Okay, I am a believer in Start with what you have, Version One is better than Version None.
And I also did a video in this series on how to take your production quality up a notch.
Eventually, I want your Online Experiences to be excellent.
So think of this as a 3.0 level.
Here are a few things to take your Online Experiences from good to great, some of these I’ve talked about in more detail in other videos in this series, but I want to list them here so that if you’re a church that has just been using Facebook Live with your pastor on his iPhone, you can start adding improvements to your Online Experience.
Here are 10 quick ideas to up your Online game.
Realize that you need to craft your Worship Experiences for the Room and your Online Viewers. Both are important. Think of your Online gatherings as a Campus of your church, because it is. You wouldn’t build a church building and not have staff and team to run it and prepare for your guests, would you? Same thing. Treat Online as important as an in-person gathering.
Have a Dedicated Landing Page on your Website that is up to date.
Invest in a Streaming Provider – I recommend Vimeo Livestream or Living as One as a great solution.
Use a service like Church Online Platform to create an environment for your Livestream service to live.
Have an Online Host either on Screen or in the Chat or Both.
Have a Dedicated Hospitality Team online for each service serving people in the Chat.
Provide Resources and dedicated information specifically for your Online audience.
Stream to multiple platforms. You should be on your website, Facebook, and YouTube all at the same time.
Prepare your Teams to serve online as well as in person. Your volunteers should be assigned to an online post just the same as they are assigned to the coffee station. Prepare them just as well too. Just as you would show them where the creamer is to refill it, show them where the links are, where the resources are, arm them with information to help people online.
Use media content specific to your Online Experience. You could have an opener video, announcement videos, welcome videos and other content made that speaks directly to your online audience. You can reuse that content for a while and refresh it, but consider creating media for that campus of your church.
Your Online Worship Experiences is more than a camera in the back of the room.
It is a campus of your church.
It is an experience. Invest time and energy into serving the folks who are experiencing your church online in the same way you would give energy if they came in person.
Online is not going anywhere. It is here to stay. Let’s lean into it.
Carl Barnhill has served on staff at some of the largest churches and organizations in the country. He served as Media Director at Precept Ministries International, directing the television and radio program Precepts for Life with Kay Arthur, broadcasted to over 98 million homes around the world. He served as Video Production Director at Pinelake Church in Brandon, MS. He most recently served as Video Coordinator for Newspring Church in South Carolina. He currently serves as Creative Director and Owner of[twelve:thirty]media, serving churches and ministries all over the world through motion graphics content and church media coaching.
