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

One of my most cherished events of any week is being able to serve the broadcast ministry at my home church, First Baptist Church of Orlando each Saturday night. In serving in such a ministry, you are able to bring worship to many people through both television and streaming online for people who either can't make the service or live in another part of the country or world.

There is nothing more satisfying that being a part of a ministry that brings the Word of Jesus Christ to many people. Recently, the church upgraded their website. I would encourage you to check it out! The video streaming service was upgraded as well and now it is done on Adobe Flash...and not that old-school Microsoft stuff anymore :). The 1K stream looks beautiful, and is just like you are watching it on television.

I also would like to put my heart out to the Uth family, as David has lost his father this week. This must be a bitter-sweet moment for him and his family, but David's father is in a better place...with no pain or sufferings. My prayers are with you and your family in this difficult time.

Anyway, I am going to get back to worshiping along with my church. Thanks for stopping by!!

-Ken

Labels: David Uth, First Baptist Church Orlando, Flash, streaming, suffering, worship