Ten Little Known Facts About the Sermon Player

Part 3

This is the conclusion of our Little Known Facts Series. We have found that many ministries have signed up for the Sermon Player and consider it little more than a podcast. Over the past 3 weeks we have attempted to give you more information about the Sermon Player and some of its uses and features. It has always been our goal to give you the best Media Delivery System on the market at the most affordable price. It is also our goal to help you utilize this tool to its full potential through various avenues of training and support. After reviewing over 4,500 Sermon Player Accounts it has come to our attention that we still have great strides to make in equipping you with the necessary knowledge of the Sermon Player System. In our last post we discussed using the Sermon Player to assist your busy worship team, equipping church sponsored missionaries with a Sermon Player, and using unique playlists for each ministry department without paying for multiple accounts. Now let's continue with Facts 7-10.

7. Notes – Very few ministries are utilizing the notes upload. When you upload a sermon we have given you the ability to attach notes in many different file formats. The server side conversion process will take over 200 different file formats and convert them into a .PDF document for online viewing or download. Some ideas for notes include: PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and Sunday’s bulletin. Notes take very little time to upload and enhance the viewers online worship experience. Some people are visual learners and need visual study aids to help get the full impact of your message.

8. Artwork – Artwork is another area we see very little activity in. Not only can you upload default artwork that will identify your church through your podcasts you can also upload images for each individual sermon or sermon series. This is another great way to give your audience a visual aid and help them identify with your church.

9. Player Customization – Player customization includes changing the players color, uploading a logo, or adding text where your player currently says Sermon Player. By choosing the players color you can match the color scheme of your website or blog. The addition of a logo or text will help listeners identify with your ministry name and brand. Player customization will help you build a strong identity and branding for your local ministry.

10. Scripture Reference – The scripture reference is often left blank when titling your records. We have given you this field so listeners can find sermons about specific scriptures or topics by sorting by scripture reference. Many times listeners happen on to your website looking for answers to issues or theological questions. Giving them the scripture reference sorting option will help them find the material and answers they can only find in God’s word.

This concludes our Ten Little Know Facts about the Sermon Player Series. The Facts we have discussed follow:

1. Availability of Video
2. Mini-players
3. The Sermon Player as a training tool
4. Using the Sermon Player to assist and organize your worship team
5. Equipping church sponsored missionaries with a Sermon Player
6. Using playlists to equip each church ministry with their own unique player
7. Uploading Sermon Notes to enhance your audiences worship experience
8. Uploading Artwork to help develop branding and for more impact on the message you are sharing
9. Customizing your player with a color scheme to compliment your website or blog and branding the player to your church with a logo.
10. Adding your scripture references so that your audience can follow along with your message.

Perhaps you have read through each of these posts and have determined you would like to know more about the Sermon Player System. If so please contact us and schedule your complimentary walk-through. This walk-through is a guided tour of our Media Manager system and will only take about 10 minutes of your time. Tell us the time, date, and phone number and we will call you at the appointed time. To schedule your walk-through or if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact your Sermon Player Team at info@sermonplayer.com. Once again we thank you for the opportunity to serve your ministry.

Blessings,
Sermon Player Team
info@sermonplayer.com

Ten Little Known Facts

Part 2

This week we continue the top 10 little known facts about your Sermon Player. In our last post we discussed incorporating video into your ministry, using mini-players to enhance your website or blog, and utilizing the Sermon Player for training staff or church members at home. This week we pick back up with facts 4, 5, & 6.

4. Worship – As many worship teams are comprised strictly of volunteers there are never enough hours in the week to accommodate worship rehearsals. One ministry I know of uses the Sermon Player to facilitate worship practice. They upload MP3’s and .PDF chord/tab sheets. The weekly song list is posted and each band member can print out the music and listen to the songs as they rehearse at home. While this won’t totally fill the need for on site rehearsal sessions your musicians and singers will come more prepared and organized. *Note: please verify you are properly licensed before posting someone else’s music online. For more information on proper licensing for streaming worship music go to http://www.churchca.com

5. Missions – Why not give a player to a missionary your church supports. What better way to encourage your congregation to contribute when they can be given updates directly from the field through a Sermon Player. We have a very inexpensive solution (around $100) that will help missionaries no matter where they are record their messages for uploading. One such missionary from South Africa uses our player system, he records updates about his work and posts them online to keep his supporters up to date as to where their finances and prayers need to be directed.

6. Playlists – Playlists are a fairly new feature to Sermon Player. You can now have multiple unique players installed to your website with one Sermon Player account. Many churches have multiple ministries that would like to share messages online but don’t have the budget to pay for a second account. Now with a playlist you can add sermons to one or multiple unique players and install them to different pages on your website or blog. If you select the embed code for the youth player only those files will be present in that player. As always we will embed your player to your website or blog free of charge.

