BoxCast helped Gibson City Bible Church offer an inviting preview to those not ready to visit, yet.
Evolving the church’s radio ministry to reach more people digitally
Gibson City Bible Church is celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2025, yet has maintained the same mission since day one: to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus in their city and throughout the world. For much of their history, investing time and money in a robust radio ministry was the perfect solution to do just that. However, in the mid 2010’s, they came across a website hosted by BoxCast that provided live and recorded broadcasts from Moody Bible Institute’s annual Founder’s Week conference.
Inspired by Moody's leadership in leveraging technology for global outreach, Gibson City explored how to adopt a similar live online presence to enhance its digital strategy.
A modern website and high-quality live stream as the church’s digital front door
Inspired by Moody's livestream, Bonnie researched BoxCast and found that getting started was incredibly simple: just connect a camera to a BoxCaster streaming encoder. With this newfound ease, she promptly prepared a live streaming proposal for the church elder board's approval.
The elders' core interest in streaming was driven by a desire to expand their outreach to the broader community, while also providing encouragement to homebound church members and even missionaries across the globe.
Beyond streaming, they also leveraged Sites to upgrade their website to an attractive and secure format, optimized for computers, tablets, and phones. This allowed them to easily select from a range of modern templates, intuitively arrange their information, and officially update their site with ease.
Consistent online engagement for members and visitors alike
50-70 Weekly Online Viewers
In person weekly attendance for worship services is strong and consistent, yet Gibson City has added upwards of 50 additional weekly attendees through their live stream. They also broadcast important community events like funerals and their local high school’s baccalaureate, and shared that “online viewership for these types of services are off the charts.”
They see their website and live stream as essential tools that complement the wide range of ministries that happen inside their walls. Over time, their video production has evolved from a single camera shoot to a 5 camera PTZ setup controlled by a single operator. Additionally, Bonnie and her team of volunteers are always looking for better ways to improve their live stream for those who are watching.
A Clearer Path to Church Attendance
By combining a modern website with a reliable, high-quality live stream, Gibson City Bible Church created an accessible first step for prospective visitors. Building on years of radio ministry, they embraced new technology to offer those not yet ready to attend in person a way to engage and experience what it’s like to be part of their church.
Steady Growth, Broader Impact
In addition to their 300 weekly in-person attendees, Gibson City Bible Church consistently welcomes 50 or more online viewers to attend their services each week. Whether it’s members who can’t attend, missionaries tuning in from abroad, or distant relatives joining for a special service, their volunteer team runs a multi-camera production that extends the church’s ministry well beyond its walls.