First Baptist Church Ardmore pastor Alan Hughes studies in his office.
Plugged in First Baptist Church Ardmore is connected with fiber technology BY LISA SAVAGE
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ost Sunday mornings, 95-year-old Dorothy Drummond settles into her favorite chair in her family’s living room to enjoy the music and morning message at First Baptist Church Ardmore. Drummond hasn’t been able to attend services in several years because of her health, but thanks to the church’s technology, she can watch the service from home. Her son, Phillip Drummond, connects to the church Facebook page on his MacBook and uses AirPlay to display the
8 | September/October 2019
livestream on their big-screen television. “It’s not the same as being there, but it makes her feel like she’s been to church and that she’s part of the service,” he says. The family is part of a growing number who watch Sunday morning services online, says the Rev. Alan Hughes. The Drummonds are longtime members at the church, and at times, Dorothy Drummond feels up to staying at home alone while her son attends the service. “When we do that, we’ll play the Facebook video back and watch later during the week,” he says. The livestream is ideal for members on vacation or those who are unable to attend for reasons such as sickness. It also works well for people who have never been to a service and want to see what it’s like.
CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY First Baptist Church Ardmore, established in 1915 and located just down the street from the downtown area, remains a cornerstone of the community. “It’s a place for everyone,” Hughes says. A local radio station broadcast the church service live for years. But with the latest technology, the church now records a video of the service and uses a Facebook livestream to broadcast. “We had a lot of people who listened to the service, but it’s a great addition being able to watch instead of just listen,” Hughes says. A service might have a few hundred views by the end of the week, says C.J. Barnett, who leads worship and coordinates much of the church’s technology use. All it takes is a camera and high-speed broadband to livestream on Facebook. It’s also set up to view later. “One week, we had 70 views,” Barnett says. “We had 194 views the week before that and 212 the week after. There’s really no way to know what drives the number of views each week, but if attendance is high, streaming numbers are low and vice versa.” The use of the church’s website and social media required access to high-speed Ardmore Telephone Company
