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Livestreaming: Real World Stories From Three Churches

CHURCH #2: THE “STEADFAST”

Current’s Worship Pastor Evan Schwartz oversees their streaming ministry and shared what they value most about streaming:

Some churches are strong, steady, and faithful in serving their communities well for years. That would certainly be true of Current: A Christian Church located in the heart of Katy, Texas.

Allowing new members to participate in our services from home before joining our community is important to us – we hope that it gives them a great idea of what to expect when they come.
Evan Schwartz

With outreach as a primary goal of their broadcasting ministry, quantitative viewership data is of paramount importance to Evan and his team.

We get about 70 people tuning in online each week,” Evan shares, “and this number keeps growing!
Evan Schwartz

DIVING INTO CURRENT’S STREAMING DATA

Taking a look at Current’s viewership analytics from the first few months of this year provides a few noteworthy takeaways that can be applied to a wide range of churches as far as church growth is concerned.

1. Viewership Growth Increases Attendance Growth Opportunity

Though at one point in time Evan reported regularly connecting with 70 viewers each week, Current’s average viewership has grown to surpass 100 weekly viewers on a regular basis. Growth in weekly online viewership provides a wonderful opportunity for Current to meaningfully connect with more viewers in their community on a weekly basis that could very realistically turn into in-person attendees.

2. Growth Isn’t Always Linear:

Though one Sunday might register nearly 130 live viewers for Evan and his team, the following weeks’ viewership might occasionally dip back to around 70 people from time to time. As with any sort of data, overall conclusions should be made on average over a longer duration rather than on a week to week basis. Online engagement and viewership growth can most accurately be measured on “the whole” over time as opposed to one or two slower weeks studied in isolation.

3. Website Viewership Reigns:

Though Current did consistently register a handful of viewers each week on their social platforms, the most likely place for them to reach prospective visitors and current members were through their church website, as displayed under the label “BoxCast” in the teal coloring. Social media simulcasting is a wonderful thing, but churches focused on online outreach should keep their focus on their website’s streams.

4. Outreach Opportunity Lies in “Live”

An overwhelming majority of Current’s online viewers preferred to tune into services while they were happening live. Though your archived streams will meaningfully connect with people, folks looking for a church will often stream services live to get a true Sunday morning feel of what it would be like to visit and be part of your congregation.

A FINAL WORD FROM CURRENT

Streaming is all about reaching as many people as possible and is a great way to spread the gospel. A growing church is a healthy church and can be used by God to do great things. Jesus asked us to reach people, so we should do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Evan Schwartz

Growing churches care about reaching people in every way possible. In our day and age, churches like Current look at streaming as a no-brainer opportunity that can help them meaningfully connect with new people. Whether these folks wind up watching mostly online or predominantly sitting in Current’s sanctuary on Sundays, Evan and his coworkers will happily take either opportunity to push people closer to Jesus, no matter the modality of the opportunity.