A Livestream Encoder Unlike Any Other

Resi has done it again.

The Resi Mini Encoder, this tiny device the size of a hardcover book, provides Resi technology at the lowest cost ever. Now, churches can access Resi’s “resilient technology,” making live-streaming stability affordable to smaller and medium-sized churches. Pastor, this is a massive win for your church!

If you haven’t seen Resi’s Mini Encoder, we’ve figured out how to package our best-in-class technology into a ridiculously small form factor that can easily be integrated into any video system. As a result, the Mini Encoder becomes a volunteer-friendly solution for many churches that can’t afford a full-time tech director.

As exciting as that is, I recently heard an inspiring story about how another church uses the Resi Mini Encoder. As part of The Digitally Resilient Church, Fred Holly, Production Director at Mosaic Church in Clarksville, TN, tells his story about the Mini Encoder.

Mosaic Church was invited to receive a pre-release of our Mini Encoders, and as part of the test period, Fred came up with an interesting question: “I wonder what the Student Ministry would do with this device.” So, Fred did something unlikely. In hopes that the students would use the Livestream Encoder to get their services online, he gave the Mini Encoder to the students and sat back to see what would happen.

What happened was an explosion of creativity. Getting the student services online was a massive win for the student ministry. The student YouTube subscribers increased exponentially. The service content became shareable and spread quickly as students shared the service digitally with their friends. 

Services became more passionate as leadership recognized there was an audience in the room as well as an audience online. Students became more excited about worship because they knew their friends were watching online… online broadcasts once again became a front door to getting those online attendees into the building.

In addition, students started thinking outside the box. What creative element can we add to the service? Forget the service; what else can we do with this Mini Encoder? Testimony videos… Podcast ideas… in reality, there was latent creativity in the student ministry at Mosaic Church. All they needed was a spark. Fred never thought that a Livestream Encoder would be that spark, but the Resi Mini Encoder brought excitement inside the student ministry to a new level.

Does your church have latent potential waiting for a spark? The Resi Mini Encoder is a simple way to get your ministries streaming online with the resiliency of Resi’s technology. Let’s look at some ministries that could benefit from a Resi Mini Encoder.

Ministry #1

A Livestream Encoder Empowers A Forward-Thinking, Creative Student Ministry with a Digital Front Door

Mosaic Church is just one of many examples. In a modern church infrastructure, typically, the student ministry is “setting the standard” for the future of worship in the church. As the church is becoming more hybrid, there is a challenge for creativity in worship that connects with physical and online attendees.

Not only would challenging the students potentially redefine the future of worship, but you’re most likely apprenticing the church’s next generation of tech directors. When I was a freshman in high school, the production director at my church did something similar to me and challenged me to learn the technology for the kingdom. Sure, the year was 1992, and the technology he gave me was a VHS-C camcorder and two VCR Player/Recorders. However, the challenge of building my own editing bay and using it for the student ministry was a catalyst for me and my calling moving forward. Thirty-five years later, I cannot even fathom the number of students I’ve challenged under similar circumstances.

The secret is to avoid teaching the students everything you know. Many times, it’s as simple as giving them the gear and letting them learn on their own.

Ministry #2

A Livestream Encoder opens up communication seven days a week… you’re no longer limited to Sunday.

More and more churches are developing a video studio to record bible studies, prayer nights, and other online content. What if you utilized Resi’s stability to get that content online? Usually, the Resi encoder is locked away in some video rack and cannot be accessed Monday-Friday; instead, it is limited only to church service broadcasts. The Mini Encoder offers a cost-effective way to get that same stability and volunteer-friendliness, Monday-Friday.

The Sunday church service broadcasts are just the beginning of what can be streamed from your church. I wrote a blog talking about some other options here for you to check out. Ultimately, between the Mini Encoder’s approach to simplifying streaming and Resi Media Sites’ making content available for on-demand video and podcasting, your team can execute just about anything they can imagine.

Ministry #3

Line of people fighting for pulpit time? A Livestream Encoder amplifies more voices while protecting the sanctity of the stage.

I’ve never met a Pastor who didn’t want more time to talk. The Lead Pastor/Communicator wants more time for his sermons. The Campus Pastor wants more time than announcements. The Small Groups Pastor wants time to talk about his ministry, and on and on the list goes. Everyone wants more stage time. But your church service realistically can’t last three hours, so something has to give.

Digitally, we can engage people seven days a week. Let your pastor teach a session during the week that’s nothing but cut material from the previous sermon and tease what’s coming up in the next sermon. Another Pastor wants stage time? Give it to him digitally, let him stream content weekly, and invite in other Pastors and people who can speak to what’s happening in the life of their church or campus. 

Streaming is a low-pressure environment that helps train the next generation of communicators. Do you have an associate pastor who’s not quite ready for stage time? Let him do some weekly online events to help him improve his communication skills.

Ministry #4

A cost-effective Livestream Encoder allows new levels of experimentation within your church.

During The Digitally Resilient Church online event, the topic of microsites, or digital “house churches” came up. You can find more information on what a microsite is here. What we stream to a house church environment may often have different announcements. Or, you may want to craft a different worship experience (or a different closing) for the microsite experience compared to what happens during the physical worship service. 

Microsites would likely be an experiment at this point, so writing a big check for a rack-mounted encoder isn’t feasible, but acquiring a Resi Mini Encoder to test how the microsite model would work for your church? That’s a much more affordable expense, allowing your church to test new concepts and reach new people.

Livestream Encoder for the Next-Level Hybrid Church

Isn’t that the goal—reaching new people in new ways? Acquiring a cost-effective livestream encoder like the Resi Mini Encoder can open up new doors and opportunities to take your ministry to the next level of Hybrid. The Resi Mini Encoder is the perfect tool on the tool belt, giving churches like yours a simple way to experiment.

So, don’t be limited to just broadcasting church services. Think outside the box and experiment by doing something new (and empowering someone new). That’s a lot of responsibility for a little Livestream Encoder, but the Resi Mini Encoder has already proven it’s up to the challenge.

So, how will you use the Resi Mini Encoder? Hit us up on social media and tell us your success stories about how the Mini Encoder tapped into opening up new opportunities for your church.