Sermon Media: Your Church’s Message Library, Always Accessible
Your congregation wants to hear your messages again. Whether they missed a Sunday, want to share a sermon with a friend, or listen during their commute, having your sermons available online is no longer optional—it’s expected. The good news? Managing that library doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Empowering Churches With Online Sermon Access
OnlineGiving.org’s Sermon Media feature gives you a central place to organize your sermon content. You create series (like “Advent 2024” or “Faith in Action”), add individual sermons with titles and dates, attach audio and video, and tag them with speakers, topics, and scriptures. Once you’ve set it up, your congregation can browse and play your messages from your giving website and from your church’s mobile app.
For churches with multiple campuses, you can assign sermons to specific campuses so each location sees only its own content. For churches with a single campus, the setup is even simpler. Either way, the goal is the same: make your teaching accessible wherever your people are.
From Sunday Morning to Everywhere
When you add a sermon, you provide an audio URL (or upload an MP3 file directly) and optionally a video URL. The system supports YouTube, Vimeo (both embedded player and direct MP4 links), and other video providers. Your sermons appear in your mobile app’s Messages section, organized by series, so users can stream audio or video on their phones, tablets, or computers.
You can also enrich each sermon with speakers (e.g., your lead pastor, guest speakers), topics (e.g., “Faith,” “Family”), and scriptures (e.g., “Romans 8:28”). These tags help your congregation find sermons by theme or by who preached them. The same metadata powers search and filtering in the control panel and in the app.
Organizing Your Content
Think of Sermon Media as a two-level structure: Series at the top (the container) and Sermons inside each series. A series has a title, a start date, and an image. Each sermon belongs to one series and has a title, date, audio URL, optional video, optional image, and optional notes or description. You manage speakers, topics, and scriptures in separate sections of the control panel, then assign them to sermons when you create or edit them.
In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Sermon Media feature.
Sermon Media User Guide
The Sermon Media feature lives under the Mobile App section of the control panel. From there you access Sermon Series, individual Sermons, Sermon Speakers, Sermon Topics, and Sermon Scriptures. Each piece works together to build a searchable, browsable library that appears on your giving website and in your church’s mobile app.
Key Takeaways
- Sermon Series: Create and manage series (e.g., “Advent 2024”) with a title, start date, and image. Each series can contain multiple sermons.
- Individual Sermons: Add sermons with title, date, audio URL (or MP3 upload), optional video (YouTube, Vimeo, or other), optional image, and notes. Assign to a series, campus (if multi-campus), and optionally speakers, topics, and scriptures.
- Speakers, Topics, and Scriptures: Manage these in separate sections, then assign them to sermons. They enable filtering and discovery in the app.
- Audio & Video: Audio is required (URL or MP3 upload). Video is optional and supports YouTube, Vimeo (embedded or direct MP4/HLS), and other providers.
- Mobile App: Sermons automatically sync to your church’s mobile app. Changes you make in the control panel are reflected in the app.
Table of Contents
- Sermon Media Overview
- Managing Sermon Series
- Managing Sermons
- Uploading Audio and Video
- Speakers, Topics, and Scriptures
- Displaying Sermons in the Mobile App
- Multi-Campus Sermons
- Analytics & Event Tracking
- Frequently Asked Questions
Sermon Media Overview
Accessing Sermon Media
To open Sermon Media:
- Log in to the control panel.
- In the left navigation, expand the “Mobile App” section.
- Click “Sermon Media”.
You’ll land on the Sermon Series page, which lists all your series. From here you can create a new series, view all sermons across series, or drill into a specific series to manage its sermons.
Series and Sermon Structure
A series is a grouping of sermons (e.g., “Easter 2024” or “The Fruit of the Spirit”). Each series has a title, a start date, and an image. A sermon belongs to exactly one series and includes a title, date, audio URL (required), optional video, optional image, and optional notes. Sermons can also be tagged with one or more speakers, topics, and scriptures.
Managing Sermon Series
How to Create a Series
- From the Sermon Media page, click “Create New Series”.
- Enter the Series Title (e.g., “Advent 2024”).
- Enter the Series Start Date (MM/DD/YYYY format).
- Upload a Series Image (required for new series). Use the upload button to select an image from your computer. The image will appear as the series cover in the mobile app.
- Click “Save”.
After saving, you’ll be redirected to create the first sermon in that series. You can also return to the series list and click a series title to manage its sermons.
How to Edit or Delete a Series
From the series list, use the gear icon (or dropdown) next to a series and choose “Edit Series”. Update the title, start date, or image, then click “Save”.
To delete a series, choose “Delete Series” from the same menu. You must delete all sermons in the series first. If any sermons remain, you’ll see an error asking you to remove them before deleting the series.
Managing Sermons
How to View Sermons
From the Sermon Media page, click “View All Sermons” to see every sermon across all series. Or click a series title to see only that series’s sermons.
The sermons table shows Date, Title, Campus (if multi-campus is enabled), Video (preview link if present), and Audio (inline player). Use the date range filter and title search to narrow results. You can also filter by speaker, topic, or scripture when viewing all sermons.
How to Create a Sermon
- From a series page, click “Create New Sermon”. Or from the series list, open a series and click “Create New Sermon”.
- Enter the Sermon Date (MM/DD/YYYY).
- Enter the Sermon Title.
- If multi-campus is enabled, optionally select a Sermon Campus.
- Add Sermon Notes/Description (optional). This is a rich text field for sermon summaries or discussion points.
- Optionally upload a sermon image (otherwise the series image is used for display).
- Select the Sermon Series (required).
- Select one or more Sermon Speaker(s), Topic(s), and Scripture(s) (optional).
- In the Audio & Video section, enter the Sermon Audio URL (required) or upload an MP3 file. For video, choose the Video Provider (YouTube, Vimeo, or Other) and enter the appropriate URL(s).
