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Sermons

Sermon Foundations

Before you add a sermon to your app, there are a few values you'll need to add to MinistryPlatform. Add these values ahead of time to set yourself up for success.

Add a Speaker

The Speaker identifies which pastor or guest speaker gave which message. A callout displays under each sermon image and on each sermon item on the Sermon Series detail screens. After adding your Speaker, you can add them to the sermon they preached.
Tip: Attach a photo of the Sermon Speaker to each Sermon Speaker's record. It will show up on the Sermon screen detail. Have a guest speaker? Create a Speaker record and assign it to the default contact. The only information that shows up in the app from the Speaker record is the speaker's name and profile photo. Just make sure the image attached to the default contact is a good one.
  1. Go to PocketPlatform > Sermon Speakers.
  2. Click New Sermon Speaker.
  3. Add the Speaker's information.
    1. Contact – The Contact record for the sermon speaker.
    2. Display Name – How you'd like the sermon speaker's name to display in your app. For example, "Pastor Bob", "Father John", or "Professor Anne".
    3. Optional: Bio – Optionally, add the sermon speaker's bio. This does not currently display in the app.
  4. Click Save.

Add a Sermon Series

A Sermon Series is a group of sermons that go together. It might be focused on a book of the Bible, like Romans, or on a topic, like Advent. Putting your sermons in a series makes them easier to organize and find.

  1. Go to PocketPlatform > Sermon Series.
  2. Click New Sermon Series.
  3. Add the following:
    1. Title: The title of your sermon series.
    2. Display Title: If you'd like a different title to display for the series, add it here.
    3. Subtitle: Additional descriptive text about the sermon series.
    4. Status: "Hidden", "Draft", or "Published".
    5. Position: The order the sermon series displays on the app.
      Note: If you don't enter a value for Position, the series sorts by Sermon Series ID in ascending order.
    6. Series Start Date: The date of the first sermon.
  4. Click Save.

Add a Sermon Series Category

If you want sermons to display on set-top devices like Apple TV or Roku, you must use Sermon Series Categories. These allow for categorized view and control of sermon series.

  1. Go to PocketPlatform > Sermon Series Category.
  2. Click New Sermon Series Category.
  3. Add the following:
    1. Category Name: A user-friendly name for the sermon series category. This displays in the apps, so be strategic so people can find what they're looking for.
    2. Position: The order the categories will be displayed in.
      Tip: Negative numbers will display before positive ones, so add a "-1" if you need to bump a new category to the top of the list.
    3. Start Date: The date your sermon series category will be available in the apps.
    4. End Date: The date your sermon series category will stop being available in the app.
  4. Click Save.

Apple TV and Roku apps show horizontally scrolling lists of sermon series, which directly correlate to the Sermon Series Categories.

Add a Sermon Series Type

Sermon Series Types are used to create "buckets" of media. Some examples include Sunday Sermons, Devotionals, Kids Media, and Small Group Lessons.
  1. Go to PocketPlatform Lookups > Sermon Series Types.
  2. Click New Sermon Series Type.
  3. Add your series type.
  4. If needed, select the congregation or parish this type applies to.
  5. If you're ready to use this type in the app, set Enabled to Yes.
  6. Click Save.

After adding the Sermon Series Type, you can apply it to each relevant sermon series. That way, those series are organized within this type.

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Last updated: November 26, 2024