Okay. I know this sounds a little extreme. Right now we’re struggling to get the next edition of the church newsletter together, the website hasn’t been updated in a month, and attention to our Facebook page is declining for lack of participation. Now we want to have a YouTube Channel?
Well, maybe yes.
Given the explosion of tools to make videos – smartphones, iPads, inexpensive camcorders – more and more folks are capturing events and occasions of human interest, including what’s happening at churches. Why not have one place where all these can be collected?
A YouTube Channel is much like an account home page. To set up the account, since YouTube is now owned by Google, it’s easiest to start with a Google account. Then go to YouTube (www.youtube.com). At the top right-hand corner of the page is a link called 'Create Account'. Click on this and follow the steps to create a YouTube account using the Gmail details you've just set up. You can try out various usernames, and check to see if they have been taken already.
You can then customize the “home page” with a color scheme and graphics echoing those you use for other church publications, giving a sense of your unique identity.
At the top of your home page, you’ll want to record the URL of your newly created channel, which is essential for publicizing it’s location via newsletter, website and Facebook. For example, the Diocese of Newark’s channel URL is www.youtube.com/user/DioNewark.
Some excellent advice on setting up a YouTube Channel can be found on KnowHowNonProfit’s site at knowhownonprofit.org/how-to/how-to-set-up-a-youtube-channel.
Now you are ready to make or collect and upload those videos – Christmas Eve services, nativity pageants, youth group outings, musical performances, organ recitals – all the kinds of images that reflect the excitement and flavor of your congregation’s life. You can also link to the videos that other members have created, to diocesan videos, or inspirational videos you’ve found as you’ve browsed YouTube.
The videos need not be polished, but should be easy to see and hear. Four to five minutes in length seems to be optimal. Videos shot in landscape perspective are easier to view.
Here is listed the congregations of the Diocese of Newark which have either channels or some other presence on YouTube:
When looking for ways to attract new members to your church, how many times have thought, “If we could just get them in the door they would love us.”
Maybe you thought of creating a commercial via your local cable provider or on one of those diner television screens, but there is just no budget for it.
This is where a YouTube Channel for your congregation can benefit. It is an inexpensive way to allow people to see inside the stained glass, to “try it before you buy it.”
In an increasingly visual world, a YouTube Channel for your congregation is just one more way to convey the message that we are alive and well and doing God’s business.
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