Checklist for your first translated worship service

Who does what

In most churches, three or four people share the work. Decide who they are before anything else, and make sure each one has read the part that concerns them.

• Tech lead: sets up the audio feed and the broadcast laptop, runs the sound check and watches the input meter during the service.
• Backup tech: invited to the team account and trained on the same setup, so a vacation or a sick day does not stop translation.
• Pastor or preacher: knows translation is running and adjusts a few speaking habits.
• Greeter or connection team member: points visitors to the QR code and helps anyone who gets stuck.

What to have on hand

A laptop (or phone) with a current browser and its charger, a USB audio interface and the right cables to your mixer's aux or matrix output, the Wi-Fi details for the booth, and a few printed QR code signs. See the audio setup guide if any of that is unfamiliar.

Two weeks before

1. 01
   Create the church account

   Sign up on the registration page. Set the speaker language and the languages visitors may choose. Set your portal to English and your time zone if needed.

2. 02
   Invite the team

   Add your backup tech, and anyone else who might run the broadcast, to the team account.

3. 03
   Run the free trial

   Use the free 10-minute trial service on a weekday. One person speaks from the platform, another listens on a phone in the lobby.

4. 04
   Build the translation feed

   Set up an aux or matrix send with the spoken mics, connect the USB interface and confirm the laptop sees it.

5. 05
   Check your languages

   If you plan to use a language with a Beta label, ask a native speaker to listen during a test and tell you honestly how it sounds.

The week before

1. 01
   Brief the preacher

   Ask them to speak at a steady pace, give Scripture references in full, briefly explain unusual terms and leave a breath between a quoted verse and their comment on it.

2. 02
   Plan the speaker languages

   Look at the order of service. Is there a Spanish reading, a testimony in Portuguese or a guest preacher? Note when the speaker language needs to switch and who will tap it.

3. 03
   Prepare the QR code

   Add it to the pre-service slides, the bulletin or church app, and print signs for the welcome center and the sanctuary doors.

4. 04
   Tell the people it is for

   Text or message the families and members who will benefit. Send them the listener guide, or ask a bilingual friend to explain it.

5. 05
   Announce it briefly

   One line in the announcements or bulletin is enough: live translation is available, scan the QR code, bring earbuds.

Saturday

• Charge the laptop and phone, and fresh batteries for wireless mics.
• Pack the interface, USB cable, audio cable and a spare.
• Check that the laptop has no pending system updates that might start on Sunday morning.
• Confirm the backup tech knows they may be needed.

Sunday morning

1. 01
   Arrive early

   Give yourself at least 30 minutes before the service starts. The first week always takes longer.

2. 02
   Connect and select the input

   Plug in the interface, open the broadcast page and choose the right input. Turn off sleep mode, notifications and screen savers.

3. 03
   Do a voice check

   Have the pastor or worship leader say a few sentences from the platform. Watch the meter, adjust the send, gain or boost, and listen on a phone with earbuds.

4. 04
   Put the QR code up

   On screen as people arrive, and on signs at the doors and welcome center.

5. 05
   Start the broadcast early

   A few minutes before the service, so early listeners can connect and settle in before the welcome.

During the service

• Keep an eye on the input meter, especially when speakers change.
• Switch the speaker language with one tap when someone speaks in another language, and switch back afterward.
• Use the pause button for a video or a long instrumental if you prefer not to translate it.
• Have the greeter check in with first-time listeners during the first song: is it working, can they hear?
• Listen on your own phone for a few minutes during the sermon.

After the service

1. 01
   Stop the broadcast

   Stop it after the last announcement so you do not use credits on conversations in the lobby.

2. 02
   Talk to listeners

   Ask the people who listened: was it loud enough, was the delay okay, did they use audio or captions only?

3. 03
   Read the transcript

   Open the service in the history and correct obvious mistakes, so it reads well for anyone who asked for it by email.

4. 04
   Note three improvements

   Usually one about sound, one about the preacher's pace or names, and one about the QR code or welcome. Fix them before next Sunday.

After a month

Look at your credit usage and check that your plan fits (see costs). Ask whether translation could help at a baptism, a funeral or a midweek service. Most of all, think about what comes after translation: how a newcomer can join a small group, serve on a team or be invited to lunch. Bilingual and multilingual churches has ideas for that next step.

For the full picture, read how to translate a church service.