My church has been hosting a summer Bible study for women via Zoom. It’s been an amazing time, but we’ve learned so much about putting on a successful online event. Here are some of the things we’ve learned:
- Purchase a Zoom account.
- We recommend purchasing a paid account. This allows for your time to not get cut off and to have more than 100.
- Choose a convenient date and time.
- Choose a date and time that will be convenient for your members. Be aware of work schedules and children’s bedtimes.
- Host the event from a strong WIFI connection.
- Nothing takes the fun out of an online event like having glitches in your stream. We’ve all experienced it. It can be frustrating as a participant. You don’t want your members exiting your event due to lag on your end.
- Email or post on social what participants should know before attending your online event.
- Just like you want to offer the best online experience, there are a few key things the participant should do on their end to make this possible. If you choose to do signups, send an email to your church member with how to prepare for the event. If you don’t offer registration, simply post it on social. Such tips should include: Having a strong WIFI connection to watch the event, muting themselves so there aren’t weird echoes, making sure they have their first and last name displayed for hosts to assign them to breakout room, bring a Bible/notepad, etc.
- Use the Breakout Rooms feature. (up to 50 rooms)
- Zoom offers a feature where you can split up your meeting. Use this feature for breakout sessions, specific teachings/trainings, or to have multiple speakers at once. We recommend preassigning your participants to their breakout rooms so it doesn’t cause delays during your scheduled time.
- Encourage engagement.
- While planning your event, make sure to include lots of engagement during the stream. Make the event a two-way conversation with trivia, polls, or ask your speakers/hosts during their session to make statements such as: “Type Amen. Give me a thumbs up emoji. If you’ve gone through a similar situation, comment ‘Preach’.”
- Having an Online Host Team is another great way to keep the conversation going. They are able to respond to participants and answer any questions. Include them in your main and breakout sessions.
- Promote the features of the event, not the technology.
- Get people excited about your event. By now, many people are dreading the word “Zoom.” Cue the eye rolls and sighs. But let your church members know that this is an event they do not want to miss. FOMO over promo.
- Do a run-through.
- Make sure to do a test run of the whole event before the day of. This will give your team time to fix any technical difficulties or find small details you might have overlooked.