Like many other services, church services are rapidly moving to the digital plane. According to statistics, today, about 45% of Americans watched an online church service at least once. We are confident that this number will grow every year, given the ever-improving experience of attending church events online. Below, we will look at all aspects of church live streaming and explain how to ensure maximum viewer engagement.

Why Live Stream a Church Service?

The idea of expanding traditional offline religious services beyond the church is not new. It was first implemented through radio in 1922. Then, with the popularization of television, it spawned thousands of religious channels around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that with the Internet's spread, religious community representatives began to master this path. And they did this very successfully, taking into account statistics that about 16% of adults in the United States actively use the services of online churches.

The online format of church services is suitable for many reasons – there is a high probability of accidentally finding a stream for people who are still indifferent to religion, an opportunity for those who, for some reason, cannot come to church to join the service (illness, busy work schedule, etc.), and even resistance to all kinds of restrictions, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ultimate Church Live Stream Setup

In general, a church stream requires the same equipment as a regular one: a high-quality streaming camera for church, a microphone, lighting, a computer, and accessories that will help you capture them all.

Also, you should pay particular attention to the choice of microphone – the fact is that when watching your live church video recorded with a regular microphone, viewers will most likely hear an echo, which is undesirable. Therefore, we recommend considering models of microphones with noise cancellation, such as SubZero SZC-500-USB, G4M Studio Condenser Microphone, Shure MV7X, and Focusrite Vocaster DM14v.

An equally important aspect is the correct selection of backlighting – you must select it especially carefully for chamber sermons to avoid overexposure to the figures of online preachers and, in general, to ensure a high-resolution picture.

Сhurch Live Stream Equipment

Here's a minimum list of live streaming equipment for church you'll need to prepare: 

  • Computer
  • Camera
  • Tripod
  • Video switcher
  • Lighting
  • Microphone
  • Video encoder
  • Router providing a stable Internet connection

Ultimately, you can add something based on your church streaming requirements.

Which Platforms Are Appropriate for Live Streaming Church Services?

A practical guide on how churches and religious communities can use modern technologies to conduct online worship services.

Despite the wide variety of streaming platforms, we propose considering only two: those that attract millions of people who represent the religious associations’ target audience.

Facebook 

Facebook has billions of users worldwide, so unsurprisingly, it made it to our list of church streaming platforms. This free solution allows every registered user to stream and schedule streams from their mobile device or computer. 

YouTube 

Another streaming platform with billions of users is YouTube. It is also a free solution that provides access to streams to both registered and unregistered viewers. You must set up your personal YouTube account to start your live stream of church service on YouTube. And, of course, as in the previous case, do not forget to try the capabilities of third-party church streaming software to expand online streaming capabilities.

At the same time, you may need more than both platforms' streaming functionality to attract as many viewers as possible. In particular, if you want to use pre-recorded video content to transform it into a live stream 24/7, you can try the Gyre tool. With this tool, you can also run up to eight streams simultaneously on one channel (for YouTube) or several platforms at once. And you should consider that as for Facebook requirements, your live stream should be 8 hours at maximum.

How to Increase Attendance at Church 24/7 Live Streaming

While many content creators neglect opportunities beyond those offered by church live streaming solutions, you can make the most of what becomes available through third-party tools. For example, as we mentioned above, you can try running continuous streams using pre-recorded content – this can significantly increase the number of reactions to publications of educational church content and live services in the church.

Thanks to this, you will be able to cover a broader audience in new time zones and attract those who, due to some circumstances, could not attend the service offline. Try the free Gyre demo version right now to check all its benefits from your experience!