How to Broadcast Your Sermon

So you want to extend the lifespan of your sermons, and have taken the first step to record your sermons. Now what?

Broadcast it!

Broadcasting comes from a term originally referring to a way of planting crops. Farmers would throw seeds everywhere (broadcast it). Although some would fall on bad soil, enough of it would grow to produce a crop. (Hmmm, sounds like a story I have heard before).

The idea for media broadcasting is to put your message in front of as many people as possible so you can reach as many people as possible. Yes, some will not be receptive. However, if the message is good and you get it out in front of enough people, you will see fruit.

Here are some of the ways to broadcast your message:

Online Church

You have probably heard of the online church service trend that has been sweeping the nation. More and more churches are offering live broadcasts of their church services to people around the world.

The beauty of online church is that it allows anyone, anywhere to attend your church. You can broadcast your online church service any time you would like. So you could be having church services multiple times a week to reach an audience that works or cannot attend church on a typical Sunday morning.

You might be thinking, “That’s great, but our church doesn’t have the resources or the technical knowhow to do that.” If so, you are wrong!

LifeChurch.tv, one of the church that pioneered online church, has created Church Online Platform. It is a free resource that allows any church to use the same online church technology that LifeChurch.tv uses!

They have done all the hard work, you just have to sign up. Check it out. Try it. See if it works for your church. What do you have to lose?

Disclaimer: You will need to sign up with a separate video streaming service, which can cost money depending on the service and your level of use.

YouTube

Did you know that YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world, only behind Google? Posting sermon videos positions your church in front of a potential audience of millions of people who could find your message while searching.

There are other video services such as Vimeo, but YouTube has the largest audience by far. If the goal is to get your message in front of people, Youtube is the way to go.

Having videos on YouTube will also allow you and others to share the videos over social networks, or even embed the video on your website or blog.

Posting longer videos:

Initially, YouTube only allows you to post 15 minute videos. However, as long as your account is in good standing, you can increase your limit.

After you have created a YouTube account, click on the “Upload” button on the top right of the page. Underneath the large “Select files to upload” button, click on the link that says “increase your limit.” You will be asked to verify your account via text message. Input your number, you will be sent a text message with a code. Insert the code and you are in.

Now you have the ability to post an entire sermon online.

You still may decide that you only want to post short clips of your sermons to YouTube. That is cool too. You will have a better chance of people watching a 3 minutes video than a 30 minute video. Shoot, you can even go crazy and do both short and long videos if you like.

Note: Make sure your video’s privacy setting is switched to public. Otherwise, nobody will be able to see it.

Podcast

Podcasts are the new radio. They are a powerful and easy way to broadcast and preserve your church sermons. Think of it as a radio show on demand.

Thousands of churches are doing this. Why? Because it is easy, cheap and a great way to get your message into the hands of your people. Also, unlike TV and radio, you don’t have to wait for anyone to choose you. You can pick yourself and publish whenever.

The 3 Main Reasons to Podcast:

1) People missed it. They were out of town, too sick, or too lazy to get to church. Maybe they were serving in the kids ministry so they couldn’t get to the adult service. Podcasts allow people to catch up so they don’t miss out.

2) Outreach. People in your congregation who love a specific message can share it on facebook, or download it for a friend who needs to hear it. People in your community looking for a church who stumble upon your website will be able to see/hear for themselves what they can expect if they attend your church. People all around the world can search and discover your church through your podcast. Your preaching just went global!

3) Availability. People who were deeply impacted by a message series and want to hear it again can. Maybe they heard the message and it didn’t really apply to their situation at the moment, but then something changed and now they need to hear it. It’s available. They can listen to it at any time anywhere.

How to Set It Up

Upload the video / audio of your message to the server you use for your church website. Get the RSS feed code from your website. Then open up iTunes, click “Podcasts”, scroll to the bottom, and click “Submit a Podcast.” Follow the instructions, submit your RSS code, wait for approval from iTunes. Bam! You are in!

People in your church can now download and listen to your any of your messages at any time on their computer, tablet, or smart phone.

For more info, I recommend checking out the Podcast Answer Man. This guy is a Christian and he really does have all the answers.

Televisions

This might be a long-shot, but if you have a professional quality recording, approach local TV stations about playing it. The worst that could happen is they say no. But what if they say yes?

Pastors have such a negative opinion of television preachers. Maybe you could be the one who breaks the stereotype. Think of all the people you might be able to reach who are sitting at home flipping the channels on Sunday rather than going to church? It’s worth a shot.

In my city there is a solid bible preacher from a large church who’s sermons are played every Sunday morning on the local CW channel. Pretty cool.

You could also take video from your preaching and use it for a short television ad. Yes, advertising can get expensive. But there is a reason so many businesses do it! It gets people’s attention. It brings people in the doors.

Just make sure the ad is top quality. If you aren’t a professional, hire one to produce it. We don’t need any more ammunition for people to think churches are outdated and crazy.

Radio

Yes the radio is ancient technology. TV and the internet have taken over, but a lot of people still listen to the radio in their car or at work.

Take your sermon audio and pitch a radio show to a local radio station. Maybe they are looking for something to fill a slot and your church could provide exactly what they need.

And don’t just look into Christian stations. Your target audience, unbelievers, aren’t listening to those!

Like on TV, radio stations are also always on the lookout for advertisers. Create a short audio clip from your sermon, add info about your church, and pay for radio advertising.

Radio advertising is a market largely untapped by churches. Maybe your church could have success with it. Think of all the people you might reach.

Whatever you do, there are so many ways to broadcast your message today that you are wasting a huge opportunity if you aren’t doing something.

Other posts in the Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan series:

• Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan 01: Too Young to Die
• Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan 02: How to Record Your Sermons
• Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan 03: Writing, Transcribing, and Archiving Your Sermons
• Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan 04: How to Broadcast Your Sermon
• Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan 05: The Pastor’s Guide to Blogging
• Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan 06: 13 Ways to Extend Sermon Life With Social Media
• Increase Your Sermon’s Lifespan 07: How to Send Your Sermon Out on Mission