Create or edit a channel
In Sermons, create different channels for content you want to stream live or provide to watch at any time. For example, you might have separate channels for a contemporary service, a high school service, and a membership class.
Important
You must be subscribed to the Publishing Premium plan to create channels.
Create a channel
Select Content in the top navigation in Publishing.
Select the Sermons tab at the top of the page.
Select Add channel.
Follow the channel wizard to set up your channel's name, formats, and times.
Once you complete the channel setup, you're directed to the new channel's Settings tab.
Channel formats
Formats determine what types of content are available to congregants on your channel. You choose your formats during the initial wizard setup, but can update them anytime from the Settings tab.
Watch live: Enables livestream video on the channel. If watch live is not enabled, episodes in this channel won't show the watch live option on Church Center. Check out Publish your livestream for more details.
On-demand library or podcast: Enables video or audio episodes for on-demand viewing, or sermon audio for a podcast feed. You can choose one or more of the following:
Video: Add a pre-recorded video link to an episode for people to view anytime. Livestream videos are not automatically converted to on-demand videos — they must be manually added to an episode.
Audio: Upload an MP3, AAC, or MP4 file, or add a link to a file hosted elsewhere. (Videos added to Publishing are not automatically converted to audio.)
Podcast: Each time you create a new episode with sermon audio, that audio can be pushed to a Spotify or Apple podcast. Check out Set up a podcast feed for more details.
Sermon notes: Makes episode-specific notes available so congregants can follow along with a sermon.
Channel settings
The following settings can be found on a channel's Settings tab.
Description and Church Center availability
Select the ✏️ edit icon on the top left to choose the channel artwork. Upload images from your device, your saved library, or the Unsplash integration.
Tip
Use the image sizing guide to upload the right size and file type.
To edit the title of the channel, select the Actions button at the top right of the page and choose Edit title from the dropdown.
Add details about the channel in the Description section.
Set whether the channel should be published or unpublished on Church Center in the Availability on Church Center section.
Update watch live time and chat settings
Add your default start times in the Default availability section to set the times your live event takes place each week. You can change the times for a specific week on the episode page.
Add minutes to the Countdown timer in the Watch live section to start the stream a set number of minutes before the episode's start time.
Set the length of time from the episode's start time that the Watch now link shows on the channel's public page.
Enable chat during a live sermon for people logged in to Church Center. Members of groups can chat with each other if their group has chat enabled. Anyone who is logged in can participate in the general chat. A new conversation is created just for this episode and cannot be accessed later.
Important
To enable general or group chat during a live video, you must have a subscription to Planning Center Groups, even if your subscription is at the free level.
Select My livestream URL stays the same from week to week if your streaming provider allows you to use the same embed code for all streaming events, which is the recommended setup. Add the default code as the default livestream link for all episodes in the channel. If not, leave this field blank and input a livestream embed code in each episode's settings.
Audio podcast settings
Audio podcasts are a great way to release your weekly sermons, share bible study episodes, and more.
For details on the settings in this section, check out the article devoted to audio podcast settings.
Add default links
Add links to your channel that will be accessible when viewing any episode from that channel.
Scroll down to the Default links section of the channel's Settings tab.
Select the Add dropdown to add a custom link. This can be an existing People form, a Giving Fund, an external URL, or an Order of Service if you have a connected Services service type.
Select the default or custom icon for your link.
Add a title.
Select your form, fund, Order of Service, or add your external URL.
Select Save.
Drag the six-dot icon on the left to reorder the links. The link at the top will be the Featured link on live episodes.
Select the ✏️ edit icon to edit a link, or the 🗑️ delete icon to remove it.
Tip
Newly added links only show on episodes created after the links were added.
Connected Services service type
You can link your channel to a Services service type to import plan and series info into Publishing episodes.
Check out the Sermons and Services integration article to learn more.
Edit or archive a channel
Select Content in the top navigation in Publishing.
Select the Sermons tab at the top of the page.
Select a channel.
In the channel header, select the ✏️ edit icon to change the channel image.
Select the Actions menu on the right:
Edit title: Update the channel title.
Archive channel: This will archive the channel and all episodes and uploads. Archived channels can be restored by filtering the Sermons page to display archived channels. If you need to fully delete a channel, contact Planning Center's support team for assistance.
Convert to Series: If you created a channel to organize your sermons by topic, convert all of the episodes to a series and add them to another existing channel.
Make any other needed changes to the series or channel in the Series or Settings tabs.
Rearrange channels
Select Content in the top navigation in Publishing.
Select the Sermons tab at the top of the page.
Drag the six-dot icon on the left of the channel list to reorder your channels. The order on this tab determines how channels appear on the Channels page in Church Center.