Is Livestreaming Helping or Hurting the Church? Here’s What We’re Finally Learning.
For years now, pastors, boards, media teams and church leaders have been wrestling with one big question:
“If we livestream our services… will people stop showing up?”
Some churches jumped into livestreaming because COVID forced it.
Others embraced it because they saw it as outreach.
And some still avoid it because they’re convinced it will create “lazy Christians.”
But now, after several years of real-world use, data, and research — not just opinions — we’re starting to get a clear picture.
And honestly?
The results are not what most people expected.
Livestreaming Isn’t Replacing Church — It’s Extending It
Multiple studies — including research from Lifeway and the Hartford Institute — have found that livestreaming hasn’t caused a widespread drop in attendance. In fact, the Hartford study specifically concluded there is no consistent pattern of livestreaming causing in-person decline.
That fear that “If we stream, they’ll stay home forever”?
The evidence just doesn’t back it.
What livestreaming is doing is creating flexibility.
People travel.
Kids get sick.
Shift workers exist.
Life is unpredictable.
And instead of missing a Sunday and losing momentum, many now stay connected — digitally.
It doesn’t replace worship in person…
it prevents disconnection.
For Some People, Livestreaming Is Their First Step Into Church
Pew Research found that during the pandemic, over half of online service viewers were first-timers — people who weren’t already part of a church community.
That tells us something powerful:
Livestreaming lowered the threshold to walk through the door — digitally in the beginning, physically later.
Some people are nervous about church.
Some have past church hurt.
Some just want to “check it out” before committing.
Livestreaming became the new foyer.
The new carpark conversation.
A “safe distance” first encounter.
And many who started online eventually stepped into the room.
The Churches That Grow From Livestreaming Have One Key Difference
A large analysis of growing churches showed something interesting:
It wasn’t livestreaming itself that created growth.
It was how the church treated the online experience.
Growing churches didn’t just put a camera at the back of the room and hope for the best.
They:
Welcomed online attendees
Provided ways to take next steps
Made giving digital and simple
Created online pastoral presence
Treated livestream as ministry — not just media
Where livestream was intentional, engagement increased.
Where livestream was passive, it became background noise.
Does Livestreaming Change Spiritual Experience? Yes — But Not Always Negatively
A 2025 experimental study confirmed something most of us already sense:
In-person worship creates stronger feelings of connection, awe, and spiritual weight than online.
No surprise there.
Live worship is embodied.
You hear voices around you.
You feel the room.
You sing with people.
But here’s the part worth noting:
Online worship still had meaningful spiritual benefit — especially when the viewer was encouraged to participate instead of just watch.
In other words:
Passive livestream feels like YouTube.
Interactive livestream feels like church.
Livestreaming Helps Discipleship — When It’s Not Treated as a “TV Show”
A doctoral project from Liberty University found that digital ministry actually improved discipleship when livestreaming was connected to:
Small groups
Follow-up
Digital prayer
Mentoring
Mid-week touch points
People grew when livestreaming wasn’t isolated — but integrated.
It’s not the tool that creates spiritual shallowness.
It’s how the tool is used.
Giving and Engagement Improve When Online is Normalised — Not Apologised For
Another fascinating trend:
Churches that fully embraced livestreaming and digital engagement saw more consistent giving — especially among:
Young families
Travelling members
People working irregular hours
When livestream is treated as a temporary crutch, people observe it casually.
When livestream is treated as a valid doorway, people participate.
So… Is Livestreaming Good or Bad?
Honestly?
Neither.
Livestreaming is a tool.
It can become a loophole for disengagement —
or it can become one of the strongest outreach, discipleship, care, and retention tools the church has ever had.
The research points to a simple reality:
Livestreaming works when we pastor people online, not just broadcast to them.
People today don’t stop caring because they watch from home.
They stop caring when we stop shepherding them.
Final Thought
The Early Church used handwritten letters.
Paul used Roman roads.
Reformers used the printing press.
Modern missionaries used radio and television.
Every generation has found new pathways for the gospel.
Livestreaming isn’t the future of the Church.
But it’s absolutely part of it.
Not because we’re becoming digital…
…but because people already are.
And the Church isn’t called to stay where it’s comfortable —
we’re called to go where people are.
