferencing and livestreaming to stay connected to their communities, but churches as well.
Let’s take a look at some of the resources that a church would need to set up a well-functioning livestreaming option.
The Basics
When you are first setting up a livestream, you are going to need the following equipment:
* A webcam or camera
* A microphone
* A laptop
* Streaming software
* A fast internet connection
You also will need someone to operate the equipment while the service is in progress. That means someone to operate the webcam and microphone and to monitor everything to ensure the livestream is properly streaming to the platform you want. If you want to broadcast live to multiple platforms at the same time, then you need to use livestreaming software with this capability.
You may want to consider hiring a backend developer to set up the software and make everything accessible through your church’s website. You can expect to pay a freelance developer at least $60 an hour to set up your livestream and take care of all the technical aspects behind the scenes.
Platforms
Many excellent platforms are available that allow you to livestream for free. Platforms such as YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Twitter Live and others are extremely convenient and useful. However, if you are looking to broadcast live to several platforms at once, you also may want to consider using livestreaming software.
Here are three of the most popular livestreaming services:
1. Facebook Live
Churches can use Facebook Live to broadcast their services in real time to parishioners anywhere in the world. It costs nothing to use Facebook Live, and it requires minimal equipment. Everything could be set up and broadcast from a smartphone. The main drawbacks are common technical issues and glitches that can lead to lag time and blurry videos, and sometimes the stream may be inaccessible to some viewers.
2. YouTube Live
YouTube Live is an excellent platform for churches to livestream their services and other church activities that do not require users to have an account. Any parishioner can simply click on the YouTube Live link and instantly be connected to the livestream. Using YouTube Live is a good way to access a wider audience and find new members. The main downside is that video quality tends to be poor when compared to actual livestreaming software.
3. Podbean Live
Podbean Live is a livestreaming service based on voice where people can connect from all over the world to talk and listen to one another in real time. This tool can be extremely useful for a church that would like to stream its sermons and classes. Additionally, if anyone is not able to attend the livestream, the audio can be edited and adapted into a podcast to be listened to at any time.
Shanice Jones is a copywriter from Chicago. She has helped over 20 startups building B2C and B2B content strategies that have allowed them to scale their business and help users around the world.
