Online Ministry Made Simple Mike Morris

Welcome to Episode 15 of our Online Ministry Made Simple Podcast. Click here to subscribe and listen to the podcast, which is available on all major platforms.

We often hold off on posting online content because we want to only post quality content. But what if I told you that it's okay to post videos that aren't polished and perfect?  

The reality is that people want to see our personalities and imperfections. They want to see the real us. When videos and online content are over-produced, it can feel fake and inauthentic. 

Here are 5 Tips to Get Real With Your Content

1) It's okay to use your smart phone

Every video doesn't have to be shot with a DSLR. In fact, a short video shot on your phone is preferable for Instagram or TikTok. 



2) Focus on good audio

Even if you use your phone, still make sure to capture good audio. You can do this by filming close, or by using an external microphone plugged into your phone or camera.



3) Edit using built-in tools

Don't spend too much time editing. You can edit in most social media mobile apps. Add captions, trim your video, and that's it!



4) Consistency is key

Get in the habit of producing content every week. It may be a daily or weekly devotional. It may be an opportunity to do a behind the scenes look into your ministry. It may even be a worship service at a different time. But you need to go where the people are. 



5) Done is better than perfect

Don't let perfectionism keep you from being productive. 



One large church that I follow did an excellent job during the early days of the pandemic. Their pastor went live every morning for a morning devotional. He used a Mevo camera and simply shared from his heart. I thought it was a great way of staying connected and allowing people to see him as a real person. The world is looking for authenticity. Let's share it with them!




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Welcome to Episode 14 of our Online Ministry Made Simple Podcast. Click here to subscribe and listen to the podcast, which is available on all major platforms.  



Do you have a love/hate relationship with technology? Have you ever experienced unexpected failures and crashes? In this episode, we learn how to prepare for the unexpected. I guarantee that eventually, you will have problems with the technology you use at church, but you can be prepared with a plan to handle any emergency.   



One of the problems that many churches deal with is tribal knowledge. What is it?  Tribal knowledge refers to any unwritten knowledge within a company that is not widely known. This could be actual data, such as passwords, or more abstract knowledge, such as best practices and processes. Because it is unwritten, tribal knowledge is typically shared by word-of-mouth (if at all). Often I find that only one person has knowledge about systems and processes, and when problems occur, documentation is not in place to help people solve problems.  



In this episode, we share how to prepare and plan for four different scenarios.  


Scenario #1 - Your computer goes down before a service 
Scenario #2 - Your internet goes down 
Scenario #3 - Your livestream gets taken down 
Scenario #4 - Your volunteers call in sick  



Here are two big takeaways  

#1 - Document Everything 

Checklists and flowcharts can be used to help your volunteers learn how to handle any situation. Go through different scenarios and write out processes and steps for your volunteers and leaders to follow. When you do have a problem, be sure to document what you did to fix it, so that you have that knowledge for future situations.  

#2 - Discipleship is Your Goal 

Every leader at every level in your organization should be training and discipling someone to do what they do. We have to fight against tribal knowledge and work towards developing new leaders.    For more information about online ministry, please visit our website for online courses, podcast episodes, and blog posts that help simplify the complexity of online ministry.


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Welcome to Episode 13 of our Online Ministry Made Simple Podcast. Click here to subscribe and listen to the podcast, which is available on all major platforms.

Do you stream to Facebook, Youtube, Twitch, Vimeo, or another service? Which is best? How do you stream to more than one? In this episode, we cover the basics of choosing a host and introduce you to simulcasting.

Facebook offers an advantage of a pre-built audience for your livestream service. If you already have a church Facebook Page or Group, you can start streaming and see people start watching immediately.

Facebook also allows great interaction with comments and sharing, so that people can share what they are watching with their friends. Facebook has also started adding new features for churches, like phone call-in to listen, and the creation of online host badges for people commenting on behalf of the church.

YouTube is another good option. YouTube is where people are searching for answers to their questions, so it’s a great place to share sermon content and livestreams. It’s also easier to embed into websites than Facebook. YouTube is also easy to find on smart tv's and streaming devices.

