Author: Ron

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Your First Live Webcast Setup

Churches that have never live streamed worship before are now realizing that it will be a necessity starting in the near future when we reopen. Not everyone is coming back at the same time. We also will all want folks to stay home if they are under the weather at all. So, live webcasting will become a staple in each of our lives.

Where to Start?

If your church is new to live webcasting for services, you gotta start somewhere.

Actually, the first place to start is simply setting up your phone on a tripod. By now we are all getting proficient at Facebook Live, as it is the easiest to get rolling. If you can manage it, your regular YouTube phone app will also go live, but there are a few more permissions and a few things to think through. All for another post.

What Comes After That?!

It is a big technology jump from a phone to what comes next. The reason is that it is easy to get a video signal out of a computer, but difficult to get one in. To begin with, you will want to get two video signals in and an audio signal. So, that is sound input from your mixer, one camera, a feed from your visuals computer.

But you should ask this question first:

Does your worship space have a strong upload speed? Your upload and download speeds are calculated in Mbps (megabits per second). For nearly everyone, your upload speed is different from your download speed. The only number you need to know here is your upload speed. You can test this using a computer actually wired into your network at https://SpeedOf.Me or https://speedtest.net.

Full HDMI (1920×1080 at 30 frames per second) is usually about 6 Mbps. If you don’t get 6 Mbps up, you can run a smaller signal, but if you don’t have a steady 4 Mbps you need to consider your options on upgrading.

Next, Let’s Talk Hardware

You will need some very specific items. Most of this stuff you won’t find sitting around in a junk drawer in your tech loft.

DISCLAIMER: This is our chosen solution. There are other stand alone hardware solutions to mix video.

The Computer

We use a computer as the video mixer. It does not need to be the bleeding edge of technology kind of price tag, but it should be a solid, modern workstation. And although gaming computers can be quite powerful, what you need for your live webcast is a bit different. You may be able to use a computer you have sitting around, but usually there are reasons why you are not using them to begin with!

Current recommendations for the PC:

  • Full size desktop computer running W10
  • Core i7-8700 processor
  • The main board needs at least 2 empty PCIe expansion slots
  • 16GB RAM
  • 512 PCI-e SSD (Solid State Drive)

Yes, a desktop computer. Laptops are very convenient, but give up power for portability. And this plan also calls for specific PCIe expansion cards you can’t get in a laptop.

Here is a computer that fits these requirements on CDW.com

Then the graphics card:

HP Quadro P620 Graphic Card – 2 GB: This is the workhorse that will do the heavy lifting of encoding your live stream video. The Quadro cards come in all kinds of sized, but this is all you need to get started.

Here it is on CDW.com

Then, you need a way to get video into your computer:

To get consistent quality video into your computer is not easy. The DeckLink Mini Recorder is a PCIe expansion card from BlackMagic Design. It receives an incoming HDMI signal and makes it useful to your video mixing software. We use it to get the signal in from the presentation computer (ProPresenter). You can use it to bring in a signal from a camera.

Here it is on B&HPhotoVideo.com

There’s a cool alternative for getting your sanctuary visuals into your webcast:

If you are using ProPresenter 7 (which is recommended), you can add a virtual screen output via NDI (Network Devise Interface) that is recognizable as a a camera in any of the live video mixing software we will talk about. This is your cleanest way to do it, and it doesn’t cost any more money!

Audio Interface

Yes, your computer will have a way to plug in a 1/8th in stereo jack into the onboard sound card. Don’t use it. There are simple USB audio devices designed for this sort of thing. The Presonus Audiobox USB 96 has been around a long time and will get the job done. If you have an extra monitor send from your sound mixer, you can create a separate sound mix just for the webcast. Just use a send from your mixer to this interface!

Here it is on Amazon.com

Cameras

Okay, you really only need one to get started. You might have a handheld camcorder sitting around you could use. Check to see if the HDMI out will give you a clean live signal. Most video cameras like that do not, but some popular ones can! That would get you started through the BlackMagic DeckLink PCIe card!

