YouTube Live Stream Integration

Live streaming your services allows people to participate in church from afar. You can create a free live stream through YouTube, which integrates with your church app. (Already have a live stream through another live stream provider? Learn how to add that to your app here.)

When creating your YouTube channel for the first time, you may need to wait 24 hours for YouTube to approve your account, so plan a few days in advance before launching your first live stream.

Getting Started

First, you'll need a YouTube account and channel to get started.

After logging in to your YouTube account, click your avatar icon in the upper right hand corner, then select Your Channel.

Next, click the video camera icon with the + on it in the upper right part of the screen.

Select 'Go Live.'

Next, you'll be prompted to enter some basic information about your live stream. Enter the following: 

• Title for your live stream
• Select 'Public'
• Schedule for later (optional) - you can go live now, or schedule the live stream to start at a later date/time
• Select 'No, it's not made for kids'
• Enter a description (optional; this will appear with the video in-app)
• Category: select 'Nonprofits & Activism' or other applicable category

Click 'Next.'

YouTube will take a photo via your webcam for the thumbnail. Once that is taken, you will have the option to upload a custom thumbnail photo, or retake the photo (in the example below, we have uploaded a custom thumbnail photo).

Click 'Go Live' to go live now, or click 'Done' if you have scheduled to go live later. 

Adding Your Live Video to a YouTube Playlist 

In order to use the YouTube video integration with your aware3 app, you will need to add the video to a YouTube playlist. After you go live or schedule your live video for a future date/time (steps outlined above), click on your avatar in the upper righthand corner of the screen and click "Your channel":

Next, click YouTube Studio:

Next, click 'Videos' on the left hand side:

Next, click the 'Live' tab to view your live videos:

Hover over the video name and click the pencil icon to edit the video:

Next, add the video to a playlist:

You can either add it to an existing playlist if you have already created a playlist for your live stream(s), or create a new playlist on the spot (click 'New Playlist' to create a new playlist):

Click 'Done,' and make sure to save your changes.

Adding Your Playlist to Your App

After adding your live video to a playlist, the last step is to add the playlist to your app through a Watch feature. 

First, go back to your Channel videos:

From your channel page, click Playlists on the left side menu:

Click on the name of the playlist that includes your live video(s) to open the playlist within YouTube. Then copy the URL onto your clipboard:

Finally, add the playlist URL to a Watch feature in your aware3 management portal (aware3.net):

If you have scheduled a live video that hasn't started yet, a countdown will appear in-app:

Questions about setting up a live stream in your app? Drop us a note at support@aware3.com!