Here are 6 tips I’m sharing with our online volunteers to help them be better hosts in our online services.
________
Hello, First Name Last Name,
As you may know, by now, we are directing all our services for this weekend to online-only (read the statement from Pastor Bryan LINK). We were discussing some of the help we would need for our online services; we determined that having people placed strategically in our online streams acting as informal moderators would be beneficial for the quality of the online experience.
I’m reaching out to you because we think you are someone who would be able to help with this opportunity.
We are looking for people who could:
- Act as hosts in the stream, welcoming people when they join.
- Interact in the comment section with other people watching.
- Guide people by pointing out essential announcements.
- Follow along with the sermon and comment back with Bible verses and points from Pastor Bryan’s message. (An email with Bible verses and quotes will be available after you respond and let me know if you’re able to help.)
- Flagging abuse, because sometimes, we encounter individuals who are trying to push their agenda. We will need to monitor anybody posting comments that aren’t relevant to the topic of the stream, and in case of verbal abuse or use of obscene language, we will need to block such individuals.
- Provide prayer for individuals in need, and also connect them with our prayer team.
This volunteer role is evolving as this is the first time we’re using a group to help us accomplish anything like this. Given the nature of the weekend, we thought it would be appropriate to test this out and see if it would improve our online experience.
If you’re able to help, please reply to this email and let me know which service you’re ready to help host.
Thank you!
Pastor Danny De los Reyes
______________________
I hope that you leverage the shift to online only for your church. The purpose of this post is to tell you that you don’t need the fanciest setup if you can’t afford it, start or improve your online ministry by first asking philosophical questions about its purpose. The goal isn’t to have the fanciest streams; the goal is to connect people to Christ and to reach people where they are during these moments of isolation.