Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- General Questions
- How can I delete my church's account?
- How can I delete my personal account?
- How can I reset my password?
- Why can't I see a service scheduled for a month out?
- What browsers can I run the Platform on?
- How are analytics determined?
- Are my attendees required to sign up/login to the Platform to watch my Service?
- Is there is an invite feature?
- Is there a countdown timer?
- Is there a way to add other moments in addition to salvations?
- Can I embed any part of the Platform into my website?
- Can I change my church's URL?
- Can I play a service on a TV?
- Why is the audio muted when I first visit the site?
- Is there a way to chat when the video goes fullscreen on mobile?
- Can I disable the public chat during a live service?
- My monthly or weekly repeating service ends instead or repeating forever. How can I extend it before it ends?
- Can I create a private link for internal events?
- Streaming Questions
- Can I use Facebook Live as a streaming provider?
- What's the difference between the URL and embed code options in service content?
- Do I need a live streaming provider?
- How do I get started with a live stream?
- Can we do multiple streams/services in one account?
- Can I stream directly to the Platform with a RTMP code?
- Can I use Restream to embed straight to the Platform?
General Questions
How can I delete my church's account?
We're sorry to see you go! But if you do find that you no longer need your Church Online Platform account, you can reach out to our Support Team & we'd be happy to get that taken care of for you!
How can I delete my personal account?
To delete a personal account on your church's Church Online Platform page, navigate to your Profile from the menu in the upper right corner and tap "Delete Account" in the popup.
How can I reset my password?
Please follow the steps listed below to reset your password:
- Go to your custom URL
- Select “Go To Admin” in the top left corner
- Select “Log In”
- Select “Forgot Password”
If you do not get the reset password email it may be getting blocked by a spam or junk filter.
- Whitelist/Allow *@churchonline.org in your email settings.
- Have your church's Admin invite you to an alternative email address.
- Have your church's Admin remove your account, and re-invite you. Sometimes an invite will get through a SPAM filter when a password reset will not.
Why can't I see a service scheduled for a month out?
Currently, the schedule only shows Services that are set to go live within the next two weeks. If you have a Service that is created for further than two weeks out, use the date filter to expand the selected Services that are in view.
What browsers can I run the Platform on?
Our Platform has been tested and is known to work on the following browsers/operating systems. This list is not exclusive and is subject to change.
- The latest version of iOS and one behind that (As of July 28, 2022, iOS 16 and 15)
- Most Android versions; it has been tested and seems to work well on versions all the way back to Android 4
- Edge (latest version)
- Firefox (latest version)
- Chrome (latest version)
- Safari (desktop, latest version)
How are analytics determined?
When reviewing your weekend numbers, it's important to know how those numbers are counted. We’ve built our analytics from a church’s perspective by using a combination of browser sessions and unique user IDs, where the streaming providers only focus on the video. When someone visits a service in a browser, they start a session. If they visit the service on a different device, a separate session is started and counted as two. Nevertheless, if they are logged into the same account, they are only counted once in our analytics. This all works the same even if two browser sessions are in one household using the same global IP address. Find out more about how to measure success online.
Are my attendees required to sign up/login to the Platform to watch my Service?
No. We believe that just like you welcome people into your physical building, it's important to welcome guests to your church online experience. A new welcome banner has been added so your church can include a welcome message and encourage guests to create an account, allowing them to better connect with other Users during your Service. However, they are not required to create an account.
Is there is an invite feature?
There are a couple ways to accomplish this. You can add a navigation link to an invite page or during a service, you can have an invite moment.
Is there a countdown timer?
Yes, a countdown timer will appear for both hosts and guests on the platform when you have services scheduled. If you would like to embed a countdown on your own website, you can find that information here.
Is there a way to add other moments in addition to salvations?
Yes, we have many different moments to choose from, you can learn about them here.
Can I embed any part of the Platform into my website?
