Churches that have placed sermons online have the equipment to also do Podcasting. This is a media series, either video or audio, that covers a series of topics. It can be related to the weekly sermon, or something totally different. The advantage is that the podcasts can reach a larger audience than the sermons do, potentially global in outreach.

How do you get started? All you need are some microphones and a digital recorder for audio only. If you want to do video, then you’ll need multiple cameras and lighting. Then pick a quiet space. It can be the pastor’s study, or the parlor – just make sure that there isn’t any outside noise. Then find a time for recording with whoever the pastor wants to talk to. It can be a one-on-one conversation about the topic of the day. Or you can have additional visitors. Simply record the entire session as the podcast.

After you record the session, edit it to remove any goofs or breaks. Add an opener and a closer. Once you have the completed podcast, publish it on the Church website. (It might be a link to a 3rd party service.) Then publicize it for the congregation to know about it.

After the podcast has gotten going, be sure to assess the impact. The 3rd party service should provide some metrics for engagement. You’ll want to track this data going forward, so you can evaluate the impact of the podcast series. Which topics got the greatest impact? Which topics covered the most important topics for the Church? How many people started the podcast and how many finished it? These and other questions will help you assess the effectiveness of this technical ministry.

With our large church buildings comes a problem – how do you ensure that everyone can hear the Word? An audio system is required to reinforce the sound so that everyone in every seat can hear distinctly. A good sound system makes a big difference to worship. But how do you find a good audio desk?

There are plenty of options to choose from – too many to list. But some general criteria to consider are as follows:

• Number of microphones – i.e. this determines the number of channels you will need
• Location of any fixed sound sources, e.g. a choir loft
• Number of musicians – i.e. how big of an orchestra do you plan to have for that Christmas contata?
• Location of the sound booth – e.g. on the main floor or in the balcony

Once you have some ideas about the sound system, then you can explore all of the vendors. And you will find a lot of them out there, eager to show you their equipment. (Some will even bring it on site to demo.) This is where quality and cost comes into the picture, and you will want to choose carefully to get the best value for the money.