We’re not all tech savvy. But it’s not difficult to learn.

Here are a few selected sources of information.

• YouTube is a user-friendly way to record and upload and share your videos. For those with zero experience, here’s a primer: Create a new channel. You’ll need a gmail address to start, so watch the video first. Below the video are written instructions on how to set up a channel for yourself or congregation.
• Once you have a channel, here’s how to record and upload: Upload videos in YouTube studio.
• For those who have a basic understanding and perhaps have used video but want to go to the next level, Rev. Grant Vissers of Knox Presbyterian Church, Waterdown, Ontario shares his gifts and experience this instructional video. How To Record Yourself For YouTube
• Livestreaming is a different creature altogether. Facebook and YouTube have the capability if you want something free. PCC has assembled this broad overview of options available: Introduction to Live Streaming for Churches But you get what you pay for. There are products and services in which you pay for air time. Some livestream services literally broadcast the worship and when it’s over, that’s it. You have to wait a day or two for the service to process the video and then make the podcast available to upload.
• Outreach is a company that appears to be dedicated to helping the church, as indicated by its slogan “share God’s love.” Go to Outreach and click on the COVID-19 tab on the far-left banner.

You are not alone. While change of any sort is always stressful, we pray that this time will be used to move us closer to God. I firmly believe that God works in times of trouble. You don’t have to be a Pollyanna to believe this.

We are learning technology in a new way. We are preparing for the inevitable response of the unchurched who will be looking for meaning in life.

We are aware that this upheaval may be too much for some congregations to sustain. Out of the ashes, new life can grow.

Here’s some helpful resources.

Help for pastors and church leaders:

• As we do ministry exclusively online for the first time, we are invited to consider how our buildings may be holding us back from being a truer incarnation of Christ’s body. Could this be a wake-up call? Rev. David Webber’s presentation to a workshop in 2009, Liberating The Body of Christ, may be even more relevant today. You are invited to take time to read, pray and ponder how the Lord may be trying to shake us and wake us.
• Better Than Before – a conversation with pastors Matthew Ruttan, Alex Douglas, and Christine O’Reilly on how things can be better than they were before the pandemic.
• Dr. Clyde Ervine offers some Reflections on COVID-19 as he engages the pandemic theologically to discern possible lessons for God’s people as they pursue faithfulness.

Back to Basics: open the Bible, learn and grow.

• Pastor Timothy Keller has inspired millions. He’s also a Presbyterian.
• The Gospel Coalition is filled with goodness.
• Ligonier Ministries  is the teaching fellowship of the late R.C. Sproul. The website is filled with insightful wisdom. As of March 25, all teaching series (more than 2,500 messages) are free to stream.
• Find a Bible reading plan. Start reading and studying today. YouVersion Bible app has access to several excellent plans.
• Ravi Zacharias International Ministries is producing Take Five, daily videos presented by a different speaker each week.

 Tell our stories:

• We’ve reached out to ministry leaders to ask them to share the best things that have transpired and the worst, along with hope for what may lay ahead. Email your suggestions to Andy Cornell <amcpastor1@gmail.com>.

Stay tuned. More to come!