When you are ready for your first camera purchase, this is a great place to start: PTZOptics 12x NDI|HX ZCAM 3G-SDI Box Camera. This is a static camera to give you one great view of your platform. It does zoom, but it doesn’t move. the NDI technology means the video comes over your existing network. It is also POE capable (Power Over Ethernet). That means you only have to get your CAT5 to where you want the camera! Brilliant!

Seriously, POE and NDI is a game changer for churches. Without these two features on the camera, you need to install a power outlet and run an HDMI cable, a control cable and a network cable. Now with one normal networking cable you can get video into your computer!

In order to get POE to work, you will need a power injector that won’t come with the camera. You can get a standalone unit or you can upgrade your network switch with one that also provides POE. Just make sure you do the math to match the power needs of the cameras (and whatever else you want POE) with the switch.

This PTZ Optics camera just about purpose built for churches. PTZ stands for pan, tilt and zoom. When installed the camera can use presets to get the shot you want. It spins and zooms in perfectly on the shots you program! Epic! Make sure you get one with NDI for ease of set up. They can also be powered over ethernet. These are so good that they are sold out everywhere. I found a 12x zoom one that isn’t sold out yet!

You should consider at least a two camera rig. One can be stationary and one should move. You can have it on a swivel head and have someone move it around if you like, or use a PTZ camera. If you don’t want to make your audience sick, you need two cameras. That way the broadcast never has to see the camera move and zoom.

Software

There are three major players for live webcasting. Many churches are using OBS (Open Broadcasting Software). It became popular first with the folks that stream their video game play on Twitch.TV. I have only done some trouble shooting on OBS, so I am no expert. The reason churches are using it is because it is the right price. It is free. I did not find it user friendly, but folks are using it everywhere.

We use Wirecast from Telestream.net. It is not free — starting at $599. We like the way it is laid out using a familiar layer setup. They also have great tech support and are based out of Grass Valley, CA.

The third option is vMix. I have never seen it running except in youtube videos of folks who are experts in live webcasting. So it is worth a try before you get too invested in something else! The price depends on what features you want to use. There is a free version and you can spend up to $1200 for the cadillac level.

UPDATE 09/01/2020: We have switched to vMix when Wirecast was having issues. We like the color processing and the feature set. We settled on the 4K version at $700. Not that we are going to stream in 4K, but it has the feature set we want, like the multiple outputs for monitors and PTZ control. We love it!

What’s the Damage!?

Okay, so if you get a static camera and a PTZ camera with all the recommendations here, your budget should be $5,500. Not bad considering more than half of that is just in two cameras!

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Plan a Visit Page

Turning an Internet Search into a First Time Guest

Our church websites are primarily not for your regular attenders. The people who most see your website are people looking online for a church to visit. That makes it your most important foot in the lives of poeple you have yet to meet! You must have information on your website that online church shoppers are looking for.

I came across this idea through a marketing email for Nucleus.Church. It is an idea slathered in good marketing philosophy that helps get people to pull that trigger on a weekend visit to your church.

The ‘Plan A Visit’ Church Framework

The idea is to take all the passive information on your website and turn it into an active invitation to join you for worship! Pack what a visitor needs to know about coming to your church for the first time on to one page and link it other relevant information throughout the rest of your website.

Make it Easy to Find

This should be the easiest link to find on your front page. Since we are looking to attract people searching online for church it ought to grab their attention and direct them into your clear invitation. If people searching for a church can’t navigate your site then your carefully crafted page is worthless.

Start with the Basics

This page should start with service times and location. Don’t put your whole schedule of events there. Probably the place you are most prepared to receive guests is your weekend worship.

Then tell people where you are. An address may be sufficient, but if there is any trick at all to arriving at your place of worship you should put it here. For instance, if crossing traffic to pull into your parking lot is a problem, then help people make a right turn into your place. If you have designated guest parking, then say where to find it.

