Videos and Podcasts

How does the Church respond during a crisis like COVID-19? Do we give in to the impulse to demand to get our way, or do we allow God to soften our hearts and show us what really is “essential” in following Jesus? This series of interviews focuses on the ways Southern California ministry leaders are seeing God move in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dream Center in Lake Elsinore has always been a “Church Without Walls,” building relationships with people and sharing the love of Christ through service. When the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic became clear to Rev. Brett Masters and his team, they knew they couldn’t keep doing things the way they always had.

From feeding the hungry to being a caring voice on a helpline, the Dream Center continues to be an essential part of their Lake Elsinore community.

Find out more about Dream Center Lake Elsinore at:
https://www.dreamcenterle.org/

Are you a church pastor, worship leader, or media tech who’s been put in charge of recording and live streaming your services and wondering how to get started? This series is all about giving you the tools and resources to help you ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and get up and running faster than you might expect.

With OBS Studio, Skype, and YouTube Live, even the smallest organization can put together a high-quality live stream production with the gear and people they have right now. This video shows you, step-by-step, how to get started and begin experimenting with your live stream.

Created by the communications team for the Free Methodist Church in Southern California for anyone looking to build better community connections online. Make sure to subscribe to get alerts when new videos are added to this course.

# Links
– Free Methodist Church in Southern California – https://fmcsc.org
– OBS Studio – https://obsproject.com/
– Skype for Creators – https://www.skype.com/en/content-creators/
– NDI for OBS – https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-ndi-newtek-ndi-integration-into-obs-studio.528/

Jon Sato, Assistant Superintendent for Administration of the Free Methodist Church in Southern California (FMCSC), reflects on the last seven years of working with and leading a remote ministry team. Jon shares how understanding your team’s inherent communication styles can transform the way your team works remotely. He also lays out pitfalls that remote teams often run into as they rush to do more with fewer resources. This honest interview is a great starting place for understanding how you can use remote working to grow your ministry, if you’re willing to be honest with yourself.

This video is part of a series intended to help our pastors and churches move skillfully into doing ministry online. If you have questions or would like to speak with us about additional resourcing, feel free to get in touch by email ([email protected]) or by visiting our website at fmcsc.org.

The novel coronavirus outbreak has required us all to think differently and embrace innovation in our ministries. It’s time to think differently about Annual Conference, too.

Over the past weeks, we’ve heard story after story about how, as a response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, you and your congregation have continued to think differently and embrace innovative approaches to ministry: staying connected to ensure that our most vulnerable members are being taken care of, and using online tools to build community.

Your consistency in leadership with your church through regular communication – constantly reminding people that they have a team of people who are supporting them spiritually and physically – has shown an authentic attentiveness that has strengthened our churches in the face of challenge.

It’s become clear that we need to think differently about Annual Conference and build on that consistency of leadership that we’ve seen across the Free Methodist Church in Southern California. In all times, Annual Conference is a time of transition with new board members, new ministerial leaders, and pastors moving between appointments. Making these changes at this time would create holes in leadership structures, putting the full weight of this crisis on new members in leadership positions without time to learn the ropes and leaving our most vulnerable members in a state of flux.

Because of all these things, we are postponing Annual Conference 2020 until Fall. We will use the spring and summer to evaluate our changing needs as a conference. Our nominating committee will be working hard to adjust their candidate evaluation process, taking into account state and local restrictions on gatherings. This will give us time to make better informed appointments and provide more time to review candidates for board positions.

We know God is going to continue to move in our churches, and we’re excited to make Annual Conference 2020 a celebration of God’s grace and love as we take on the challenges caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus.

We will continue to communicate as details are finalized. In the meantime, we want to hear from you how God is teaching you to rely on the Spirit for strength, wisdom, and empowerment. We’re praying for you.

May God bring you peace.

Your Superintendent Team,
Rev. Charles Latchison
Rev. Glen Prior
Rev. Fraser Venter

Are you a church pastor, worship leader, or media tech who’s been put in charge of recording and live streaming your services and wondering how to get started? This series is all about giving you the tools and resources to help you ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and get up and running faster than you might expect.

We review different approaches to live streaming and consider ways to improve the experience while building stronger, local communities. A must-watch for churches deciding on whether or not to live stream their services.

Created by the communications team for the Free Methodist Church in Southern California for anyone looking to build better community connections online. Make sure to subscribe to get alerts when new videos are added to this course.

# Links
– Free Methodist Church in Southern California – https://fmcsc.org

Recommended Online Streamers
– A Couple Streams – https://www.twitch.tv/a_couple_streams
– JonathanOng – https://www.twitch.tv/jonathanong

Are you a church pastor, worship leader, or media tech who’s been put in charge of recording and live streaming your services and wondering how to get started? This series is all about giving you the tools and resources to help you ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and get up and running faster than you might expect.

If you’re new to publishing video online, you don’t need a lot of expensive gear to get started. Just grab your smartphone, a tripod, and a mount, and you’re ready to start producing custom video content for your church or organization. Perfect for people new to video.

Created by the communications team for the Free Methodist Church in Southern California for anyone looking to build better community connections online. Make sure to subscribe to get alerts when new videos are added to this course.

# Links
– Free Methodist Church in Southern California – https://fmcsc.org
– TelePrompter Software – http://www.telepromptermirror.com/telepromptersoftware.htm
– Tripod with Mount – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07837W5NX/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ZQvEEb8H4DHS8

Are you a church pastor, worship leader, or media tech who’s been put in charge of recording and live streaming your services and wondering how to get started? This series is all about giving you the tools and resources to help you ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and get up and running faster than you might expect.

This introduction to the video series will help you decide if these videos are for you and give you a place to start your journey producing content for your community.

Created by the communications team for the Free Methodist Church in Southern California for anyone looking to build better community connections online. Make sure to subscribe to get alerts when new videos are added to this course.

# Links
– Free Methodist Church in Southern California – https://fmcsc.org
– DSLR Video Shooter – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMmA0XxraDP7ZVbv4eY3Omg
– Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) – https://obsproject.com/
– Divi Theme for WordPress – https://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/divi/
– WordPress – https://wordpress.org/

Are you a church pastor, worship leader, or media tech who’s been put in charge of recording and live streaming your services and wondering how to get started? This series is all about giving you the tools and resources to help you ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and get up and running faster than you might expect.

Deciding between pre-recording a message and streaming live can be difficult, especially if you don’t know all of your options. We review the pros and cons of both approaches and consider a hybrid approach that builds on best practices and gives us freedom to experiment.

Created by the communications team for the Free Methodist Church in Southern California for anyone looking to build better community connections online. Make sure to subscribe to get alerts when new videos are added to this course.

# Links
– Free Methodist Church in Southern California – https://fmcsc.org
– Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) – https://obsproject.com/

Superintendent Fraser Venter encourages us all to bring God’s love and hope to people around us that may be feeling confused or frightened during this time of increased infections from COVID-19.

To find out more about how the Free Methodist Church in Southern California is equipping our ministry leaders to do ministry at this time, please visit: https://fmcsc.org/health/