Live Streaming from Facebook to the Mobile App
This guide has been put together to help small churches without a media team stream their worship service to the GoDoChurch Mobile app via Facebook Live. We realise there are probably better ways to do this, but this is the simplest way for our smaller churches without lost of resources to do this.
Here is another helpful article: https://www.switcherstudio.com/blog/how-to-livestream-your-church-service-for-free
Things you will need:
- Stable internet
- A phone with a good camera and internet connection
- A computer with your GoDoChurch admin system and your Facebook profile/page open on it.
The basic premise of this help file is:
- Start a Facebook Live video on your phone, making sure the privacy setting is set on public.
- Go to a PC, open up the GoDoChurch Admin system and the Facebook Profile/page that the video is taking place on. Copy that video post link from Facebook and paste it in the Sermon URL field in GDC when you create a sermon.
- This will make the video link available in the GoDoChurch App for streaming.
- When a member wants to listen to the Sermon, they go to that sermon on the app and click on Listen in Browser.
Setting up your video stream on Facebook/Youtube
Please read this article from Facebook before you continue: Live-stream an event on Facebook.
You will have to decide from where on Facebook you want to stream the video: your options are from the pastor's profile, the Church Facebook page or a Facebook event that you created. Where ever you choose, please make sure that the Video post that you create has it's privacy settings set to Public so anybody with the link can watch the sermon.
Starting a live stream video
You will want to create this live stream post a few minutes before you start your Service. Make sure the phone is stable and that you have a even coloured background behind you. You can also play with the video settings to make sure that you send out a video that isn't too dark. We also suggest not making the video HD quality, this enlarges the amount of data your members will need to view the sermon.
There are 2 places that you need to set it up - on your phone and on your computer.
On your phone:
- Open up the Facebook app and click the Live Video Icon.
- Set the Privacy setting at the top to Public and then click on Start live video.
On your computer
Step 1: GoDoChurch
- Open up GoDoChurch and go to Menu>> Communication>> Sermons.
- Click the Sermons button of the channel you want to use.
- Click Add Sermon.
- You will be presented with a New Sermon text box.
- Enter the Title of your new sermon.
- Enter a Summary of the sermon (short description).
- Leave the Sermon URL text block blank for now. This is where you will post the Facebook link.
Step 2: Facebook
- Go to Facebook, log in and find the video post of the Live video.
- Open the Video post on a separate tab/window and copy the URL/Link.
- NOTE: The link should look something like THIS: www.facebook.com/lindidr/videos/10158179663674532/ and not like this www.facebook.com/YourProfileName
Step 3: Linking the Facebook post and GoDoChurch
- Copy the link of the Video post.
- Navigate back to GoDoChurch and past the link in the Sermon URL box indicated above in step 2.
- Click Save.
This sermon is now available on the GoDoChurch app for live viewing and for future watching.
Listen to a Live Stream sermon on the app
Please give us feedback below on this help file as technology is ever-changing.