The Benefits of Sermon Transcriptions for Pastors and Preachers

The Bible, in whatever edition or translation, teaches Christians about the importance of their duty to spread the Word of God. A representative of Bible League International even emphasized that God’s word can and should be spread in any way, even if it means reaching more people digitally.

This may not be the first idea to come to mind, but sermon transcription can help you spread your faith and eventually attract new believers faster and more effectively. Here are the core reasons why pastors and preachers should get sermons transcribed:

• Publishing sermon transcripts extends the reach of your sermons to a wider audience.

Sermons do not have to be limited inside the walls of your church. Using sermon transcription allows you to reach people interested in the topic of your homily, and this could be anyone around the world! Sermon transcripts enables the current members of your church to share and spread your faith through social media sites. Print documents also enable you to reach the deaf or people hard of hearing who cannot fully participate in actual worship services, as it is difficult for them to understand the preacher without any sign language interpreter. The same goes to people who were unable to attend the gathering but simply don’t have the time to listen or watch the whole recording. Sermon transcripts let them access doctrines at their convenience for personal devotions.

• Rich keywords found in sermon transcripts enhance the online presence of your website.  

While videos with captions or subtitles can also serve people hard of hearing, sermon transcripts serve a double purpose. Transcripts add value to your online presence as text documents like transcripts are indexed by search engines such as Google, increasing the chance of people finding your website. Truth is, when people have questions, the first place they will look answers from is Google. This is why connecting content marketing and SEO is considered the new framework for digital marketing success. The more frequent you publish content, the greater chance your website will rank high in search engines.

• Posting sermon transcripts regularly keep your website up to date and your audience engaged.

Whether it’s for your church’s official website or your personal page as a pastor or preacher, keeping your audience engaged with the latest content lets you maintain and gain new faithful followers to your site. If you do not have the time and resources to generate content consistently, sermon transcription is a cost-effective solution you can take into consideration. Publishing transcripts of sermons or bible studies may also promote two-way communications between the preacher and his congregation, opening the floor to possible questions and further discussions that they cannot accommodate in actual worship services.

• Sermon transcripts contains rich information handy for re-purposing content.

Transcripts are smaller in file size than audio and video recordings, thus, easier to archive. A collection of sermon transcripts is a haven of information you can re-purpose not just for your website (blog post, e-book, etc.) but in developing content for religious magazines, books, and other publications as well. In addition, theology or ministerial students can use sermon archives as a reliable source of information to cross-reference to when needed.

Transcripts are extremely useful tools for propagating information, including religious beliefs. In fact, many churches or religious institutions have adapted the consistent use of sermon transcription, as it brings great support to their evangelical missions.