Your life’s work!
Posted in News
Your sermon archive is your life’s work. It’s the result of countless hours of study and prayer. Taking the Scriptures and developing a message that connects with the hearts and minds of your congregation is no small task.
Before the advent of the cassette tape most sermons could only be heard as they were being preached. They were basically one and done, week-after-week. A pastor would hope he delivered the right message, at the right time, to the right ears.
It was not too long ago when magnetic tape and then CD recorders made it possible to duplicate and distribute a message – but this took time (manual processes) and there was an additional cost for materials.
Then along came the Internet! Now, audio and video sermons (both live streams and on-demand recordings) can be delivered directly to handheld devices – wirelessly – and to just about anywhere on the planet! It’s mind boggling to think about how far and how fast we’ve come in just a few decades.
You are part of the generation of pastors and teachers that have access to these incredible tools. Never before has the Great Commission been so achievable!
Your sermon archive is incredibly valuable and we encourage you to take the “cream of your crop” and continue to get them out there! Most importantly, get them out into your local community.
It doesn’t matter if the message was preached 3 weeks ago, or 3 years ago. That older content may be more relevant today than when it was originally preached. The Word of God is fascinating like that.
This newsletter is intended to inspire you to do more to distribute your sermons (both new and old), and to help your congregation adapt to the new technologies and assist in your outreach.
1 . Embed a Media Center directly into your website. Provide an online location that is completely under your control. Some in your congregation or community may be more comfortable going to your website. Not simply expected to go to a social media site such as Facebook or YouTube. Provide them with an option.
2. Gather a list of emails or text numbers from those that would like to receive your latest sermon, or perhaps your selected “message of the week.” Your Sermon Studio makes it easy to share direct audio.mp3 links or video.mp4 links that will play the media on the listener’s device player. (It does not always need to be a link to a website with a player embedded into it.)
* Direct mp3 and mp4 links (for either download or playback) make it very easy to access and share a specific sermon / recording. You and your congregation can conveniently send it to just the right person at just the right time.
Check out this video: https://sndemo.sermon.net/player/video/21696260
3. Consider doing a short daily devotional, or perhaps just a morning prayer to help your congregation start their day. Add value to your online media ministry. To keep it very simple, perhaps do it as an audio-only ministry. You can live stream your audio directly from your mobile device and a Chrome browser using our built-in streaming plugin. People can join in live (like a radio broadcast), or they can enjoy the recording that will automatically be made available following the broadcast.
Check out this information: https://v2.sermon.net/for-the-ministry/webrtc-live-streaming/
^ Scroll down and watch the video on this page for a demonstration.
4. Always reference your online media ministry and provide your website link within your bulletins, advertisements, or outdoor signage. Ask your congregation to share your content with their friends, family, and co-workers.
5. Encourage your audience to subscribe to your Podcast feed on their mobile device. That way they will automatically receive your sermons without any further action required.
Check out this video: https://sndemo.sermon.net/player/video/21691839
6. Put a player on your website’s home page that will always pull in your most recent message. This will provide easy access for a re-listen, share, or in case it was missed. With a Dynamic Playlist this process can be automated.
Check out this video: https://sndemo.sermon.net/player/video/21945025
7. Let your congregation know that they can access your live and on-demand content through the sermon.net apps for Android, Apple, and Roku. Once installed the apps make accessing your media very easy. And many smart TVs have ROKU built-in so that they can enjoy your media through their big screen and home entertainment system.
Check out this information: https://v2.sermon.net/for-the-listener/mobile-apps/
8. Highlight special series within a dedicated player in your site, or through a customized Media Center exclusively for that content.
9. Within your social networks, regularly post links to individual sermons or a sermon series. Use the direct (mp3 / mp4) media file links, or link them to a specific page within your site or to a specific Media Center landing page. (Keep in mind, your Sermon Studio can have as many Playlist and Media Centers as you would like!)
10. Produce a quality product. Your AUDIO is most important – make sure it is good and clear. Do not just have a microphone in the back of the room picking up the room speakers. Whenever possible, patch the audio directly from your soundboard into your encoding device.
If you have any questions, or would like to know more about any of the suggestions outlined above, please let us know. Submit a support ticket through your Studio’s Help Desk. We would be happy to assist!