The Church Online Platform is a stand-alone product created to provide churches a dedicated place for online ministry using their online.church subdomain. Embedding the platform on other sites, like a church website, isn’t how the platform was intended to function and it exposes a potential security risk, which our team has fixed up. Therefore, we do not allow the Platform to be embedded elsewhere, however you can add a custom domain to your Platform.
Can I change my church's URL?
Yes we can! As long as there isn't another church currently using that URL (you can simply try the website you want [i.e. type "mychurch.online.church"] to see if it is available), we can change that for you. Have the person on your team with the "owner" role write our support team with that request and we will get it taken care of quickly!
Can I play a service on a TV?
Yes! Now you can attend church online through the browser on your smart television or through television devices. Currently, Church Online functionality through a TV browser is limited to the basic video experience. To see church online on your smart TV or TV device, open its browser and visit a website where church online is happening.
Why is the audio muted when I first visit the site?
Many web browsers force mute videos that autoplay when you visit a webpage. We recommend you ask your streaming provider if there's a way around this.
Is there a way to chat when the video goes fullscreen on mobile?
The Church Online Platform embeds your streaming provider's player. Some players force fullscreen on specific iOS web browsers. We recommend asking your streaming provider if there's an embed option that prevents fullscreen.
Can I disable the public chat during a live service?
The public chat feature may be turned off when setting up each individual service in the Service Content settings. Learn more about the public chat settings here.
My monthly or weekly repeating service ends instead or repeating forever. How can I extend it before it ends?
First, go into Admin/Services to be sure your date filter is set so you are seeing all dates in the future. If your filter is correct and the service stopped repeating, you can easily fix it.
Go into the last repeating service that shows and click on the left hand side over the date (there is no button there but the date is clickable). This will will bring up a new window that shows "End Repeat" at the bottom of the page. If there is a date there, then update the date to any future date you like. if there is no date there, then without making any changes click save to fix it and then you'll see the service will automatically repeat for the next year.
A key thing to keep in mind is that on Church Online, repeating services repeat the services in the calendar, but it does not repeat the content and the timing as each week's content and timing could be different. Therefore, if you have the same streaming embed code each week, you still need to copy that into future services. Nevertheless, we make that easy by selecting future services as described in the article at
Can I create a private link for internal events?
We recommend creating a new standalone account for this purpose. This would be an entirely new account with a different url so that your regular attendees won't see internal events or other private experiences. If you simply want to preview a service, see our documentation on how to run a preview service.
Streaming Questions
Can I use Facebook Live as a streaming provider?
Yes, Facebook Live can be used within the Platform. However, Facebook utilizes algorithms to detect copyright material. This algorithm is known to mistakenly block videos from being embedded and can be hard to resolve. Therefore, we recommend to look at alternatives if you run into this issue. For alternatives, see our recommended list of live streaming providers.
What's the difference between the URL and embed code options in service content?
The video URL option's primary purpose is for simulated live, and embed codes are to be used for live. Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube and Wistia are the 4 truly supported simulated live options to use the URL with, however other streaming companies video URLs might work in this as well. The best option is to try and add your URL and if it comes up invalid, you will need to use an embed code instead.
Do I need a live streaming provider?
Yes, you need a streaming provider that provides embed code you can copy/paste into the Church Online Platform.
How do I get started with a live stream?
For technical set up, equipment recommendations, and other common questions, watch the Life.Church Tech Team Q&A.
Can we do multiple streams/services in one account?
You can only do one event or stream at a time. To support multiple events, you will need multiple Church Online Platform accounts.
Can I stream directly to the Platform with a RTMP code?
We do not currently accept RTMP codes. The platform is compatible with iframe embed codes. You may reach out to your streaming provider to see if they provide iframe embed codes.
Can I use Restream to embed straight to the Platform?
Restream.io, allows you to stream to multiple destinations at one time, but they currently do not have their own player. Learn more about what they say and how you can embed into 3rd party websites, like Church Online Platform.