The Rise of Churches Producing Local Television in Smaller Markets

One of the things I never expected during a pandemic was the rise of churches using local TV to share their message. In markets like Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Lebanon, Ohio; Mandeville, Louisiana; and Destin, Florida; visionary churches have embraced broadcast TV during the lockdown and are making a powerful impact on their communities.

The problem is that so many pastors and leaders consider broadcast television a platform of yesterday rather than tomorrow. But there’s plenty of reasons that I’m not ready to count TV out of the game. After all, when movies were invented in the late 1800’s, that didn’t eliminate live events. And when radio was invented it didn’t eliminate movies. And when TV was invented it didn’t eliminate radio. And now, the Internet won’t eliminate television. Certainly things change and during each transition, the previous medium finds a new level. But ultimately they all find their place in the media universe. Read More

First United Methodist Church of Murray, Kentucky streams its Sunday services on Facebook and on the local cable TV network. Older members of the community may not have internet but they do have cable TV. They are able to view  the church's services over the local cable TV network. The church was doing this before the COVID-19 pandemic but the practice  has proven a boon since the pandemic. 

In addition to local broadcast and cable TV, another medium that churches might use is local radio. Broadcasting a service is simpler than streaming a service and people in rural areas often have poor TV reception and no internet access. They are, however, able to hear their local radio station.

What I have observed is that churches have a lot to learn about videoing their services for streaming on the Internet or local broadcast or cable TV--for instance, using tight, close-up shots of the pastor, assistant ministers, cantors, and other vocalists and avoiding panning the camera back and forth across a sparsely-filled sanctuary or taking long, panorama shots of the praise band spread out across the platform. When people attend church, they rarely look around them. They look at specific people on the platform. They may look at an altar or a wall cross or some other focal point. Facebook and TV viewers do not need a bird's eye view of the service. What they need is a visual experience similar to one that they would have if they were there in the sanctuary. As for the lyrics of hymns and songs, it is better to use large letter captioning or have the slide of the lyrics fill the entire screen. Viewers do not need to see the cantor or other vocalist. All they need to see is the lyrics and to hear the cantor or other vocalist.