COVID-19 & Digital Church Resources

Resources for meeting digitally and in homes while our communities are social distancing due to COVID-19.

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Live streaming is a great first step of stepping into the digital world of the church. Here are some other ideas that can go beyond just live streaming Sunday morning. Consider using this time to be innovative and try new ways to reach your community. Most of these tips are great resources to plant in your church routine for the long run!

This Is Not The Crisis, But It Is Just A Few Weeks Away Article - From Christianity Today

Online Church Community:

  1. Live stream Sunday service on one or multiple platforms.

    • Make sure that you have the streaming license with CCLI if you are streaming your songs! If you just stream your sermon, you should be ok. www.ccli.com

  2. Choose an “Online Pastor” to host the chat and engagement. This could be a volunteer or staff member.

  3. Create a simple webpage that lists all of your online expressions (live streaming, giving, etc.). 

    • If you are not set up on a website already, Square Space is a great resource for a simple drag and drop website. They also have a price for integrated online giving resources. www.squarespace.com

  4. Pick a day like “Wednesdays or Thursdays at Home” and stream a devotional from the pastor or staff.

  5. Emphasize small groups and live ‘watch parties’. If governments allow small gatherings at home, micro-communities can gather to watch the Sunday service live and pray for one another.

  6. Have a daily, live online ministry time on social media that includes things like prayer, communion, and scripture reading.

  7. Move as much financial giving to automated online options by speaking openly and candidly to the church.

Read the full article from Benjamin Windle here.

Here is a great resource from Ministry Brands on Using Technology to Prepare Your Church. This resource covers several topics including streamlining communication, live streaming, online giving, create video messages, and keeping your website and social sites up to date to stay informed.

Some of the online giving tips from Ministry Brands are as follows:

  • Share your giving options often via email, social media, on your church website, and other online places your church community hangs out (so people know they exist!)

  • Include the link to your giving page when communicating and include step-by-step instructions on how to set up an account

  • Use branded donation pages to promote a familiar giving experience, providing comfort to people that want to ensure they’re giving to your church

  • Adopt new giving options for people to donate using their phones (like mobile

    apps or text-to-give)

  • For older generations, speak to the security measures your platform has in

    place, helping them understand there is minimal risk of fraud due to the high standards the payment card industry must achieve to facilitate online giving

Basic Outline for Calculating Views and Interactions on Digital Platforms:

  • Facebook Live: Use "1-Minute Video Views" as the number for metrics reporting.

    • You can also view the analytics on the Facebook Business page on how long people watched and when they stopped watching. 

  • YouTube: List the number of unique views. View an illustration here. 

  • Vimeo: List views over a 7-10 day period. 

  • Other Streaming Services: Unique IP addresses or peak viewers.

  • Multiplier: As often households watch the service together, you may need to multiply the views/viewers by a number to account for this. Multiply by 1.5 if your normal physical attendance is comprised of mainly couples and singles. Multiply by 2 if at least 1/3 of your attendance is comprised of families with children. If you have good reason to use a different multiplier (e.g. a singles church should probably multiply by 1), feel free.

    • These multiplier numbers are used on the number of views that match the guidelines above.

  • TV or Radio Services: Contact your local station and ask about the estimated audience size. Don’t use a multiplier in this case. This may also be recorded under online attendance.

  • Be sure to wait at least 24 hours after the video is published to count the number of views the video received.

Below are resources. We will keep adding to the list over the next several weeks. If you have a platform you love using, let us know and we will add it to the list!

5 Things to do During COVID-19 - Mikey Littau

TMF Resource - Being a Virtual Church - Updated Regularly with New Resources

Live Stream Resources

Small Group Resources

Online Giving

Non-Digital Members

  • Set up a phone tree to keep those informed that my not be on social media or have emails.

  • Send postcards or cards in the mail.

Serving and Mission

  • Have people in your church or community that might not be able to get out to get groceries or go to appointments? Set up a team of volunteers that are willing to go shopping or errand running for them. Remember to practice social distancing.

  • Divide your church community into sections and gather a team of people to check in weekly with their call list! Share announcements, prayer, scripture, and more!

  • Start a digital prayer vigil through a program like Sign Up Genius to have members sign up for prayer slots. Could also have them sign up on a google doc form or shared google doc excel spreadsheet!

Children’s & Youth Resources

Graphics for Sharing and Updating

Communications

Discipleship Ministry & UMCOM Resources

DisAbility Ministries Committee of the UMC