Start with who is in the room
Most churches fit more than one of these pages. The simplest way to choose where to begin is to think about last Sunday. Who was there that could not really follow the sermon, and how often are they there? That answer points you to the right page and gives you a rough idea of how many credits you will use.
- Several languages, every week: you are a multi-ethnic church, an international church near a university, or a congregation that has quietly become multilingual. Start with multi-ethnic and international churches.
- One or two languages, people new to the country: immigrant families, refugees, asylum seekers, people your church is helping resettle. Read immigrant and refugee ministry.
- Now and then, a preacher in another language: a missionary on furlough, a pastor from a partner church in Mexico or Kenya, a visiting evangelist. See guest speakers.
- Special services with relatives from far away: weddings, baptisms, quinceañeras and funerals. See weddings, baptisms and funerals.
- Big one-time events: conferences, summer camps, retreats, denominational gatherings. See conferences, camps and events.
- A small congregation, a small budget and one volunteer at the sound board: see small churches.
What is the same every time
For the listener, nothing changes from one situation to the next. They scan a QR code, choose their language in the browser and hear a translated voice in their earbuds, with live captions on the screen. No account, no download. On the church side, one person starts a broadcast from a laptop or phone, ideally with a feed from the sound board. The guide on how to translate a church service covers the setup step by step.
What changes is the planning: how many of the 79 languages you switch on (up to 40 per church), who runs the broadcast, whether you can test ahead of time, and whether a person would serve the moment better than software. Each page is honest about that last question. Live translation works well for sermons, announcements, Scripture readings, prayers and teaching. For a pastoral conversation, or a eulogy given by a grieving relative, a bilingual person who knows the family is often the better choice. The page on interpreters versus AI translation goes into this.
A quick word on cost
You pay in credits: 1 credit is 1 minute of translation into 1 language, and a language only uses credits while someone is actually listening to it. That keeps occasional use affordable and weekly use predictable. Plans start at $65 a month. The cost guide has worked examples, and the pricing page lists every plan.
Still deciding? Every new church account comes with a free 10-minute trial service, which is usually enough to hear how your own pastor sounds in Spanish, Korean or Vietnamese.