If you are like us, many times the front parking lot is full by the time first time guests show up. Tell these folks in advance where to find the best parking and how to enter into a door your greeting team is hosting.

Speak Culture

What kind of atmosphere are you building in your church? Is there an expected dress code? Can you bring coffee into the sanctuary? Do you have a monthly event connected to worship? Tell people what to expect!

Directions for Parents

Dragging your kids to a new church can be a horrifying experience. Single parents often visit alone and distracted. No matter how good your signage is there will be questions about when and how to check kids into your classrooms. Concisely tell them the whole procedure.

Call to Action

The “Tell us when we should expect you” part is brilliant! It is a simple contact form and I don’t think anyone will actually use it. What it does is get those online searchers a chance to subconsciously understand that we want them to show up and that we want their first time worshiping with us to be a great experience.

Our Attempt

Here is how we put these ideals to work in our online content. Post yours in the comments!

http://eastavechurch.org/plan-a-visit/
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Canoe the Mountains

Our reading assignment for January! This recommendation comes from Jerry Carter by way of his district office. It is about how Christian leadership needs to be able match the challenges of the new and changing landscape of our current culture.

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Your Coffee Shop

Thomas called me last Wednesday: “Hey, how about I meet you at your Starbucks?” Because he knows that is always my jam. I can be found at other coffee shops, but this one is only about four blocks from my office making it easy for me to get to any time of the day.

Now, I am not a guy that can work regularly in a coffee shop. I actually need a quiet work space to be creative. I meet people at coffee shops. Here are a few reasons why:

Your Third Place

Starbucks actually thinks of itself as your third place. You have a home and you have work. Both these are comfortable and personal. Starbucks is the other place you can feel comfortable that isn’t too personal. They want to be that place you can meet people for any reason without it being weird.

Many times I am meeting people who have never had coffee with a pastor. It kinda makes people nervous! They have no idea what awkward questions I might ask or what task I may ask them to do. I might peer into their soul and learn their darkest secret. I can really freak some people out! But, meeting at Starbucks sets the tone. I ask questions like, “How did you get to show up at church on Sunday?” or “How did you get to Chico?” If they want to talk about deeper stuff, they can use those questions to get there.

It is Good to be Known

Maybe it is just my Starbucks, but the manager is an amazing community person and she really takes care of me. I’m not exactly sure how she found out I am a pastor because that is not something I lead with. I found out she knew who I was and what church I am from when she saw on Facebook that we were hosting a traveling winter shelter. She offered free coffee for the overnight monitors! She has also figured out who my wife and kids are, even though we are rarely in there together.

Meeting the Ladies

Everyone is hyper-aware of the problems that can come from hosting a meeting with a lady in your office. No matter what size church, there’s a good chance you two will be lone. Bad news!

So, I always meet at Starbucks or some other coffee shop. I’ve had people actually question my judgement on this. “What if someone sees you out and gets the wrong impression?” I guess it is possible.

I always answer back, “You think someone might get the wrong impression about me meeting a lady at the closest coffee shop to the church in a very public and busy Starbucks and think that I have elicit intentions?! Most people think I am smarter than that.”

This is a lot easier than always trying to make sure the building isn’t empty. And, frankly, I’m not much on the counseling pastor side anyway. If what needs to be said can’t be said over a table in the cafe of a Starbucks, then this lady needs to find a paid therapist or a lady in the church.

I Can Leave

I have been trapped in my own office. People come in, drink my office and sit on my couch as if the only reason I came to the office today is to receive visitors. Actually, I came to work. Anyone sitting on my couch is keeping me from working. So, make an appointment and meet me at Starbucks.

I have had meetings at Starbucks go hours. That works because my refills are free! But, there are times when a meeting is really over in 20 minutes. When the time is right, I can get up and walk away! I don’t have to kick someone out of my office. I don’t have to say, “Lock up on your way out.” I wrap it up and go home!

What if the Guy is a No Show?

I always have a book. I never wait on anyone because I always have stuff to read! I drink drip coffee, so a large one costs me $2.30 to rent a table in a nice establishment for as long as I want to sit there. Or until they close, I guess. Good money spent!

