With 12+ years of helping churches live stream, our techs have heard it all! One of our main missions at StreamingChurch.tv is educating church leaders about online ministry.
Keep reading for 7 misconceptions regarding video streaming:
1. MYTH: “If I stream, they will come”
Many church leaders mistakenly think that once their service is on the worldwide web, everyone will find it and attend their services. This is a myth because while in-person congregations can easily convert to online visitors, attracting new visitors takes additional efforts.
TRUTH:
To grow your online church, you will need to use marketing tactics like SEO, social media strategy, and in-bound content creation. Make sure your church website shows your church’s personality – it’s usually a visitor’s first impression of your congregation!
2. MYTH: “Streaming with free services is free.”
While free services like YouTube and Facebook will not directly cost your church money, they aren’t actually “free.”
TRUTH: Here’s the following ways “free” services can end up costing your church:
- Free services WILL post unwanted ads on your live church service
- Free services WILL block your live worship service when its algorithm detects copyrighted worship music. And they don’t care if you already have a license for the music (as most ministries do).
- While you may see huge viewer numbers on free services, the reality is the average viewer time is under a minute.
- Free services WILL NOT allow you to customize your streaming platform to match your ministry and your website.
- Free services DO NOT provide any support. Ever.
- Free services DO NOT provide detail analytics. Who attended from where? How long were they viewing? Is this their first time or fortieth? The free services don’t provide this information.
- Free services ARE NOT designed for ministry. This is a big one because you won’t have tools necessary for doing church online like private prayer, automated visitor follow-up, automated countdown timers till next service and a ton more.
- Free services CANNOT protect your ministry and your live stream service. There’s no way to ban unwanted online visitors from disrupting your service and your guests online.
- Free services ARE distracting. Those attending your service will be enticed to view other content and other things while visiting your service.
StreamingChurch.tv offers the above features because we are specifically made for churches. To find out more about our platform features, click here.
3. MYTH: “1080p or even 4k is best when streaming.”
TRUTH: Most people watch live streams on mobile phones or computers. The screen size of these devices are perfect for 720p, no one will notice the difference from 1080p. Since not everyone has a fast enough network to handle the 1080p, you’ll hurt that audience.
Main idea? Ultimately, you should optimize for your church’s specific audience. You can easily check our analytics to see what devices your audience are streaming on. If the majority of streamers don’t need 1080p or 4k, use 720p and save yourself the headache.
4. MYTH: “I need a tech person or a tech degree in order to stream.”
Many people during the COVID-19 pandemic have been brand new to even using the internet. The learning curve can seem daunting to those not used to technology.
TRUTH: It’s easier than you may think. Over the years we have helped people from all walks of life – we know you can do it. If you need help, our church tech experts are a live chat or phone call away: (866) 852-6648.
5. MYTH: “I need expensive equipment in order to stream.”
Many pastors think they need professional cameras, video switchers, etc. to start live streaming. Waiting to save up money for advanced equipment can prevent churches from streaming at all.
TRUTH: You can start with a single webcam (camcorder preferred) and computer. Don’t underestimate the tips and tricks with lighting, camera angles, decent audio, and our platform features.
6. MYTH: “Live streaming will decrease in person attendance.”
TRUTH: Streaming is the easiest way to attend a church for the first time. It’s also the easiest way for members to invite others to attend for the first time. People still want to be part of a live service with live people and will use the live stream when they can’t make it.
7. MYTH: “We shouldn’t have live chat because people will get distracted.”
TRUTH: Live chat is the best way to engage people and do ministry online.
Want more? Listen / watch our podcast about the myths of live streaming for more details and examples: