Helping Your Parishioners Meet Their Spiritual Needs During the Pandemic

Churches haven’t stopped serving their parishioners during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet those services tend to look different now than they did at the start of the year. As houses of worship work to accommodate their community, Audio-Video Group is developing more and more ideas to make church accessible.

Hybrid Service Model & How It Works

In-person capacity is likely to continue to be limited through the winter, including the winter holiday season. Many churches use a hybrid model for services, much like classroom teachers are doing throughout the country. In this setup, the churches have some parishioners in person (with physical distancing in place) and others watching a live stream. That live stream could be showing in any number of sites at once: online, in other church locations, in overflow rooms, and more. Facebook and YouTube live are more and more in use for these hybrid services. 

One third attended church in person in August, and three quarters watched services online among regular worshippers. Half of the regular worshippers report replacing in-person services with online services during the pandemic.

Integrate the Technology You Need

Audio-Video Group can help integrate any technology you, as a church leader, need to ensure you’re meeting everyone’s needs. And if you’re wondering how to re-open, we have tips to help. As the temperatures cool, outdoor spaces may become more challenging. We can help coordinate tents as overflow spaces with seating, screens, and even heaters to help keep the safer outdoor alternative viable through the fall season. Allowing parishioners to enjoy church on church grounds, and see their pastors and fellow congregants, will help them feel connected to the community as the days grow shorter.

One unexpected benefit of the pandemic is that some churches are growing their membership with the new prevalence of services streamed online. Now people from anywhere can be part of what your church is doing, even if they live in a different state or country. Plus, many regular parishioners like the streaming option. If they feel ill, need accessibility accommodations, or just struggle to get into a church building, they can stay connected through streaming. To keep this momentum going, we’ve heard from several church leaders that they plan to continue streaming their services indefinitely. 

We Can Help You Serve Your Parishioners

This, of course, requires equipment, and that’s where we’ve got you covered. Camera systems, lighting, and bandwidth are all part of what we do every day. We can even help you find a quality internet service provider with the best rate. Whatever we can do to help you execute the plan, we’re here to do.