The Sunday morning gatherings at New Life will be broadcast live on our website starting September 12th. This means people can join us live around the world and experience worship with us via some really cool and really inexpensive technology. There are lots of positives and some negatives about live-streaming that we have discussed as a team.
CONS:
- Watching on the web is not an equal substitute for attending live. Face to face, person-to-person interaction at church is super important and cannot be dismissed in favor of watching from home.
- The technology is great, but it is really expensive to make the sound quality on the web equal to the live gathering. Lower your expectations in that regard.
PROS:
- Live streaming is a great opportunity for people who are looking for a new church to preview our service before actually attending.
- It is a great resource for our missionaries and military members stationed around the world to stay connected to their local church.
- On heavy snow Sundays, the three of us who make it to church can sing and speak while the rest of you watch. I promise I will not sing unless absolutely necessary.
What do you think about the services being live-streamed? How can we take maximum advantage of this great technology?
August 30, 2010 at 6:32 am
Nate and I were SO super excited yesterday when this was announced!!! I wanted to stand up and shout WOO-HOO!!! (Okay, I want to do that a lot.) For military, this is HUGE. When deployed, now a military member will be able to take part in the same service as their spouse, which really benefits connection and communication on BOTH ends!!!
And, we know one of the disadvantages can potentially be people who only watch online and never come and invest (whether time, money or other). But your messages are powerful, and God will speak to them through that. This is another example of how we just bring God’s word to people as best we can and let Him do the speaking.
There also can be heightened safety concerns, but as a whole we think this is a great move and something we’ve been wanting/praying for for quite some time now. Thank you!!! (Next time Nate has to be gone, this will make it that much easier.)
August 30, 2010 at 6:33 am
Hey, look! I talk just as much in comments as I do in person! =^)
August 30, 2010 at 7:28 am
I am so happy that New Life is doing this! Being a military family we greatly appreciate it. & now when one of our children is sick we don’t have to miss church. Thank you!
August 30, 2010 at 8:15 am
I think it’s a great tool. I share lessons taught with my family back home on the East Coast and to “see” the speaker can help with understanding. Many of the speakers are animated and to miss that takes away.
It is my prayer that it will not be used as a crutch for some.
August 30, 2010 at 7:48 pm
How exciting PB! I can’t wait to share with all my family and friends around the world. From my perspective, Pro: What a great blessing for our military family and friends worldwide! Speaking from experience, unfortunately, too many places military affiliated or otherwise, lack excellent opportunities to gather with other believers at life giving churches/chapels worldwide. While I was incredibly blessed in Muslim Turkey with a fantastic community of believers both on and off base, a lot of the chapels at military installations leave a lot to be desired and off base/post can be even more challenging in other countries. Con: Now we can’t use the excuse, “You should come to New Life to watch me sing!”
Regardless, I am confident that God speaks to all of us about our need to be involved in a local community and we would be foolish to limit our use of technological advances because someone “might” decide not to want to jump off the couch and join the fun in gathering together with other believers in the body, by getting involved in our local and worldwide community. Bravo New Life! I can’t wait!
August 31, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Being that I work with the A/V crew, I can say everyone is excited about Live Streaming. Also, we did Live Streaming at my last church in Texas, and it brought in many people from the surrounding areas. Even as far away as 50-60 miles. People will travel that far to go to a good church. Looking forward to the new members!
September 13, 2010 at 9:18 am
It was wonderful to view the live streaming while recovering from a stomach virus…..thankyou for making it available….God is honored as His Holy Networks are being reestablished…..kathy walton
September 19, 2010 at 10:10 am
Watched for the first time today. Watching both services. Very awesome! Thanks!!!!