Something happened during COVID that I couldn’t have ever anticipated: I became a televangelist. Our sermons are live-streamed and recorded here. My focus continues to be on the people to whom I preach at Malvern Hill, but increasingly, I have to be mindful of the fact that people outside of Malvern Hill are watching and listening to our services. Just this week I was told of several people who live outside of our area, but who watch or listen to our sermons every week.
As a result of this shift in ministry, there are several things that I have changed about my preaching. No, I haven’t started soliciting money from internet viewers or selling prayer cloths (yet). However, if you are like me and you’re preaching has suddenly gone from local to (potentially) international through the internet, here are a few suggestions you should consider:
- Put scripture on the screen. Inside of a normal sanctuary setting, I have always eschewed the display of scripture on the screens because I want people to learn to read from their Bibles and to be encouraged to carry their Bibles. But, since the sermon will be broadcast far and wide, scripture is front and center on the screen in bold text when we read it during a service.
- Make the main thing the main thing. You are there to preach God’s word. Don’t allow all of the distractions of cameras and A/V equipment to take away from the main focus during a sermon. Being broadcast on the internet doesn’t change your purpose.
- Make eye-contact. Remember, your audience isn’t only in front of you, they are on the other side of the cameras in your sanctuary. In the past, I had to make sure to turn around and make eye-contact with the choir occasionally. Now, there is no choir, but I need to occasionally look into the camera and make eye-contact with people joining us at home.
- Be mindful of your internet audience. A passing reference to “those of you watching at home,” or “for those tuning in from your phone,” is an easy way to let those watching online know that you are aware of their presence and you value them.
- Beware of becoming a meme. There are certain illustrations or jokes I could share with my church family that wouldn’t go over well on the internet. Just a few Sundays ago, I had an idea for an illustration that involved a firearm. My church people would have loved it and it would have communicated my point very strongly. But, it could have been sorely misunderstood outside of Malvern Hill. I didn’t want to become the “gun preacher” or some other internet caption. So, I found a different illustration.
- Quality matters. COVID forced us to all become internet worship providers. Not every church can produce TV studio quality video, but all of us should be working to make our video and audio as good as it possibly can be. Ask for honest feedback on the quality of your videos. Remember, your people who can’t get out depend on these services and messages to keep them connected to their church and to encourage them in hard days. They deserve for your videos to look better than a basement web-cam interrogation. Do all you can to continue to improve your broadcast, and if you don’t know how, ask someone to help you. Helpful hint: lighting is often a problem for church videos. You can add lighting for cheap with flood lights from Home Depot or Lowes.
- Be you. Phillips Brooks said that preaching is “truth through personality.” Even though you are on the internet now, don’t try to be something you aren’t. Your authenticity has to come through in your preaching or you won’t be believable in person or online.
- Think about your clothes. I add this one because I wore a shirt once that, under our stage lighting, made me look orange on screen. Maybe it wouldn’t have been a distraction for anyone other than me, but it drove me crazy. Watch your videos occasionally. Consider how your clothes look on camera. But, also consider your mannerisms and the setting where you are preaching. Do you need to move something off the stage or add something to the backdrop? Do you need to look into the camera more or stop shuffling your feet?
- Give people a way to respond. We created a response option at our website with a link displayed at the closing of the sermon. If you are going to preach to people online, make sure they know how they can respond to the sermon.
I never meant to become a televangelist, but here I am. And, for other pastors in an age of COVID, you are in the same boat. Make the most of it. God may just use these days to further spread his good news.
Photo by Sara Kurfeßon Unsplash
