Communications

15 Ways to Use Periscope at Your Church

Carl Barnhill

In my post “Periscope: What it is and How to Use it at Your Church”, I explained the basics of Twitter’s new app and how to use it in your ministry. I believe this app has the potential to be a game-changer for how we share the gospel and minister in our churches.

Here are 15 ideas for how you can use Periscope in your church and ministry:

Remember, for security and legal reasons, you can make broadcasts private and only let followers you choose view your broadcasts.

1. Broadcast from VBS.

You could broadcast your main sessions, special games or events for parents and church members to get an inside peak into what happens at your VBS.

2. Broadcast from Youth Camp.

Broadcast from the rec field, from a main session, from a crazy game, from a special event for parents, leaders, church members or other students.

3. Broadcast a Conference Session.

Broadcast a marriage seminar, a men’s or women’s ministry speaker, or another conference style event.

4. Broadcast a Sermon or Bible Study.

Have a member of your small group away on a business trip? Is there a missionary you’d love to have watch a sermon or study you offer? Broadcast them in!

5. Broadcast while on a Mission Trip.

Imagine putting a broadcast on the screens in your worship service of the mission team that your church sent to South America last week. Live updates and a first hand look at the work your church is doing around the world just got a whole lot cooler.

6. Broadcast from a Missionary.

Now imagine the same idea as with #5 above but instead of your church members on a mission trip, you “Periscope In” a missionary your church is partnering with. What an incredible way to meet their family, meet people that have come to Christ through their ministry, pray with them and more. Think of how encouraging this would be to that missionary and your church family.

7. Broadcast a “Meet the Staff”.

You could simply walk around your office and introduce people to your church staff. Think about showing some “behind-the-scenes” stuff that only your staff usually gets to see: this could be a creative brainstorm meeting, a series planning meeting, the building of a new set design, a broadcast from your production room on a Sunday, etc. Get really creative. People will love feeling more connected to your staff when they what it takes to do full-time ministry.

8. Broadcast a “Tour of our Church”.

Walk around your church and show people places they may not regularly go. Again, show your production area, show a student or children’s service. This would also be great during a building project to show your church members your construction site for your new campus or building project.

9. Broadcast to Promote an Event.

You could show speakers preparing their message, volunteer meetings, sneak peeks of your set, the band setting up – to build some excitement for your upcoming event or service.

10. Broadcast from “Behind-the-Scenes”.

People love to see things that they don’t normally get to see. Broadcast the set up for an event, rehearsals or sound checks. You could go to the print shot where your bulletins and printed material are printed and show that process. You could show how your sets were built, how your gear works, how you made a video, the making of a sermon graphic, etc.

11. Broadcast a Q&A.

Have an “Ask Me Anything” session with your pastor, staff, or leaders. You may be in a special sermon series where people could learn more about a certain topic through these sessions. A Student Pastor could answer parent and student questions about camp or upcoming events. This could also be a method to have volunteer meetings where you want to share news with your team and give them the ability to ask questions.

12. Broadcast a “Ministry Moment”.

You could broadcast a Happy Birthday message, a hospital visit, a visit with a shut-in, a community event. Use this technology for ministry!

These last 3 ideas were written by my friend and [twelve:thirty]media author Josh Williams.

Josh is the Worship Pastor at Velocity Church in Greenville, SC. You can view all articles written by Josh on the blog here.

13. Learn from other ministry and creative professionals.

There are already a lot of insanely creative people on Periscope, such as photographer Jeremy Cowart; worship leader, author, and speaker Carlos Whittaker, and author Jon Acuff- just to name a few. You can log onto their broadcasts and type in questions. Many of them do frequent Q&A’s.

14. Ask for Input on your projects.

Recently, I created a new stage design at my church, and went on Periscope to show it off. As I was rambling on about this and that, I decided to ask for input, how it look to the viewers. Depending on your followers, if you have an issue that you can’t solve, you could theoretically go to Periscope for a live answer, being able to show, in video, the problem while people offer solutions via a chat.

15. Use it to network.

This aspect works on all levels of social media, but on Periscope, you can find broadcasts in your area. I have met people on my broadcasts that told me they have visited my church before. You can network with other church members and other people serving in ministry.

These are just 15 Ways to use Periscope in your ministry.

Sound off in the comments below! Tell us your ideas or ways your church is using Periscope!

About the Author_02

CARL BARNHILL
Creative Director / Owner
[twelve:thirty]media | Columbia, SC
twelvethirtymedia.com

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, where he produced media content for four campuses, as well as led volunteer teams.

He most recently served as Video Coordinator for Newspring Church in South Carolina. Newspring has 10 campuses across the state with a weekly attendance of over 35,000. At one campus alone, the number of consistent volunteers serving in media production tripled, under his leadership.

He currently serves as Creative Director and Owner of [twelve:thirty]media, a company that serves churches and ministries all over the world through motion graphics content and church media coaching.