You may be aware that for the last couple of weeks we have been streaming (and will continue to) the 9:30am Sunday meetings to our YouTube Channel.
For many years now, our online Sunday gatherings have been a vital part of life at Kerith across all the sites. Whether you've joined us from home because of health or geography, or you've been checking us out online before taking the step to visit in person, we are so grateful for our online community.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, we’ve provided a specially tailored, pre-recorded online meeting each week on YouTube. While that format has served us brilliantly for a season, we are so please to now be live-streaming the Kerith Bracknell 9:30am meeting online.
Here is everything you need to know about why we are making the shift, what it means for you, and how it impacts our church family.
Why Are We Changing?
As we looked ahead and evaluated how we resource online church, a few key things became clear:
A True Sunday Feel: While our pre-recorded services featured individual elements like a host, worship, and a message, they never quite captured the authentic, unpredictable energy of a real Sunday gathering. Live streaming gives a much more accurate window into what people actually experience when they walk through our doors in person—including special moments like baptisms and thanksgivings, and the unstructured beauty of a Selah Sunday that we weren't able to feature before.
Reaching New People: Our pre-recorded viewership has hovered steadily around 75–100 people a week for a couple of years. We believe live-streaming will give a bigger number of people who are exploring faith a clearer, more transparent view of what to expect if they decide to visit Kerith in-person.
Wider Connection for Our Core: For those part of our core church family who are physically unable to attend, live streaming helps you feel even more connected to "what happened on Sunday" in real time, helping them feel more part of the community even when they can’t be there.
What Will the Impact Be?
1. For Those Watching Online
You’ll get an unedited, authentic look at our Bracknell 9:30am gathering—from the welcome and worship to the notices, interviews, and the morning message. Additionally, for those who want to catch up or re-watch the preach later on, a standalone video of just the weekly message will continue to be made available on our YouTube channel.
2. For Those Attending in Person at Bracknell
You don't need to change where you sit or worry about being swept up on camera!
Privacy First: Cameras will not be panning the congregation or capturing the faces of people in the auditorium.
Who is on Camera? Only those leading or participating on the stage (such as the worship team, hosts, and speakers) who have given prior consent will be visible. If you are seated in the front few rows, the absolute most that might be visible is the back of your head!
Children's Protection: Children will not appear on the live stream unless they have a specific, pre-arranged, and consented part to play on the platform.
Adults permission: Anybody (adults or children) being asked to take part in the 9:30am on the platform meeting will be asked to complete an Image Consent Form, either before the Sunday, or on the Sunday itself.
Got Questions?
We know a shift like this naturally brings up questions—especially around logistics, privacy, and how everything works.
To help answer things thoroughly, we’ve put together a comprehensive Live Streaming FAQs Document. Some of the highlights include:
How long do the videos stay up? The full live stream will remain available on YouTube for up to 12 weeks after the broadcast, after which it will be made private. In line with GDPR guidelines and our data policies, streams are completely removed from our systems after 5 years.
What if I have privacy concerns? If you ever spot something or have questions about how images are used, our team is right here to help—just drop us a note at info@kerith.church.
We are so excited about this next chapter for Kerith Online and can't wait to see how God uses it to connect, encourage, and reach people further than ever before. Already after just two weeks we have seen the viewership double from previous weeks – we truly hope that this will help people find their way back to God. If you have any immediate questions that aren't covered in our FAQs, please feel free to reach out to the team at info@kerith.church.