Hosted solutions like Vimeo, Boxcast, Resi (Living as One), ChurchLab, and many others are great for giving you more control over your livestream. They give you greater control over embedding your stream and using it with your own website. They also offer better quality and help prevent your members from buffering problems while watching. Hosted solutions also give you the advantage of not having your stream taken down due to false copyright claims (which is happening more and more frequently on Facebook)



So what do I recommend? I recommend streaming to where your people are! For our church, currently, we are streaming to our website using Resi and the Church Online Platform, and letting Resi send our stream to Facebook and Youtube. 

For a fee, Resi, Vimeo, Restream, and Castr, all let you send one stream to multiple destinations simultaneously. So you could send your live stream to Facebook Live and YouTube at the same time, and also use the Church Online Platform. You do need to remember that you will need to engage with the people watching on each platform.

For more information about online ministry, please visit our website for online courses, podcast episodes, and blog posts that help simplify the complexity of online ministry.


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Welcome to Episode 12 of our Online Ministry Made Simple Podcast. Click here to subscribe and listen to the podcast, which is available on all major platforms.

Livestreaming your online services can quickly become complicated. The worship presentation software you use can either simplify your setup, or it can add even more complexity. One of the latest features of ProPresenter 7 is the ability to livestream your service directly. When you use ProPresenter, it eliminates the need to use another software program like OBS or vMix.

In this episode, we share a simple setup that enables you to livestream your services direct from ProPresenter. See the links below to learn more. 

Links from the episode


ProPresenter
The Complete Beginners Guide to ProPresenter 7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb7UatDBGAI
Information about livestreaming from ProPresenter - https://renewedvision.com/propresenter/streaming/
Creative Uses - https://renewedvision.com/blog/4-creative-ways-to-use-propresenter-when-live-streaming/
Resi and ProPresenter - https://resi.io/products/propresenter-stream/
Restream - https://restream.io
Blackmagic Ultrastudio Recorder 3G (affiliate link) - https://amzn.to/34jwCQG
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface (affliate link) - https://amzn.to/3uxSiD6



For more information about online ministry, please visit our website for online courses, podcast episodes, and blog posts that help simplify the complexity of online ministry.


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Welcome to Episode 11 of our Online Ministry Made Simple Podcast. Click here to subscribe and listen to the podcast, which is available on all major platforms.

If you have been watching the latest technology news, you have heard about the big change at Facebook. The parent company has been renamed to Meta, and their focus is changing to prepare for the metaverse. What does this mean for the Church? Is this something we should prepare for as well? In today's episode, I'll share what Facebook is doing, why it matters, and what we should do to respond as the Church. Our goal is simplifying the complexity of online ministry, and our goal today is to explain these changes in a way that everyone can understand. 

Facebook is wanting to establish a vision for the future of the internet. So what does that mean for the Church?


It means we need to be aware that the web is changing once again
It means that we can wait until the new technology is established
It means we can look for ways to supplement virtual content to what we already do

So, with the push into the metaverse, I am taking a wait-and-see approach. Let’s look at advantages, disadvantages, and dangers. And when there are opportunities that help us share the Gospel and make disciples, we should use them.

For more information about online ministry, please visit our website for online courses, podcast episodes, and blog posts that help simplify the complexity of online ministry.


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Welcome to Episode 10 of our Online Ministry Made Simple Podcast. Click here to subscribe and listen to the podcast, which is available on all major platforms.

Video is a huge part of online ministry. Seminary doesn't teach you how to create video content for your website, for social media, and for marketing and outreach. Generating video content doesn't have to be complicated. And with the latest iPhone 13 series of mobile phones, you now how  the ability to record videos with a shallow depth of field (the Bokeh effect) that makes them look even better. Cinematic mode video on the iPhone can be a game changer for filming quick videos for announcements and events. Listen to this episode to learn more, and check out the following links for more information. 



Using Cinematic Mode on iPhone 13

Gear Recommendations (Most links are affiliate links that help support my website and ministry)


My favorite iPhone Case
Saramonic Blink 500 Pro Wireless Microphone
Rode Wireless Go II Microphone
Rode VideoMic Go II Shotgun Microphone
Osmo Mobile 5 Gimbal



Example Videos


https://youtu.be/lJ3Vu8INg8U
https://youtu.be/8Tl1RL8MRCA
https://youtu.be/dDKbwvSvg0w

For more information about online ministry, please visit our website for online courses, podcast episodes, and blog posts that help simplify the complexity of online ministry.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/onlineministry/message