What technology for worship and preaching on the street?

Would you like a wireless, battery powered, set up for lyrics and presentations that you can take out onto the streets? I will describe a solution that:


Web technology

The diagram at the top of the article gives the basic set up. For software we use web technology (HTML, JavaScript and CSS). Computers, phones, tablets and TVs often come with a web browser built in. Our app takes advantage of this and runs a browser full screen. The browser can then be used to display song lyrics and presentation slides (it can also be used to play audio and video). There will be another article soon to describe how to set up the app.

In this set up most devices are set to be viewer devices (phones, TVs and projectors). They will all display the same lyrics or slides at the same time.

The presenter phone

Normally one phone will be set up to be the presenter device. It controls which verse from a song or slide from a presentation is displayed on all the other devices.

For a slide show the presenter phone also shows speaker notes between the slides. The preacher can control which slide is displayed next and also be reminded of what they intend to say.

A very simple set up will consist only of phones connected to their normal mobile network (4G, 5G etc). One presenter phone controls what all the other phones see.

This is nice because it works in daylight, nearly everyone carries a smart phone in their pocket and nothing needs to be placed on the street. However, a there are a couple of pieces of kit that make things a bit more interesting.

Projectors

A phone only set up works well if you have a group that you can send a link to to in advance, but it is harder for passers-by to join in. Somehow you need to explain to them to visit a website to see the lyrics. Using a projector allows passers-by to join in straight away. The downside of a projector is that it only works after sunset.

In the video above I use a battery powered Android projector. The projector is basically like a phone or tablet but uses a projector instead of a screen. It has WIFI and Bluetooth and can download apps from Google Play. This means we can download Google Chrome on the projector. We can then set a phone to be a wireless hotspot and provide internet for projector. The lyrics app is a Persistent Web Application (PWA) this means it can be installed on the projector and gets its own icon to launch the app. The projector remembers WIFI passwords and Bluetooth pairings, so you only need to set these up once. This enables you to do the whole set up in a couple of minutes.

Bluetooth speakers

I think it's best to use human voices for singing on the street and to gather enough people that you make an impact (or even a few people with powerful voices). However, a Bluetooth speaker or a pair of them can be useful for prayer meetings and home groups. You can pair these with your phone and set up a playlist and then use the lyrics app to display the lyrics. It feels really powerful to control both lyrics and music just from your phone.

You can also use Bluetooth speakers on the street to give the audio for a presentation with slides. The street is a noisy place, so you need to shout to be heard. However, the more you raise your voice the less control you have over expression and intonation. Street preachers can be hard to listen to because constant shouting sounds monotonous. If you pre-record a talk you can use your normal voice. You can speak gently, use your full range of expression and use the speakers to give the extra volume so others can hear. You can also say exactly what you intend to say (without rambling). You do not need to hold your talk in memory, and you can share your talk with other groups to take out on the street.

Android projectors also have their own memory this means you can download videos on them and can then pair the speakers to the projector. This allows you to have video with sound on the street. You can use this for testimonies and gospel presentations.

Sound recorder

The last piece of kit which is very handy is a sound recorder. This can be used to:

If we can get great musicians out on the street, video the worship and upload to social media we create a positive feedback loop that will help gather more people out onto the street to worship. This video shows how a good musicians and a good sound recorder can make a compelling worship video on Youtube.

Sound recorders are also helpful for capturing and sharing song ideas. Below is the story of how the songs of one rural Chinese girl sung into a Dictaphone on her quiet time walks have fuelled the worship of millions in the revival in China.

Jesus was clever about how he used technology. When the crowds got so tight, they blocked people from seeing and hearing, he got into a boat and put a little distance between himself and the crowd. That way he could hold the attention of more people.

If we are clever about how we use technology, we can mobilise many believers to use their talents to proclaim the good news about Jesus to a distracted and dying world.