Dig down into the scriptures

Author: Jason Baldry

Published on: 16 July 2020

We have always produced a podcast at STN, predominantly featuring our Sunday talks, as a way for those who wish to engage from a distance or catch up on Sunday.

These talks were not always recorded to the highest quality and before COVID-19 we were already to improve our output via podcasts, with a view to featuring audio and video interviews (for YouTube) and making the podcast more conversational with in person interviews and recording these over distance via video chat.

In response to lockdown, we quickly put this plan into action (in a way that lockdown allowed) to create a daily podcast with one of our curates, PJ Brombley. These are short 8-10-minute episodes for people to dig a little deeper into scripture during what could be a time of isolation and, perhaps, loneliness or anxiety. We made an investment into some high-quality mics and some USB adaptors to allow those mics to connect into a computer for recording. We then add some music to the start and end of each episode ready for distribution via Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, etc.

A video version is released on our YouTube channel for people who prefer to watch. We advertise the podcasts through our social media channels and direct people to our website for all the info. We also do regular emails to our mailing list subscribers and mention the podcasts at Sunday ‘gatherings’. We recently started a second podcast with Matthew Hutton, taking a tour of the whole Bible over 18 weeks. This is a ‘coursebased’ podcast which people are encouraged to follow along.

Top tips for a podcast:

  • a quality microphone
  • consistent imagery, branding and language when communicating it
  • be concise in saying what it’s about and how people can use it
  • keep things fun, light-hearted, approachable and clear

The author...

Jason Baldry

Head of Media & IT St Thomas’, Norwich (STN)

This article is from...

Articles in this issue...

Age has been no barrier

St Luke’s Church, on Aylsham Road, Norwich has been running both a Sunday morning service and a virtual coffee morning every week since the middle of April, using Zoom.

More

And relax…the voice

When the lockdown began, I knew it was vital to find ways to try and keep our community together.

More

Supporting those who are housebound

I am Laura and founded YouBelong, an organisation aiming to connect and support people with chronic illness and/or disability through the online community.

More

Receiving donations online has never been more crucial

In the step-by-step article, we look practically at different payment platforms/companies, creating an online giving page on your website, and adding a giving button to A Church Near You.

More

Light a candle

Lighting a candle can be a helpful way to pray for someone. An online candle will help you think about someone who has died and pray for all those who miss them.

More

Maintaining youth and children’s work online

In these unprecedented times it is maybe the young who are most able to adapt to the forced use of technology to stay connected.

More

Anyone for coffee?

One of the many new experiences, in these COVID-19 times, are the proliferation of socially-distant coffee mornings online.

More

Rich tapestry of church

After a few weeks of COVID-19 lockdown, we realised how much church family members missed seeing each other, so we set up a ‘Church, Coffee and Chat’ for those on our church email list and invited everyone by email.

More

Supporting our life together despite the financial impact of COVID-19

I want to begin by thanking so many of you – parishioners, PCC members, churchwardens, lay ministers, clergy and others – for the incredible way in which you are continuing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it is having on our local communities.

More

A long-term solution for live-streaming in church

When the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions came into force, audio and visual specialist Darren Butler, owner of south Norfolk based Audio Electronic Design (AED), knew straight away that many churches would be facing a big problem.

More

Keep up to date

Subscribe to our eNews for a snapshot of news, events and resources, usually emailed once a fortnight

Signup to newsletter