This is the second of a three part series of posts. Stay tuned for the final installment next week where we will reveal Facts 7-10. We are here to serve your ministry if any of these facts are of interest to you and you need more information don’t hesitate to contact us at info@sermonplayer.com


Blessings,
Sermon Player Team

Ten Little Known Facts About The Sermon Player

Part 1

After browsing through the 4,500 plus accounts it is noticeable that very few are using the Sermon Player to its full potential. Perhaps we haven’t done a good job in communicating the power of the Sermon Player System. Over the next several weeks we will be sharing practical uses of the Sermon Player. We will also highlight some of the features that few are currently using. In this first installment of Little Known Facts we discuss the top 3 uses and features.

1.Video – Video was released a few months back and many haven’t taken advantage of a high quality video delivery system available at a very affordable price. Imagine the potential if your listeners could see as well as hear what’s going on in your church on a weekly basis. The power of video is well known just think about the number of times you have seen a food commercial and wanted to run out and get a burger. You may not know it but we are offering a 30-day free trial of video. If you need video equipment we have a solution for you as well. We are putting together video equipment packages that most any church can afford. Once again we are striving to remove all barriers that would keep you from sharing God’s Word in the most powerful medium, VIDEO!

2.The Mini-Player – The mini-player is a single play button with or without record details. The mini player can be used on most any website or blog. Many churches use the mini-player to highlight one particular sermon or as a welcome message from the home page of their website. Another popular use of the mini-player is in a blog; simply blog a paragraph or two about a subject and add a mini-player devotion or sermon. The most unique mini-player use I have seen to date is to share commercials of upcoming events and announcements with an audio or video mini-player.

3.Training – So many pastors spend extra hours at the church meeting with key staffers. We realize training is necessary but pastors spend far too much time on the job and burnout is a major ministry issue. The Sermon Player can be a great tool to alleviate some of that pressure and give you some extra evenings at home with the family. We recently helped a church setup a player behind a secured page which requires a login. This player is being used by the church staff to facilitate training sessions. Another pastor is using his player to teach a new believers class. This class used to meet at the church one night per week, now the class is offered online with a printable worksheet that is submitted to the pastor to verify completion of the class.

We would love to have some input from you. How are you using your Sermon Player? Share some ideas to help other ministries enhance their efforts through the use of media. If you have questions about any of these uses or features or would like to share your own ideas please contact your Sermon Player team or submit a help desk ticket. Stay tuned for the final two installments of Little Known Sermon Player Facts.

Blessings,
Sermon Player Team
info@sermonplayer.com

Veterans Day,

Today we want to honor our veterans and remember those men and women who defend our country and our right to the freedoms we enjoy. It's because of these who have made such great sacrifice that we can freely and openly serve God without fear of persecution. We should not forget that our country was founded on the idea of religious freedom for all and many have given their lives to ensure we continue to have that liberty. Regardless of your personal thoughts on the current battles we are engaged in we need to continue to pray for God's protection on those who proudly wear the uniform of the United States. Furthermore, we should pray that the Christian military personnel serving in foreign lands can be a light to those who may have never heard the gospel. I have talked with several missionaries from other countries where the Bible we enjoy is illegal yet they continue to share God's word in underground churches and online risking imprisonment or even death. As Christians we should have a deeper understanding of freedom. It is because of Christ and His sacrifice that we are free from the condemnation of sin. Thank you veterans and those currently serving our country, thank you for the freedoms we enjoy.

John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

It’s November and we just finished Clergy Appreciation month. If you are a church member please don’t neglect thanking your shepherd for his hard work. October may be behind us but every month can be a month to appreciate the individual who is on call 24/7. We at Sermon Player want to say a big thank you to pastors worldwide. We exist to serve you the Pastor and your church. We see the value of your work. There is much said about athletes and their value as I write we are hearing reports of an athlete turning down a contract of $30 million per year. It is at times like this that my thoughts go to those who have given their lives to ministry and just how little thanks they receive. All too often you are under appreciated, under compensated, and overworked. Be encouraged your treasure waits in heaven. Your pay check may not reflect it but you have been called to the greatest of all professions the Minister. When we are sick who do we call? When we lose a loved one who do we call? When we find Mr. of Mrs. Right who do we call? When we need counsel who do we call? We call you the Minister/Pastor. While we cannot reward you with a big new contract or the title of MVP we do want you to know you have earned it and our prayers go out to you. Please remember to honor, love, and respect your clergy, you never know when you may need them.

Romans 10:15…How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Blessings,
Larry Brown
Director of Client Management
SermonPlayer.com