My friend and fellow Church Publishing author, Peter Jarett Schell (whose book, Seeing My Skin: A Story of Wrestling with Whiteness, you should definitely be reading), shared these helpful tips on livestreaming worship for congregations who are needing to move their services online during this pandemic. I’m sharing these with his permission:
Aggregating a few things I've been learning about livestreaming worship:
1-Zoom is great. It's easy and intuitive to use. A pro account is $15/month. You can have lay ministers call in to lead parts (readings, solos, prayers, ect.) Your tech-limited members will be able to call in from a landline and hear worship, and you can simoultaneously livestream from Zoom tp Facebook live and Youtube. Here's the link to do it:
2-If you use Zoom: -Turn off password acccess to the meeting (it makes it easier to call in.) -Turn off the call in chime (it minimizes distraction). -Set things so folks will be muted on entry (to avoid a cacophony of background noise.) Then manually unmute folks who will have speaking roles.
3-Offer folk the opportunity to send in prayers to be included in worship. You're offering a chance to participate.
4-Include a few things we can all do by heart: Lord's Prayer, Psalm 23, familiar hymns, stuff like that.
5-You can't really pass the peace in any ordinary fashion. So, instead, ask your folk to commit to call and check in on one other member of the congregation when the online component of worship is over.
6-Consider doing the whole thing remotely, from your respective homes, rather than in the Church sanctuary. It might help engender the sense that this is something we're doing together, rather than something a couple people are doing, and others are just watching.
7-Having a choir member or two sing solos (everyone else can sing along muted) is probably the most technically feasible way to include live music.
6-Do a dry run with all participants before Sunday.
7-Send folk the instructions on how to access a couple days in advance. Then send them out again the day before.