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The Truth About Video Preaching (Spoiler Alert: It Might Not Work for You)

When my senior pastor suggested in 2001 that our church should open a new venue utilizing video teaching, I told him it was the dumbest idea I’d ever heard. Who would want to watch him teach on a video screen? (I probably got away with more than other staff members because he’s my brother.)

Instead of firing me, he sent me to Atlanta to watch Andy Stanley on video at Northpoint Church. My experience was similar to hundreds of people I’ve talked to since: About 15 minutes into the sermon, I stopped caring it was video.

Video teaching is now used effectively by churches around the world, so we know it “works.” The question is, will it work for everyone.

According to a new survey by Lifeway Research, the answer is definitely no.

There is a significant percentage of the population that has no interest in attending a church that employs video rather than in-person teaching. So what does that mean for the future of video teaching?

Here are my takeaways from the research:

1. Live preaching will always be more popular than video preaching.

The survey shows that all things being equal, people will choose live preaching. This is true outside of the church as well.

If the Denver Broncos offered a choice at Mile High Stadium between watching the game on a video screen or watching it live, we’d choose live. That doesn’t mean video isn’t effective. Millions of people watch the NFL by video because TV offers big advantages over buying a ticket, driving to the stadium and shivering in the cold.

But if all things are equal, we’d rather see it live.

This is why churches often struggle to fill video venues on the same campus as an in-person preaching venue. Unless there is a compelling reason to go to the video venue, people will choose live teaching.

A different style of worship or environment is seldom compelling enough to overcome the draw to see the preacher live and in person.