More people are enjoying church online more than ever before. During the pandemic, 96% of churches moved their worship service online, according to Barna. This gigantic shift in how we do church also comes with some growing pains.

Maybe you have experienced some adjustments or roadblocks as you have moved to provide more church activities online. While the innovation of digital church opportunities has expanded many ministries' reach, it has also presented some setbacks. This blog will cover five common problems church's face with streaming their church service and how you can overcome them.

1. Avoid being kicked off of Facebook and Youtube by not playing copyrighted music in your pre-service buffer video. Having the latest upbeat worship song play in your pre-service video's background may be acceptable in your building but can cause issues online.

For example: if you are playing Hillsong on your pre-service countdown video, you can get kicked off for copyright infringement. Live music is fine, but playing tracks could cause the music to be picked up as copyrighted. You do not want to have your broadcast canceled before service even starts!

2.  Combine your efforts. If you do not have a permanent location or equipment, team up with other churches that do. Maybe one person has the equipment, and the other has the permanent space. Or perhaps you have team members who can lead worship and can help the other church as well. What a witness this could be for your community. Even your "know-how" may be a benefit to a larger church with more resources that may not be up to date with the latest digital church innovations.

3. Are you having trouble getting the word out about your digital church experience? You do not have to pay for ads promoting your next digital broadcast. Instead, encourage your church members to share the broadcast on their personal social media platforms. This is something you can even ask people to do in the pre-service countdown or in the chat. Speaking of the broadcast chat…

4. For more meaningful interaction during your digital stream designate someone to run and operate the stream chat. Ensure they are an experienced team member who can keep things positive and know the flow of the service and the purpose of each element. People are commenting and asking questions live. As a result, you need to have a knowledgeable team member who can address those items in the chat as they come up.

5. Have you had your embarrassing moment live and while streaming yet? The internet is filled with church fail videos of someone who made a mistake or wishes they could have a moment back, but it is too late because it was broadcast live. There is an easy solution to this. 

You can deliver your entire production at a higher quality level if it is pre-recorded instead of live. Not only does it help you avoid becoming an embarrassing viral video, but it also allows you to add post-production elements like titles and information in the lower third of the screen. 

We hope this blog will help you better navigate the digital landscape churches are using to minister to their communities. If you have any questions, then we'd love to help. Click here to schedule a free personal coaching session with one of our knowledgeable team members.