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2018 Nonnegotiable Habits for Pastoral Leadership

In the 15 years since I made the jump from youth ministry to leading a small church, I found that the learning curve was steeper than I though it would be. On top of that, there’s so much technology out there that sifting through all of it takes a team of poeple. I’m not talking about the big stuff like starting and stopping ministries or launching a building campaign. These have little to do with church culture or the missional stance of your congregation. I am talking about my own personal habits that I have picked up and the tools that I use. Here are my recommendations for every pastor of a small church to include in their workflow and personal habits.

  1. Use http://planning.center as a Church Management System. The People Module is free and is quite useful! Add whatever else as needed.
  2. Use the Giving Module in Planning Center. Add online and text-to-give features to help people under 50 give as faithfully as they want to.
  3. Make Invite Cards.
  4. Keep a clean and up-to-date website and post pictures often on your Facebook page.
  5. Work Mondays.
  6. Record yourself preach and watch it every Monday.
  7. Learn to use Connection Cards to help visitors reach out to you.
  8. Write First and Second Time Guest cards on Monday.
  9. Pick a book a month and read it with your team.
  10. Teach through books of the Bible, or use Liturgy to choose your message, or buy them! You don’t have time to be pithy or thoughtful.
  11. Get a regular coffee shop and regularly meet people outside the office — especially new poeple.
  12. Learn to present the gospel every week.

This is not a “grow your church quickly” system. It is not personality or culture driven. These are the winning habits that move the chains. Win a few first downs in a row you start to get touchdowns.

See something you think I missed? Let me know! See something you think is just extra work? I’d take the feedback!

 

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Just Listen to You Talk!

Yeah, just listen. Record your weekend message and listen to yourself. If you can do it by video, that much better!

I know,  it is painful. We are our worst critics, but we stand up on Sundays and speak for a living. We owe it to ourselves to be the best communicator we can be.

Listen, I want others to show up and hear what I have to say. It only makes sense that I should also actually hear the words that are coming out of my mouth! What I think I say and how I think I say it can be very different from the way my congregation experiences it. If I am going to get better I must actually watch and listen to myself.

So spend a year of recording yourself and watching on Monday morning. Listen for your verbal stammers, jingling change in your pocket, monotone inflection, and painful pauses. Watch for the point at which you know you lost some people. Were you as clear as you wanted to be? Did your message make logical sense? Did you take your congregation from Point A to Point B, or did you meander around a bit? How much time do you spend speaking in a passive voice? What was the Big Ask at the end of your message? Did you inspire or beat up your people? What is it you wished you would have said?

Only after you listen to yourself for a year will you begin to see the progress you will make! You will begin to recognize your bad habits as you are speaking and correct them. Your notes will get better and your strong, inspirational voice will begin to come out.

If you want to take it a step further, find a partner to watch with you. Give him or her permission to hurt your feelings. Begin to hear the same things. Get better at your craft!

You don’t have to be the best speaker in town. You have to be the best speaker YOU can be. Take the time to listen. After all, you expect others to do it!

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Special Music isn’t so Special Anymore

20 years ago I was sitting with a bunch of friend that worked as a planning group for an immersive worship service. We were talking about the value of special music in the Sunday worship services. Jim says, “Well, I place a high value on it. Sometimes the message won’t speak to you but the music will. I remember a Sunday about four years ago when that happened. It really moved me. My wife and I still talk about it.” I pointed out that the experience was four years ago and it hasn’t duplicated itself since then. I am a big fan of music, I just not a big fan of what church performance has brought to us week after week.

I am a musician and I grew up singing in church. When I showed up to church on a Wednesday unaware that the youth group went dormant, the pastor picked up another chair and carried it to the choir loft. It was the one and only place I ever qualified as a bass! I sang in choirs and played in bands through college and performed in a boatload of churches. I still play many weekends and on rare occasion I still lead worship.

