Why Do We Livestream?

It was the morning of February 11th, several minutes into the service, and I thought to myself, “No one has joined our live stream today on Facebook. Why am I doing this?” Then, right as the sermon began, someone started watching, and I was reminded why I do it. It only took one person. 

You're probably thinking to yourself, "Seems like a lot of work for just one person to be watching." And you'd be right—it is a lot of work—but it's not about how many are watching... it's about making the service accessible to be watched. “But by whom?” you may be wondering. 

Let me explain why we are live streaming the service on Sundays.

The idea of live streaming the service came to me because I realized we had a gap in our ministry on Sunday mornings: those who couldn't attend in person, not because they didn't want to come to church, but rather because they could not. Sure, they could watch the sermon the next day or later that evening after it was posted to the website, but it doesn't have the same feel you get from being at the service.  

Corporate worship is fundamental to the Christian life. So how do we as a church overcome this obstacle for those who cannot attend? That's where live streaming the service comes into play in a very real way. Live streaming provides an opportunity for a person at home or away to participate in corportate worship in a way that before wasn't available to them. 

While being able to watch a church service on TV isn't new, what is new is that technology has made it easier and cheaper for all churches to do it online. Now the ability to see and hear familar faces and surroundings is only a button click away.

Technology is an amazing thing. If we can use that to minister to our brothers and sisters who can't attend with us on Sunday mornings, then I believe it is worth the effort—even if not one person needs it and logs on on any given Sunday! It's a little gesture behind the scenes that I pray God can use to His glory.