Sundays

In June, after months of being forced to hold worship services in an online-only format (thanks to COVID-19), California churches were allowed to begin meeting in person again. This time, with a limit of 100 people or 25% of the building’s capacity. Just a few weeks later, Governor Newsom ordered that churches “discontinue singing” while gathered for worship services. This resulted in an uproar from many Christians. How can we hold a worship service without worshiping? How can the government dictate whether we praise God or not? Didn’t Jesus say that we must sing?

In its fourth year, Capture Content Creation and Filmmaking Summit 2020 is a one-of-a-kind conference for Christian filmmakers and storytellers. Hosted by Church Production Live Events, Capture is an excellent resource for any Christian videographer, church tech, or media director.

I have been leading worship in a full-time capacity for twenty-two years. Still, nothing could have prepared me for a global pandemic, hybrid worship, and a situation that began in our church on Sunday, March 15, 2020. On that Sunday, our worship team did most everything we would normally do on Sunday with one major difference… there was no congregation in our worship space!  Like most churches across the country, and around the world, we found ourselves in an unprecedented scenario. One no one could have foreseen and one for which no seminary education could have prepared us. Our church had to learn how to minister to our people solely through livestream technology on Sundays and Zoom meetings throughout the week. 

In a time of social distancing, many people feel isolated, and crave interaction. Many churches strive to maintain togetherness despite being apart. The need for unity within a community goes far beyond any public health concern. It is in our nature to crave relationships, to desire acceptance, and to yearn to be a part of something greater than ourselves. In areas with an ethnically diverse population, this can be a greater challenge to achieve. Beyond our duty for evangelism and service, the purpose of communal worship is just that, to worship as a community, the whole community. 

While it's possible to live-stream with a single camera and a software encoder, or even with multiple smartphones, using a video switcher is the way many churches should do it. First, what's a video switcher? A video switcher is NOT a selector switch that you'd pick up from a big online or electronics retailer. While it does the same thing, select video sources, it does so without the visual glitch on the screen that a selector produces.

Certainly every church ought to be podcasting, including yours. It is essential for us to note that the world has changed drastically and technologically...

The main sound system controller at your church goes by many names: soundboard, audio desk, mixing console, mixer, etc. They all refer to the same thing. Selecting the right soundboard for your church might be the biggest audio decision you make. It’s hard to mix good sound without a good soundboard.

Ministry leaders must ask themselves whether streaming a church service once a week is enough to build an online community and discipleship. In many respects, the answer is no. Furthermore, there are a number of other pain points experienced by pastors when trying to grow their church community.