I am not a hater of music or music in church.

Somewhere along my journey I realized that I could not define the line between worship and performance if I was the only one singing.

Worship is bringing glory and honor to God through our time, attention and talent. Performance is bringing me glory that I can, at times, point towards God. If I am garnering the attention of a congregation or an audience how do I make the distinction? For me, I decided that if I am the only one going to the throne of God and I am inviting other to watch me go there, it must be Christian performance. If I am inviting other people to join me on the journey as part of the team, then it must be worship.

At the beginning of Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Freddy is giving a big press conference after unmasking another caper. Under the big lights with the attention of all the media, Freddy says: “People ask me why Mystery, Inc is so successful. And the answer is: Teamwork. I do a tremendous amount of teamwork….”

I hear the same hollow humility from Christian musicians and vocalists. We want to be honored for our talent and our veneer humility. We are willing to give tacit honor to God because it seems the the thing to do. I think Freddy is honest in his assessment, and still dead wrong. The spotlight can bring out the worst in all of us.

It is difficult to work hard as a musician without a place to perform. It is hard as a worship leader to not save a little piece of the worship for yourself. Music is such an integral part of both ancient and modern worship, yet has so many humility traps in it. How can we navigate out?

For our church, we have decided that we just don’t do “special music”, where people perform Christian music for others to enjoy. We focus on corporate music, where everyone is invited to participate in singing. For us, this means a bunch of new songs (as many as 15 new songs a year) and a few ancient ones. We have songs that every church sings. We have songs that you many only sing with us.

We also look for musicians that don’t need the church for a stage and a spotlight. I love it when we have musicians that play in local bands at local parties, bars and weddings. These guys understand the difference between performance and worship. They have also spent the years to hone their craft. When it comes to leading people to the throne of God they simply have more to offer those that follow them. They do not need to keep any of the worship for themselves because they can get that other places.

That is why, at times, you can find me in a bar on Saturday night listening to live music. If my musician friends invite me to their performance, I go, no matter where it is! But, that is a subject for another time….

We sing a bunch of the KLOVE top 40 because people who are hurting often turn to KLOVE for comfort and find it in the music. Then eventually they decide that trying out church again might be a good idea. These hurting folks should find music that sounds familiar.

What’s the Consequences?

Now, I will admit that all of this is short sighted if it stops there. I became the musician I am today because I was given a chance to learn and perform in front of my home church — poeple that loved me! And that is true. I was in 10th grade when I was given the chance to perform special music at our church. It was a Sunday evening, but it was a Sunday! I can’t imagine it was pretty or that I made it to the parking lot, let alone the throne room of God!  What will happen to music in the church if we never have room for poeple who are learning? How can we encourage people to continue to practice if there is never a stage to perform?

Frankly, this is a point of concern for me. The music budgets in our public schools are squeezed. Private schools are worse. Private lessons are easy to find, but they can be quite expensive. How is it that the church can encourage people to learn instruments and have performance opportunities if the church isn’t encouraging it? Where will the next worship leader learn to sing in front of people?

For our church, we have started two initiatives. First, we have started School of Guitar. Three of us that play guitar have banded together to teach a few students to play guitar. Most are kids, but also some adult are learning. Many of them are building the skill set necessary to lead worship in the future. We are encouraging youth kids to be useful in youth group by learning a few songs so they can lead worship in midweek services. This can be a valuable time learning to hone the musicianship we will need in the future.

Second, we have instituted an open mic night. Right now we have only hosted it on Fat Tuesday as a precursor for our observation of Lent. But, how cool is it that we can give our own musicians and vocalists a chance to perform in front of people that love them! We don’t care if it is specifically Christian or not. We just want people to come and share something musical that is important to them. We also encourage our School of Guitar students to practice something to bring, so it is a kind of recital for them.

Somewhere along the way, we need to take responsibility for the care and nurturing of our musicians so we have musicians in the future. We also must take serious consideration what we consider “worship” and appropriate for a worship service. How we define this will teach the future generations how to define worship for themselves.

