Media Outreach

So, I’ve seen lots of churches take on live streaming to reach the growing online community.  With the rate of online users access streaming video each day, there is no question that churches should consider their role in this essential outreach tool.

I’m always excited to hear that churches I work with are experimenting with live streaming because, while this is often times a financial step of faith, it indicates a desire to reach people where they are.

Last week, I visited a church website that had just added live streaming to their site. Since it was a Monday, the live stream page obviously didn’t have a service playing. Instead, it was their church logo.  Because of the free streaming service they use, an advertisement played.

The first word out of the actor’s mouth in this ad said the “B” word.  I was totally taken back. I know this church has no control over the advertisements.  They may even be embarrassed to hear about it.

When our church launched the website back in January, we experienced something similar. To ensure that our site had multimedia on every page, we embedded a few YouTube videos.  It was a cute stop-motion video of a little toy pig on the Children’s Ministry page.

Following the completion of the video on the page, the list of “related videos” displayed on the page. What, you ask, did it advertise? None other than a documentary of the dissection of a pig. It was grotesque and disgusting. Most of us have had to do something like this in our middle school or high school years, but we would never want to scare a kiddo, you know?  It took us all of 5 minutes to take the video off the website.

With the church always looking to be good stewards of its funds, where do we draw the line?  Is free worth it?  Do you see a problem with ads like this being displayed on your church website? While we are trying to reach a generation in the midst of their culture, where is the boundary of remaining above reproach?

I really believe it could be argued either way!  Let’s see if we can get a general consensus here… Vote below.  Does it matter what is advertised on your website following a free streaming occurrence? Yes or No?  Explanations welcomed.

Photo By: jking89