Today, we are often faced with many challenges that inhibit us from attending a church on Sundays. Many churches that I am in communication with are now having a worship service on Sunday evening, that have two main goals. One of those being to allow members/attenders to worship because they are not able to make it on Sunday mornings. Two...to give room for more people to attend on Sundays.

Another option I have noticed here more recently is the advent of streaming the services online. This seems to be a more cost efficient method with the popularity of the Flash video encoding. This allows the video/audio image to be crisp and clean, yet not too bandwidth consuming. Even so, the turnout seems to be good for the services.

Many people have family situations or have to work in this day and age on Sunday. They can still connect with the church via a video stream while also allowing them to worship and be fed spiritually at the same time. This is hopefully another reason that churches allow streaming of their services.

Back in the 80's and 90's, many churches had to pay a lot of money to have their services broadcast on television stations. This was a lot of work and expense. Trust me, I worked at a church doing this. I think with the advent of the internet, it is more feasible for churches to send a live video and audio feed to the online community. This would require about the same amount of money up front to purchase and maintain the systems, but at the same time, internet broadcasting is a much cheaper medium of sharing God's message. Plus, you are not limited to a specific time block. You can stream the entire service because the ministry controls what goes out there.

I "attended" a church stream about a month ago. I was fascinated with how it worked, mainly because this church had a chat room contained within. Viewers could chat with pastors and seek prayer for specific needs that the person had. I thought this was a great asset to add to the streaming service. That way, it makes the viewer feel more connected with the church's broadcast ministry.

I want to hear from you guys. What do you think about online worship services? Do you have any experiences that you would like to share?

Thanks for taking the time to read.
-Ken

Labels: 316 networks, Buckhead Church, Chapel Hill, church, digital, FIrst Orlando, Flash, God, gospel, informative, internet, internet growth, Media, North Point, Orlando, Scott Link, simulcast

A week ago...last night I showed up to serve at church. But...there was a problem. The lighting system had somehow failed.

I sat and watched the service, and I was impressed how the lighting team worked together under pressure to find a solution for the problem...in a little over an hour before the service began! The best part is...a small group of folks stayed all hours through the night to rig lights and trusses for the following Sunday morning services. It is great to see people that are passionate enough to give above and beyond the calls of ministry in order that others can worship the Lord.

Is it an absolute necessity in order to have "lights" in order to worship the Lord? Well...no. It is an amenity that sadly most of us overlook most of the time. But in fact, at this church, the lighting aspect is a large aspect of the service for many reasons. One, broadcast...without lighting, the Message cannot be spread to home and venues of people watching via television or internet broadcast. In addition to that, lighting is also pivotal to the service in order that it sets the mood for the worship environment.

In conclusion, I would like to thank those that served above and beyond in order to allow others to worship last Sunday morning. Your willingness to serve has not gone unnoticed, and you will be rewarded. Thanks again.

-Ken

Labels: 316 networks, failures, First Baptist Church Orlando, lighting, worship