Run the Sunday livestream

The full Sunday service stays unlisted on YouTube, and members watch it through the app. The livestream page gives the sound team (or whatever your church calls it) a checklist and the form for posting the link.

Before you start

• You need the sound team, leadership or webmaster role.
• You need to be able to sign in to your church’s YouTube Studio.
• If the sound booth computer stays signed in, see Shared computers.

Steps

1. Open Administration → Sunday livestream. The checklist at the top is for the coming Sunday. Ticks are kept on this computer only.
2. Create the livestream in YouTube Studio. Tap Open YouTube Studio.
3. Set the title and description. The checklist writes them for you from the Sunday page. Tap Copy and paste each one into YouTube. If it says the message isn’t on the Sunday page yet, ask the church office.
4. Set the thumbnail to the church’s usual one.
5. Set visibility to Unlisted. Not Public.
6. Post the link in the app. In the form below the checklist:
   • Choose the date under Service Sunday, then tap Load Sunday.
   • Paste the YouTube link into Unlisted YouTube livestream link. Watch, live and share links all work.
   • Set Visibility to Publish for this service week.
   • Tick the box that says you checked the video is unlisted and is for that Sunday.
   • Tap Review changes, look it over, then tap Confirm and save.
7. After the service, put the sermon up on its own as a Public video, using the sermon title and description from the checklist. It will then appear on the website’s Sermons page. See Sermons from YouTube.
8. Check the full service recording saved and is still Unlisted.

What members see

From that Sunday through Saturday night, members see Watch Sunday’s service on their home page. Members who turned on phone alerts get “Sunday’s service link is up” the first time it’s published, but not before 7 AM that Sunday.

This page only saves the link. It doesn’t change anything in YouTube and can’t tell whether the broadcast is live.

If something goes wrong

• “Paste a valid HTTPS YouTube watch, live, or share link.” Copy the link again from YouTube. It should start with https.
• “Confirm the video is unlisted and the Sunday is correct before publishing.” Tick the box above Review changes.
• “Could not confirm the save.” Someone else may have changed it. Tap Load Sunday again, then try once more.
• Members can’t see the link. Make sure Visibility says Publish for this service week, not Draft. See Sunday troubleshooting.