- Click “Save”.
How to Edit or Delete a Sermon
From the sermons table, use the gear icon next to a sermon and choose “Edit Sermon”. Update any fields and click “Save”.
To delete a sermon, choose “Delete Sermon”. Confirm when prompted. The sermon is permanently removed and will no longer appear in the app.
Uploading Audio and Video
Audio Setup (URL or MP3 Upload)
Every sermon must have an audio URL. You can either:
- Enter a URL: Paste the full URL to an MP3 file hosted elsewhere (e.g., your website, a CDN, or a podcast host).
- Upload an MP3 file: Use the “Upload Sermon MP3 File” button to select an MP3 from your computer. The file is uploaded to OnlineGiving.org storage, and the audio URL is filled in automatically.
After entering a URL or completing an upload, an audio player appears so you can preview the sermon.
Video Providers (YouTube, Vimeo, Other)
Video is optional. When adding a video, select the Video Provider:
- YouTube: Enter a YouTube watch URL (e.g., youtube.com/watch?v=...) or a short link (youtu.be/...). The system converts it to an embed URL for playback.
- Vimeo (Embedded Player): Enter a Vimeo video URL. The system converts it to the player embed URL for web playback.
- Vimeo (MP4 Direct Links): For better mobile app playback, you can provide direct MP4 and HLS (m3u8) URLs from Vimeo’s Advanced Settings. Use the “Download the Video” High Def MP4 URL for the app, and the “Play the Video” HLS URL for Apple devices. The “Play the Video” High Def MP4 URL is used for website widgets.
- Other: Enter any video embed URL or direct video file URL.
A preview button lets you open the video in a new tab to verify it plays correctly.
Speakers, Topics, and Scriptures
Managing Speakers
Speakers are the people who preach your sermons (e.g., lead pastor, associate pastor, guest speakers). To manage them:
- From the Mobile App section, click “Sermon Speakers”.
- Create new speakers with a name and optional image URL.
- Edit or delete existing speakers as needed.
When creating or editing a sermon, select one or more speakers from the dropdown. Sermons can have multiple speakers (e.g., a co-taught message).
Managing Topics
Topics are thematic tags (e.g., “Faith,” “Family,” “Prayer”). Manage them under “Sermon Topics” in the Mobile App section. Create topics with a name and optional image, then assign them to sermons. Users can filter sermons by topic in the app.
Managing Scriptures
Scriptures are Bible references (e.g., “Romans 8:28”, “John 3:16”). Manage them under “Sermon Scriptures”. Create scriptures with a name and optional image, then assign them to sermons. This helps congregants find sermons by passage.
Displaying Sermons in the Mobile App
When you create, edit, or delete a series or sermon, the sermon feed is automatically updated. Your church’s mobile app reads this feed and displays your sermons in the Messages section, organized by series. Users can browse series, tap a sermon, and play the audio or video.
No manual sync is required. Changes you make in the control panel are reflected in the app as soon as users refresh or reopen the Messages section.
Multi-Campus Sermons
If your church has multiple campuses and the multi-campus sermons setting is enabled, you can assign each sermon to a specific campus (or leave it as “All Campuses”). When viewing sermons in the control panel, you can filter by campus. In the mobile app, users may see campus-specific content depending on how your app is configured.
Series themselves are not campus-specific; only individual sermons can be assigned to a campus. This allows a series like “Advent 2024” to contain sermons from different campuses.
Analytics & Event Tracking
When members browse sermons in the mobile app, the following screen views are automatically tracked in your Google Analytics dashboard:
- Sermon Feed Index Page — when members open the sermon library
- Series Detail: [series title] — when members view a specific series
- Sermon Detail: [sermon title] — when members view a specific sermon
- Audio Sermon: [sermon title] — when members open the audio player
- Sermons: Archive Page — when members browse the full archive
- View Sermon Speakers — when members browse the speakers list
- View Sermon Topics — when members browse topics
- View Sermon Scriptures — when members browse scriptures
Additionally, every tap and navigation action within the sermon section is tracked as an element click event in GA4, with details about what was tapped and where. This data helps you understand which sermons, series, and speakers are most popular with your congregation.
Note: Audio play and pause events are not separately tracked—only screen views. To see which sermons get the most engagement, check the screen view reports in Google Analytics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a sermon in more than one series?
No. Each sermon belongs to exactly one series. If you need the same message in multiple series, you would create two separate sermon entries (each with the same audio/video URLs) and assign them to different series.
What video formats are supported?
The system supports YouTube and Vimeo (both embedded and direct MP4/HLS links), plus any other provider via embed or direct video URLs. For the best mobile app experience with Vimeo, use the direct MP4 and HLS URLs from Vimeo’s Advanced Settings under Distribution.
Do I need to host my own audio files?
No. You can upload MP3 files directly through the sermon form. The file is stored by OnlineGiving.org and a public URL is generated. Alternatively, you can host MP3s on your own website or a third-party service and paste the URL.
How do I delete a series that has sermons?
You must delete all sermons in the series first. Go to the series, delete each sermon one by one, then return to the series list and delete the series.
Will my sermons appear on my giving website?
Sermons are primarily displayed in your church’s mobile app. Your giving website may also have a Messages or Sermons section that pulls from the same sermon feed, depending on your theme and configuration. Check your website’s pages to see how sermons are presented to visitors.
Can I assign multiple speakers to one sermon?
Yes. The Sermon Speaker(s) field allows multiple selections. Use this for co-taught messages or when a guest speaker joins your lead pastor.
Who can access Sermon Media in the control panel?
Sermon Media is part of the Mobile App section and requires the Native App Admin role. If you don’t see it, your administrator may need to assign you that role. Need help? Contact support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000.