Ministry On Lockdown: Setup

The world is in the midst of a pandemic. Almost no country is left unscathed but the Covid-19 virus. Governments have closed their nation’s borders and enforced quarantine on their people.

In these times of struggles, fear pushes us to pause and put our lives on hold. For most people, it seems that evil has won. Our joy has diminished. Our hope has decreased. Our lives are diminished. We are dwindling away.

Are we truly dwindling away? Nowadays, people are asking, “How am I going to earn in this crisis?” Church people are asking, “How am I going to serve in this crisis?” However, there are some very smart people who have adapted by working from home. The church would be wise to do the same. Christians can adopt a similar strategy by serving from home.

In order to serve from home, there is a need to set up a makeshift studio. There are 4 basic needs you need for a studio. These are space, camera, lighting, and the internet.

Space is the first thing you need to scout for your serve-from-home setup. It has to be spacious enough for the good work at hand. Make sure to clean up. Clutter has a way of drawing a viewer’s eye.

A camera is absolutely essential but do not break the bank by trying to purchase one especially in this pandemic. You can use your phone to film your service. Just make sure you have enough memory for the videos.

Your setup needs to be appropriately lit. You could use the artificial lighting provided by lamps in your chosen. However, natural lighting is still the best. Consider filming during the day. You can make use of ring lights if you have one. Experiment on different varieties of lighting before the cameras start rolling.

An internet service provider is also crucial. The internet is practically the easiest way to broadcast your service. You may have to adapt your strategy according to your internet speed though. If you have high-speed internet then consider broadcasting your service live. The engagement of video is often higher for live broadcasts. However, if your internet speed is abysmally slow, then you might as well premiere the video as a prerecorded service.

Here is what I use to film our weekly prayer gathering service.

IPhone 11

This is my wife’s phone. We bought it for creative reasons. Apple has so many apps that we could used to create marketing materials. Presently, we are using this phone as our camera and it is just amazing. When we were filming a recent video, we took longer than usual and the day was turning into night. I switched on the light yet it barely registered in the video. It seems is AI is smart enough to know when to brighten and adjust the video. This is definitely a good purchase. I also have my Huawei P20 as our back-up camera.

OBS Camera (App)

This is the companion app that we installed on the iPhone 11 to connect with OBS Studio on our Mac.

BOYA M1 Lavalier Microphone

My wife purchased this lapel microphone the day before the quarantine. It was a wise move since our phone cannot always pick up my voice during filming. The typical microphones are too big and unwieldy. This lapel microphone is a game-changer and we have been using it ever since.

MacBook Pro

This MacBook Pro mid-2012 is a very good deal. It is a secondhand buy that we have never regretted. Many people might consider this laptop outdated but it still works and it’s even better than my other Asus laptop.

OBS Studio (Software)

The OBS Studio software directly links with the OBS Camera app in the IPhone 11. We need this software to add slides and videos.

Tripod

If we didn’t have one, my wife would probably be holding her iPhone 11 for over an hour. Either that or I’d be preaching selfie-style. Thank God we got this tripod that we borrowed from a friend.

Ring Light

This one ain’t mine but we are fortunate enough to be living with a friend who has a passion for hair and makeup. I swear this ring light can make anyone look good. It has many lighting options including one that could mimic natural light. Nothing beats the sun though. We use this in combination with the three o’clock sunlight.

Christ followers, however, will not give in to fear. Priests still celebrate mass daily online. Pastors still preach to their congregation online. Lead worshipers still have praise and worship sessions online. There is no stopping those who follow Jesus.

Points to Ponder

What can you use to keep serving at home?
How do you improve your proficiency in using your tools?

This is one of my lessons on the new course Ministry on Lockdown. Make sure to come back to this website regularly if this has piqued your interest.

Check out our events and do connect with me. I would also be very grateful if you share this post with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless you.