With the growth of the internet we are open to a whole new world of opportunities as Christians. One of these new opportunities are church podcasts – which we shall look at in more detail in today’s article.
What is a Church Podcast?
Many people have heard of the term ‘podcast’ but very few know exactly what it means. Some people have the misconception that a podcast is simply listening to an audio file online – however it is much more exciting than this!
There is a big difference between just having downloadable audio files online and a podcast. With audio files your listeners have to visit the website whenever a new sermon is posted and download it whereas with a church podcast you are essentially subscribing to the sermons as you would a magazine.
Through a program such as iTunes the podcasts are automatically downloaded to your computer as they become available.
Many churches are starting to have podcasts whereby they record their sermons and upload them for users to subscribe and listen to at their pleasure.
Benefits of a Church Podcast
There are lots of benefits to church podcasts, largely that it makes it much easier for your church members to download recorded sermons without having to repeatedly check the website.
It also gives those who cannot attend church to listen to any sermons that they missed or to listen to any again that they particularly enjoyed. People from other parts of the country or even from other countries can also subscribe to a church’s podcast giving everyone an opportunity to hear different points of views and opinions from different churches.
A key benefit of church podcasts is it gives a church more opportunity to spread the message they are preaching to a much wider community than their church congregation. It means that the message can stay permanently online for people to refer back to and listen to at a later date.
How do Church Podcasts Work?
If you want to start a church podcast then it is relatively simple to get it started. Your website designer can show you how to set up a podcast – it is very simple and once it is set up you can simply import your sermon recording into your web directory and it will automatically be sent out to all of your subscribers.
If you’re interested in the technicalities of a church podcast then there are three main parts to a podcast – sermon MP3’s, an XML podcast file and an RSS aggregator. The webmaster (you or someone else) uploads the sermon MP3’s onto your church’s website. The XML podcast file is then updated so it knows to send out a new podcast to your subscribers and the RSS aggregator is the program such as iTunes that knows when a person has subscribed to your podcast.
However, the details aren’t important if you are getting someone else to run your podcast for you! For your members signing up to a podcast is very simple – and simply requires the click of a button.
How to Ensure your Church Podcast is High Quality
The key to gaining and keeping subscribers to your podcast is to make sure that your audio files are of a good quality. There is no point publishing a podcast that is poor quality and you can’t hear all of the words that are spoken.
You should always start by recording a very high quality audio file – many people choose to record it straight onto a CD or onto the computer. You can then make the file size smaller afterwards so that it is more easily and quickly downloaded by your subscribers.
It is also important that you ensure your church podcast is in an MP3 format as this file can be downloaded by everyone and doesn’t leave anyone out!
How to Join a Church Podcast
Joining a church podcast is incredibly easy. If your local church has a podcast then simply head to their website and click subscribe to their podcast – there is very little more to it.
You may want to listen to church podcasts from other churches – so do a quick search on the internet for churches that have podcasts. There are several websites that have listings of churches around the USA and the rest of the world that have free church podcasts that you can subscribe to.
