(above) Use a green screen over a temporary wall divider to enhance and add variety to virtual classes. For Sunday services, consider using the sanctuary as your backdrop.
By Katie Albrecht
Uncertainty and adversity require people to be adaptable.
For thousands of years, Christian worshipping occurred inside the church sanctuary. However, as we have all seen with the Coronavirus pandemic, disruption can sometimes prevent the “norm” from happening.
Churches everywhere have had to quickly pivot their services for worship to continue at all. Since the beginning of the pandemic, virtual meetings and gatherings have blown up by necessity.
For that reason, here are some tips for virtual setups during a pandemic or other types of disruption.
Hybrid virtual / in-person worship services
Even when we get to the point where we can gather in normal numbers again, offering a hybrid-style worship schedule is the way of the future. Situations come up where churchgoers can’t physically attend a service. In general, people sometimes get sick, injured, or even travel on Sundays and every other day. By offering a hybrid service model, you give your church members the option to still attend worship at their own community church.
Online donation fund
Tithes and offerings are typically a regular income source for the church. If services are not taking place in person, then an alternative option for this funding type becomes essential. For this reason, setting up a virtual donation fund can be extremely helpful. Though there are generic crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, others can specifically cater to the church. For instance, Donor Box is a website dedicated entirely to church / non-profit fundraising.
There is typically a choice between a one-time payment or one that occurs on a weekly, monthly or annual basis on these sites. When more virtually attending members have their donation scheduled automatically, the more funding you can secure each month. Members who attend in-person services can also use this tool to simply make their tithes more automated.
Other virtual service tools
- High-quality A/V equipment
Your members want high-caliber services. Nearly everyone has cameras on them these days.
However, for regularly streamed events, church leaders should invest in even better-quality cameras and microphones. If the video and sound quality are done well, worshippers will be motivated to tune in.
- Video streaming site
This one might seem fairly obvious, but the website you stream your services on also needs to be of the best quality. We’ve all been accustomed to Zoom this last year, but there are also plenty of other options similar to it that might work better for you. BlueJeans is another streaming tool that can work well for church events.
- Clean, professional backdrop
Something easy to forget about while doing virtual meetings is the backdrop behind the speaker. Some teachers have been using green screen technology to enhance and add variety to their classes.
By using a green fabric over a temporary wall divider, you can easily create new images behind a Sunday School teacher for an interactive environment. For Sunday Mass, on the other hand, using the sanctuary as your backdrop works well too.
Offer “office” space to those working remotely
In addition to creating a virtual setup for church services, you can also use your space creatively for those who need to “work from home” as well. When many public places are closed, some people might have difficulty getting work done in their home. If you can create private rooms in your space, you can help others during difficult times by offering them free or cheap rooms to do their work.
In the case of a pandemic, make sure to limit the number of people in the facility at once. Portable room dividers can also create extra classroom space if needed.
Although the pandemic has been hard on everyone, it showed us we are capable of more than we thought during disruptive times. By using the proper tools and services, your church can handle even the toughest of situations.
Katie Albrecht is the Content Marketing Coordinator for Screenflex Portable Room Dividers, the #1 manufacturer of freestanding, portable partitions.
For a little over a year, Albrecht has been creating and overseeing all of the content for the Screenflex website and social media profiles.
Outside of her time at Screenflex, she is an accomplished author and podcaster on topics of mental health.
