Need one-on-one support from a member of our communication team? Ask your question here.

Zoom offers 40-minute meetings for free.

1. The group leader begins with signing up for a free Zoom account here.
2. Go to www.zoom.us to set up a meeting, here is a video to guide you.
3. Or, you can download an app for your computer or phone. Zoom offers app instructions here.
4. Send your participants a link to join by computer or a number to dial into. Participants do not need to have a computer or a Zoom account in order to join the meeting. Your meeting can be a mix of people joining by computer and phone video as well as those dialing in.

When meeting virtually, you might need to change your planned curriculum. The best practice for virtual small groups is simplicity.

Two Ways to Secure Your ZOOM Meeting:

When scheduling ZOOM Conferences:

• Enable “Require Meeting Password”: ZOOM will generate a random password for entrance. This will help reduce the possibility of unwanted users entering the meeting.
• Enable Waiting Room: This feature will automatically place participants on hold so you can approve or deny access to the meeting.

Zoom Video Tutorials
Zoom offers excellent video tutorials on everything from how to join a meeting, scheduling meetings, integrating with your Goggle or Outlook calendar, scheduling a webinar and much more. Click here for a list of video tutorials.

Facebook and WhatsApp announced two new features in their social media applications that can enhance your ministry offerings during this time of physical distancing.

Facebook Live: Now offers a Call in Number feature that allows your church to offer a phone number to people without access to video they can call to listen to your church Facebook Live broadcast. Step by step instructions on how to set this new feature can be found, here.

Facebook Rooms: Facebook Messenger Rooms is a new video chat room where you can use link sharing to connect to more people. Depending on your room settings, participants won’t need to download, log in to or connect on Messenger to join your call. Excellent tool for online small group gatherings during and beyond COVID19. More information can be found, here.

WhatsApp: Now offers Group Video Chats for up to eight persons, ideal for small group gatherings. Just upgrade for free to latest app version. Learn how to use WhatsApp Group Video Call feature, here.

1. Click message button at the top right of the screen.
2. Open a conversation with the person or people you want to video chat with.
3. Click video camera in the top right corner of the chat window.
4. Now you are connected as a group!

Facebook for Media Solutions and Trainings

• Download this quick resource to help get you started with Facebook Live. Download here.
• Facebook Solutions helps you reach people in many ways through Instagram, Facebook Live, Video, Messenger and more. Click here to read more on Facebook for media.
• Enroll in Blueprint eLearning courses to build a more effective Facebook presence. Click here to enroll in Facebook media trainings.

WhatsApp provides fast, simple secure, private messaging and calling for free. The messaging feature allows for groups of up to 250 persons, each. The app also allows for transfer of pictures, and pdf documents (ideal for sharing worship orders and bible studies materials). The video calling feature provides for an easy to use and secure one on one video conferencing, ideal for pastoral care. The App is free and is available for android and iPhones. There is also a PC/Mac Desktop App so that administrators and regular users can text/video conference directly from their PC/Mac.

Some possible groups for a local church, include:

• General Announcements
• Prayer Requests
• Inspirational Messages
• Team Messaging.

Download WhatsApp to your smart phone or your computer, by going to whatsapp.com.

PhoneInvite.com provides automated call services for churches looking to communicate with church members though voice messaging. Record custom messages and schedule delivery from your web browser for .04 cents per call.

Video editing is the process of taking raw footage from your smartphone or other camera and formatting it for your viewers. This training will help you learn how to use iMovie to edit your videos and format them for popular platforms like Facebook and YouTube. | Click here to find out more about iMovie.