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The First Time Guest Box

We have always wanted to give out something significant to those who come for a visit for the first time. When we started we had no idea what we were supposed to give out. We tried to do a cool tiered pocket folder with each ministry in the church highlighted for visitors to take home and peruse. We failed at keeping that updated immediately! We settled on a sad handled craft bag with uninspired cookies and a letter of thanks for dropping by. Lame! We gave these out for years knowing how lame they were because we could not think of anything better.

One day I noticed the care and thought that our worship leader put into boxes she sent out to her photography clients and got inspired. Here is the current edition resulting First Time Guest Box we give out after every weekend service.

The Box

We buy these in boxes from uline.com. They are 9x8x2 inches and cost $0.63 when buying 100 at the same time. We print an invitation to connect on our website and facebook. We trim it up to fit nicely on the box and attach it with a glue stick. As you can see from this one, the corners were not glued well, resulting in that lived in look. It is a good reminder that quality control is essential!

The Crinkle Paper

We also get this from uline.com. It comes in big 10 lbs boxes that last us a very long time. It is $33 a box. It really sets the box apart by the feel of the quality and thought that went into the design.

The Good Things to Eat

We buy a dozen cookies from The Cookie Shoppe, a local gourmet cookie bakery that everyone loves! Having only one in the box seems kind of lame, but it is an awesome cookie of a size worthy of sharing. We want everyone to know it is a cookie from The Cookie Shoppe and proudly wrap each cookie individually with a sticker from The Cookie Shoppe! (Yeah, the wrappers are from uline.com as well.)

The tin is Espresso Pillows from Trader Joe’s. It is a scrumptious espresso bean and chocolate creation that is outstanding! They are $2.30 a can.

Good Things to Read

We include two books I really like. The first one is How Good is Good Enough by Andy Stanley. It is a good starter book for following Jesus. Andy talks about how people seem to think that the entrance requirements to heaven are based on our behavior. As it turns out, not one of us is good enough to earn heaven on our own. That is why we need Jesus! These books come in packs of 6 for $12.

The second book is The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. These books are $12 a piece. Keller tells the story we know as the Prodigal Son from each of the character’s perspectives. The kicker of book is that the flagrant spender turns out to be God, who lavishes His wealth of us. He spends a lot of time helping us understand that the older son wasn’t just indicative of the Pharisees of the day, but also those of us who grew up in church.  It is a power book to inspire those who are already kingdom people who happen to be looking for a new place to worship and contribute.

Each book as a bookmark that says READ ME at the top. I wrote a small description of why I liked the book enough to include it in the box. It is cut to just the right height that READ ME sticks out the top of the book.

Also included in the book stack are Invite Cards. This box has our worship invite card as well as an invitation to download our app. When we have special events coming up we also like to include a quarter cut card stock invitation to that next event.

All of this is held together by elastic loop ribbon, also purchased at uline.com. It holds everything together and looks great! They are $45 for 1000 loops.

Every Guest

At the end of the service, our worship leader prays and thanks everyone for coming. She will also say something like, “The pastors are making their way to the lobby. IF you are a first time guest with us they want to meet you and give you an awesome box with some great stuff in it! Be sure you find them!” People find us in the middle of the lobby. We give these out to every first time guest. If they come in a family, we try to give one to the family, but we don’t stop people from taking more than one. If there is a hoard of people in the family, we try to supplement with extra cookies, but they don’t need extra books!

Yes, the cost of each box approaches $20. It is a whole lot of money and, frankly, we don’t have any extra to throw away. We think this is an important investment. Once a person has decided to come for the first time, it is our job to get them to think about coming back. The boxes give guests a reason to come find and chat with one of the pastors and the quality of the items speaks to how valuable we think their visit was.

Do people come back because of the box. No. Well, not that alone. It is part of a larger effort to help people come back. No matter what you put in the boxes, it must feel like it is something valuable to you, otherwise it will hold no value to the person receiving it. That would be worse than not having anything to give in the first place!