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Support ArticlesYour Guide to the Best Church Live Streaming Equipment in 2025
The internet has proven to be a blessing for ministries, and it no longer limits them to local reach when seeking new members. Instead, many are turning to expand their outreach, making live-streaming church services a cornerstone of outreach and engagement for many congregations.
If your church wishes to begin a live-streaming program, investing in the right live-streaming equipment is crucial. it’s a valuable option for congregations to consider even when they can throw open their doors to in-person worshippers.
This guide provides an in-depth look at the latest equipment and software for streaming church services in 2025. Get all the latest information and make informed choices that fit your needs and budget.
Table of Contents
- Why Live Stream Church Services
- Live Streaming Equipment Needed for Church Services
- What to Look for in Live Streaming Software in 2025
- Tips for Live Streaming During the Holidays
- Conclusion
Why Live Stream Church Services
You can livestream your church services to expand your congregation’s reach or due to a logistical necessity. Live streaming is more than a technological convenience—it’s a vital tool for bridging geographical barriers and building stronger communities, providing your church with a variety of benefits.
Let’s take a look at each of these reasons in a little more detail:
1. Bring in New Worshippers
Hosting bring-a-friend services and advertising are limited to your congregation’s physical sphere of influence. After a certain radius around your church, your ability to find new people is going to diminish greatly.
Live streaming solutions for small churches open doors to those unable to attend and help you reach new people. The only obstacle is their ability to find you online.
People new to the area, those exploring faith, or individuals with accessibility challenges can connect with your church, ensuring you reach more people than ever before. And once they’re watching your services, they’re more likely to return for future services and become loyal watchers if they like what they see.
In addition, you can still leverage your current congregation to become your fiercest promoters when you broadcast your church services online.
Post links to the live stream on your social media channels and encourage worshippers to share those posts. These shares become even more powerful if your worshippers share that they’re featured in the service, or if they pull something meaningful from the message.
2. Maintain Current Congregation
Similar to expanding your congregation, live streaming your services can help you maintain the current congregation size. People’s church service attendance stalls or stops entirely for a variety of reasons, including:
- Age preventing them from getting to church
- Illness or threat of illness
- Transportation issues
- Scheduling conflicts
- Childcare concerns
- Relocating permanently
Live-streaming church services are used to allow members to remain connected regardless of their circumstances. Watching the service live from the comfort of their homes, or viewing a recording when they can, will maintain their participation in your congregation and keep them engaged even from afar.
3. Be Prepared
Natural disasters, building renovations, non-working utilities, and flooding remind us of the importance of remote accessibility. Churches equipped with streaming capabilities can ensure continuity of worship and support even in difficult times. This leaves your team scrambling to find an alternate location.
If you’re already live streaming your services, or at least are prepared with the right tools and live streaming equipment for church, you can quickly adapt your services temporarily. This allows you to continue to host services with as little interruption to the normal routine as necessary. It gives your congregation that feeling of connection and comfort in what may otherwise be uncertain times.
4. Bring in Far-Flung Guest Speakers
Guest speakers bring new energy to your church services, but getting them to come to speak can be a hassle. Travel arrangements, places to stay, and scheduling can make finding new, interesting guest speakers difficult.
Broadcasting your church services makes it easier to feature guest speakers or performers who may be miles away. With the right technology, their sermons, lectures, or music can reach your congregation as if they were in the room
Holiday live-streaming solutions for small churches are a blessing. All that’s needed is affordable live-streaming gear for churches and exciting guest speakers, which can help you bring in new people who otherwise wouldn’t attend your services.
5. Improve Donation Income
Donations and churches have an unbreakable bond. They pay salaries, keep operations running, and plan outreach efforts for causes important to your congregation.
Platforms like Dacast’s church live streaming solution can help in this respect and encourage contributions from online viewers. By using live-streaming equipment and organizing charity events, you expand your donor base and sustain church activities. It’s an excellent way to engage those unable to attend and collect donations from worshippers all over the world.
Live Streaming Equipment Needed for Church Services
To live stream your church services, you will need to invest in a church live streaming equipment setup and tools to make streaming easier and give your recordings a more polished, professional appearance.
While you could simply use someone’s smartphone and stream using a free platform such as Facebook Live, there are limits to the quality and length of service you can stream with this method. To give your worshippers the feeling that they’re in a church with you, you’ll need to invest in high-quality church live-streaming equipment, including:
- Camera
- Tripod
- Video switcher
- Live streaming platform
There are wide ranges in price points and complexity for each of these items, so you could begin your live streaming journey with something less expensive. As you get more experienced and knowledgeable, spend a little more money to upgrade your live-streaming equipment for the church.
Selecting the right equipment involves considering your church’s budget and technical expertise. Here’s a breakdown of essential tools for live streaming.
1. Camera
Cameras are suitable for live streaming and range from lightweight and easy-to-use to bulky and feature-rich. Investing in affordable live-streaming gear for churches, like a live-streaming camera, depends greatly on what you need it to do. Let’s explore options for various budgets:
If You’re on a Budget
Beginner video cameras can produce decent video quality, but you may have to compensate by ensuring optimal lighting conditions. These cameras are more lightweight and less expensive, but they don’t offer as much control over your shot as a more expensive camera.
If You’ve Got a Little to Spend
Middle-grade video cameras offer better picture quality and more control over your shot, but they will cost more than a beginner camera. These cameras can tend to be a bit bulkier, so they may not be ideal if you plan to do a lot of moving while recording.
Our choice: Logitech Brio Webcam, starting at $149.99
If You’re Ready to Invest
Professional video cameras can come with hefty price tags, but they offer the best in video quality and manual controls. Some may even allow for interchangeable lenses, giving you even greater control over your shots.
Our choice: Sigma fp Mirrorless Digital Camera, $1,899.00
2. Video Mixer
A video mixer allows you to switch between camera feeds, add overlays, play pre-recorded footage, and create a polished broadcast.
Budget video mixers provide a few different HDMI input options, so you can mix from a few different sources. As your confidence with live streaming church services increases and you add in more complex elements, you will need to upgrade to a more expensive option that offers multiple mixing inputs.
If You’re on a Budget
When looking for your church streaming setup, you need to find an affordable yet powerful mixer. It should support up to four inputs and integrate with streaming platforms seamlessly.
- Our choice: Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini, $295
If You’ve Got a Little to Spend
Spend a little more money on your mixer and camera to get more input. Look for advanced features like audio mixing and multiple HDMI inputs, ideal for mid-range budgets
If You’re Ready to Invest
Multi-camera streaming and picture-in-picture capability are essential when live-streaming church services in a large space. Spending some extra cash to get these options will take your services to the next level. Look for a premium option with advanced features like 8-input switching, built-in storage, and remote control capabilities. It’s ideal for large-scale productions.
- Our choice: Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio HD8, $3195
3. Tripod
When live-streaming church services, the camera will mostly be positioned in one place. Rather than having someone stand in one place to hold the camera, a tripod is an essential investment that ensures stable footage, critical for professional-looking streams.
If this holiday season is the first time you’ll be investing in a church streaming setup, look for something that’s durable and has a more fluid drag head, allowing you to tilt and pan without causing your shot to look jerky. Its legs should telescope in and out fluidly, so you don’t have to deal with individual legs getting stuck when you need to adjust a shot.
If You’re on a Budget
A mini or light tripod with light load capacity will work fine for most uses.
- Our choice: AmazonBasics Lightweight Tripod, $24.69
If You’ve Got a Little to Spend
Tabletop tripods are a little more expensive and can take some more weight if you’re ready to pay a little more money. Look for one that combines durability with flexibility and offers a great mid-range option for cameras and smartphones.
- Our choice: Manfrotto Compact Action Tripod, $164.95
If You’re Ready to Invest
If you have more money to invest, look for a tripod designed for professional videography. They offer superior stability and fluid motion and are a great choice for a high-end church streaming setup.
- Our choice: Sachtler Ace XL Tripod System, $1,197.00
4. Live Streaming Platform
The choice of a live-streaming platform can make or break your broadcasting experience. Platforms like Dacast are specifically tailored for churches, offering seamless integration with advanced features like video monetization and live recording.
Choose a streaming software that allows live-streaming church services online. The options in broadcasting software range from free to enterprise-grade, with each option offering slightly more functionality and features to your streaming.
If You’re on a Budget
Free live streaming platforms such as Facebook Live, YouTube, and Periscope mean you’re not putting out any money to
Facebook Live, Periscope, and YouTube Live are all free streaming platforms for those starting with basic streaming needs. However, their customization and monetization options are limited.
They allow limited time to stream your services, there is no option to record services for later use, and the platforms own control over your content.
If You’re Ready to Invest
Selecting a professional live streaming platform brings with it a wealth of benefits, including:
- Simulcasting, meaning you can record and live stream at the same time
- Video hosting for pre-recorded live streams and other video content
- Monetization options if you elect to offer paid video series
- You maintain ownership and control over your content
- Embed your video streams into your own website while maintaining your church branding
- Advanced analytics so you can track who is viewing your videos
Price ranges for professional live streaming software vary widely, so give careful consideration to the features you need and those you don’t when choosing your streaming platform solution.
What to Look for in Live Streaming Software in 2025
Various live streaming software differ in storage capacities, professional tools, and security features they offer. They bridge the gap between your equipment and your platform. Dacast is a great choice that offers features like ad-free streaming, analytics, and donation integration—perfect for churches looking to scale up their online ministry.
If you decide on the higher-tier Dacast plans provide enterprise-grade solutions, including unlimited bandwidth, advanced security, and custom branding. It’s the ideal choice for large congregations with significant online audiences.
Here are key features to prioritize when selecting the best platform for live streaming church services:
1. Live Stream Recording
Recording live streams allows you to archive sermons and events, such as Christmas church programs, for on-demand viewing. Platforms like Dacast offer automatic live recording and video playback, ensuring no moment is lost while increasing the potential to capture more viewers. The pre-recorded content can be shared as-is to allow people to replay it, or you can use snippets to integrate into other content.
2. Video Hosting
The live-streaming solutions for small churches also include robust hosting options that allow you to store and organize video content. It’s a great start to creating a library of content your worshippers can view on their own time. So, organize and store the content properly for easy access.
A live streaming platform like Dacast offers secure professional video hosting with unlimited storage options. Create playlists of related content, which is a perfect way of maintaining a library of past services and special events, sermons, lessons, and other videos.
3. Video Monetization
While making money off your live streams may not be your first goal, that doesn’t mean you have to completely put aside the opportunity to bring in some money for your church.
For churches looking to generate income through streaming, Dacast offers a built-in monetization option like the paywall, with access to pay-per-view/subscriptions/promo codes. It offers users the main tools to monetize their videos.
Hosting special courses that require a lot of time and resources to prepare, for example, can become something you charge for and, as a result, allow you to bring in more money for your ministry so you can continue to do the important work you do.
Tips for Live Streaming During the Holidays
The holidays bring a surge in attendance, both in-person and online. Proper preparation ensures a smooth experience, so here are some tips on live-streaming church services during the holiday season:
- Test Equipment Early: High traffic can strain your system. Run rehearsals to troubleshoot any issues.
- Use Seasonal Graphics: Platforms like Dacast support overlays and lower-thirds for festive branding.
- Promote Your Stream: Share links on social media and email newsletters well in advance.
- Enable Donations: Use platforms that allow seamless giving, especially during high-engagement services.
Conclusion
Live streaming church services is a great opportunity to maintain the engagement of your current congregation, expand your reach, and be prepared for unforeseen circumstances that can interrupt in-person worship. This is why, equipping your church for live streaming in 2024 involves careful planning and investment, so you can create a professional, engaging experience for worshippers everywhere. All you nee are right tools and software to make all the difference in growing your ministry digitally.
As one of the industry’s leading live streaming platforms, Dacast has everything your team needs to create professional, polished streamed church services so your congregation can worship at home.
Ready to see how Dacast can make live streaming your church services easier? Try it free for 30 days. No credit card information is required, and you won’t be obligated to pay any hefty start-up fees or sign a contract.
Any questions? Let us know in the chat box below! We have experience with most kinds of live video streaming equipment, and we can help you with any recommendations you may need. For live streaming tips and exclusive offers, join our LinkedIn group.
Thanks for reading and happy streaming!
