Uploading sermons

This purpose of this document is to explain the process of taking a sermon from the mp3
recorder, preparing it, and publishing the sermon on the www.corshambaptists.org website.

This document aims to reach both people with a strong technical background and those who
do not, so as you read the instructions there may well be steps described in greater detail than you require. In addition, I have included some instructions for specific free software packages that can be used in this process, however you may wish to use other software packages you are familiar with.

When it comes to the post-processing audio instructions the document summarises the steps
required to process an audio file, and later in the document I have included a number of
screenshots that are specific to particular software packages you may decide to use.

An overview of the process:

Sermon Upload Instructions-Audacity Sermon Upload Instructions-GarageBand Upload Workflow

Step 1: Transfer sermon recording to your computer

  1. Transfer the recording from the rack-mounted recorder to a thumb drive, detailed instructions are here.
  2. Locate the sermon mp3 files on the drive that appears in Windows Explorer on a Windows PC, or in the Finder on a Mac and drag them to a folder on your computer.

Step 2: Post-process the audio file

There are many applications available to edit the recorded audio file, however I have provided screenshots for Audacity and GarageBand too. The following points detail the steps required to produce the mp3 file ready to be uploaded.

  1. Convert track to mono (otherwise the recorded audio only plays through the left channel)
  2. Adjust the track volume to achieve a decent volume level.
  3. Trim the audio to remove unnecessary noise/speaking before and after the sermon.
  4. Set the meta data on the mp3 file such as preacher and service date.
  5. Save the mp3 using the following naming convention YYYY_MM_DD_AM/PM.mp3. For example the morning service for the 16th February 2014 file would be named 2014_02_16_AM.mp3

Step 3: Publishing the sermon on the website

Now that the file has been uploaded to the church website it must be published. Follow these steps to publish the sermon:

  1. Log into the http://corshambaptists.org/wp-admin. All members of the team now have individual logins in the form FirstNameLastInitial, for example I am tims.
  2. Select Sermons > Add Sermon from the menu.
  3. At the top of this page there is now a section to automatically complete many of the details based on the mp3 file data you entered above. Alternatively you may enter it long-hand using the instructions in the next step.
  4. Review (or enter) any missing details in the other fields on the page: Title, Preacher, Series, Date, Service, Time, Bible passage (to and from). Tags and Description tend not to be used.
  5. If provided add a second attachment for the LIFE group notes. The file name and path should be replaced with the path to the media file:
    <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2016_10_30_AM_LIFE.pdf"><span class="dashicons dashicons-download"></span>Download LIFE group notes</a>

Step 4: Verify the sermon has been published

Check that the sermon has published as expected

  1. Go to http://corshambaptists.org/sermon
  2. Locate the sermon by date
  3. Check the mp3 file plays and all the details such as preacher and scripture are correct