How to stream your church service with OBS and Strevalo — a complete beginner's guide

Whether you're a parish administrator, a church volunteer, or simply the person who always gets handed the technology jobs — this guide will walk you through streaming your first church service from start to finish. No technical background required.

What you will need

Before you start, you need three things: a Strevalo account (free trial available), a laptop or desktop computer, and a camera or webcam. A dedicated microphone helps but a good camera with a built-in mic will work for many churches starting out.

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is the tool that connects your camera to the internet. It is free, trusted by professional broadcasters worldwide, and simpler than it looks. Download it from obsproject.com — it takes about three minutes to install.

Step 1: Create your event on Strevalo

Log in to your Strevalo account and click New Event. Give it a title — "Sunday Morning Mass" or "Weekly Service" works perfectly. Set the privacy to Password Protected so only your congregation members can watch. Choose a password that is easy for your parishioners to remember and share it in your weekly bulletin or email.

Once created, Strevalo gives you two things: an RTMP server URL and a stream key. These are your connection credentials. Copy them — you will need them in Step 3.

💡 Tip: Set up your event the day before, not five minutes before Mass begins. This gives you time to test the connection without any pressure.

Step 2: Set up OBS

Open OBS. Go to Settings → Stream. Change the Service to Custom, paste your Strevalo RTMP URL in the Server field, and paste your stream key in the Stream Key field. Click Apply.

Now go to Settings → Output and set your video bitrate to 2,500–4,000 Kbps. If your internet connection is slower, use 1,500 Kbps — your stream will still look good. Set audio bitrate to 128 Kbps.

Go to Settings → Video and set the output resolution to 1280×720 at 30 frames per second. Click OK.

Step 3: Add your camera and microphone

In the main OBS window, click the + button under Sources and choose Video Capture Device. Select your camera from the list. Drag and resize it to fill the preview area.

Click + again and choose Audio Input Capture. Select your microphone. Watch the audio level meter at the bottom of OBS — it should move when you speak, reaching the yellow range but not the red.

🎙️ Audio matters more than video. Your congregation will forgive a slightly imperfect picture, but poor audio will cause them to stop watching. If you have a dedicated microphone or a mixing desk in the church, always use it.

Step 4: Do a test stream

Before the service begins, start streaming to check everything works. Click Start Streaming in OBS. Open your Strevalo event page in a different browser or on your phone and enter the password. You should see your camera feed within about ten seconds.

Check the audio, check the picture quality, and confirm you can see the stream health indicator in your Strevalo dashboard showing green. Stop the stream, fix anything that needs adjusting, and you are ready for Sunday.

Step 5: Go live on the day

On the day of the service, open OBS about fifteen minutes before it begins. Click Start Streaming. Share your event's watch link with your congregation — via WhatsApp, text message, email, or your church website. Viewers click the link, enter the password, and watch.

When the service ends, click Stop Streaming in OBS. Strevalo automatically saves the recording. Your congregation can watch the replay on the same link at any time.

Common questions

What if the stream drops mid-service?

OBS will try to reconnect automatically. If it cannot, simply click Start Streaming again. Your viewers will need to refresh their browser but the watch link stays the same.

Can we use a phone as a camera?

Yes. Use an app like DroidCam or Camo to turn your phone into a webcam connected to OBS. A fixed position on a tripod pointed at the altar works well for most services.

Does Strevalo work with our existing sound system?

Yes. If your church has a mixing desk, connect an audio output from the desk to your laptop using a 3.5mm or USB audio interface. This gives you clear, amplified audio directly from your PA system — far better than any camera microphone.