In short
- Between services, replay sermons, devotions and worship on a weekly schedule.
- Stream the live service on its own key, or stop the replay before it — never two encoders on one key.
- Check that your music licences cover streaming — and replays — of every song in the recordings.
- One church PC runs it. Volunteers only need alerts and a phone, not to sit with it.
- One stream can go to YouTube and Facebook at the same time.
Introduction
Since churches began streaming services, many have built up years of recorded sermons and worship. Most of it sits in a playlist that few people scroll back through. A 24/7 stream puts it in front of people at the hours they are looking — early in the morning, late at night, in a hospital room on a Tuesday.
This does not replace the live service. It fills the rest of the week around it.
What Plays Between Services
- Sermon series, played in order, so someone who stays hears a series as it was preached.
- Morning devotions and prayer early in the day.
- Worship sets from past services, where the music licensing allows it.
- Last Sunday's service, replayed for those who missed it.
- Quiet hymns overnight.
A Sample Week
| When | What | Live or recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 9:00 – 9:50 | Worship music | Recorded |
| Sunday 10:00 – 12:00 | Morning service | Live from the sanctuary |
| Sunday afternoon | This morning's service, replayed | Recorded |
| Weekdays 6:00 – 8:00 | Morning devotions and prayer | Recorded |
| Weekdays daytime | Sermon series, in order | Recorded |
| Wednesday evening | Bible study | Live, or a recent one replayed |
| Every night | Hymns and quiet worship | Recorded |
Use your own service times, and state the timezone in the stream description.
Handing Over to the Live Service
Keep your existing live setup for the service — OBS or a hardware encoder. StreamOps handles the replays. Two encoders must never send to the same stream key at once, so choose one of these:
- A separate stream key for the live service (simplest). The service is its own broadcast, the replay keeps running, and nobody has to stop anything.
- One stream key, taking turns. Stop the replay from the StreamOps dashboard before the service, stream the service, then start the replay again. StreamOps does not stop and start streams on a timer, so a volunteer does this — from a phone is fine.
Taking turns on one key can start a new YouTube broadcast with a new link each time, so share the channel's /live link instead of a single video link. Why this happens is explained in YouTube stream keys explained. The same pattern is used by temples for live aarti; see the temple live darshan guide.
Music Licensing
Sermons are your church's own words. Worship music usually is not: most songs sung in churches are copyrighted, and streaming them needs a licence.
- In many countries, CCLI offers a Streaming Licence for streaming live performances of songs in its catalogue during your services.
- Its Streaming Plus licence additionally covers recorded tracks, such as backing tracks and multitracks.
- Licences are separate from the licence to sing the songs in church, and terms differ by country.
Ask about replays specifically
A 24/7 stream replays services long after they happened. Before you include worship in the replays, confirm with your licensing body that this use is covered. If you are unsure about a recording, leave the worship out and replay the sermon.
What happens when a stream contains music that is not covered is in copyright strikes on YouTube live streams.
Step-by-Step Setup
Past services, sermon series, devotions and worship sets. Export each as an MP4 with the same settings, and name them by series and number.
Make sure the church's licences cover the songs in every recording you plan to replay. Leave out any that are not covered.
Point it at the folder of recordings. A wired connection with about 5 Mbps of upload per destination is enough.
Morning devotions, sermon series, worship, night hymns.
Keep a default playlist of sermons and worship running, and add weekly schedules that play a chosen recording in a time window — morning devotions, for example. For the live service, give the live encoder its own stream key, or stop the replay before the service and start it again after. The scheduler is on the Creator plan and above.
Add a second destination so the same stream goes to YouTube and Facebook. Multiple destinations are on the Creator plan and above.
YouTube and Facebook Together
Many congregations watch on Facebook rather than YouTube. StreamOps can send the same stream to both at once, encoding it once and sending it to each destination. This is on the Creator plan and above, and it needs enough upload for every destination. More in multistreaming to several platforms.
Running It With Volunteers
- Once scheduled, the replay runs itself. Nobody has to be at the PC.
- StreamOps restarts a stream after a crash, a dropped connection or a reboot.
- It sends alerts when a stream crashes or fails to start, so a volunteer can check from their phone.
- Give at least two people access, so the setup does not depend on one person being available.
Common Mistakes
Frequently Asked Questions
How can a church stream 24/7 on YouTube?
Replay recorded services, sermons and worship between the live services, using software that follows a weekly schedule and restarts on its own. Stream the live service on its own stream key, or stop the replay before it and start it again afterwards.
Do we need a licence to stream worship songs?
Usually, yes. In many countries CCLI offers a Streaming Licence for streaming live performances of songs in its catalogue, and a Streaming Plus licence that also covers recorded tracks. Terms differ by country, so check with CCLI or your local licensing body.
Does a streaming licence cover replaying old services all week?
Check with your licensing body. Licences have conditions about recordings and how long they stay available, and a round-the-clock replay is a use you should confirm is covered.
Can we stream the live service and the replays on the same channel?
Yes. The simplest way is a separate stream key for the live service, so it is its own broadcast and the replay keeps running. If you use one key for both, stop the replay before the service and start it again after it ends — StreamOps does not stop and start streams on a timer.
Can StreamOps stream our live Sunday service?
StreamOps streams recorded video and screen captures. Most churches keep their existing live setup, such as OBS or a hardware encoder, for the service itself and use StreamOps for the replays around it.
Can we stream to YouTube and Facebook at the same time?
Yes. StreamOps sends one stream to several destinations at once on the Creator plan and above. Each destination needs its own stream key.
What does a church need to run this?
One PC that stays on, a wired internet connection with about 5 Mbps of upload per destination, and a UPS if power cuts are common. StreamOps runs on Windows and Linux.
Conclusion
Your church already has a week's worth of content, and more. Replay it on a schedule, hand over cleanly to the live service, and check the music licensing before worship goes into the replays. The channel is then there for people whenever they look for it, not only on Sunday morning.
