To keep a church logo and service schedule visible over a sermon stream in OBS, add the logo as an Image Source and the schedule as a Text Source, then place both above the sermon video in the Sources list. Use Studio Mode to preview layout changes before transitioning them to the live output.
A nonstop stream is an operating goal, not a promise that one OBS session or a YouTube broadcast will stay connected indefinitely. Build the overlay once, test it in the YouTube Live Control Room, and plan who will check the stream and respond if it stops.
Prepare the logo and schedule before opening OBS
Start with artwork the church is authorised to use. A transparent PNG is often practical for a logo because it can sit over the video without a solid rectangular background. Keep an unchanged copy of the original file, and make a working copy with a clear name, such as church-logo-live.png. This makes it easier to identify the correct asset later if someone else has to maintain the scene.
Decide what the schedule needs to say before entering it. For example, “Sunday worship • 10:00 AM” is shorter and easier to scan than a paragraph of announcements. If viewers may be in different time zones, state the relevant zone rather than assuming everyone is local. Confirm the wording and times with the person responsible for the service schedule; an overlay can remain on screen for hours, so an outdated time is visible for just as long.
Check how the logo and text will appear at the stream’s output size. A mark that looks legible on a large editing monitor may be too small on a phone. Leave margin from the edges, and avoid putting text over faces, sermon captions, or details that viewers need to see. These are practical checks, not a guarantee that every screen will render the overlay identically.
Keep the files somewhere the computer running OBS can access. If you move an image after adding it to a scene, OBS may no longer find it at the saved location. A small folder for the stream’s approved assets is easier to maintain than a file left in a temporary downloads folder. If you are preparing more than a sermon scene, the advice on running an always-on devotional stream may also help you think through what should be on screen between scheduled services.
Create or select the sermon scene
In OBS, a scene is the layout that you send to the stream. Select the existing scene that contains the sermon feed if it is already set up. Otherwise create a dedicated scene, give it a clear name such as “Sermon – continuous”, and add the actual video source: that might be a camera, a capture device, or a prepared video, depending on how the church produces the feed.
Before adding overlays, confirm that the sermon picture is visible and sized as intended. The background feed should be the foundation of the scene. If the church changes between a camera and a recorded sermon, consider separate scenes rather than trying to rebuild the layout during a service. You can then check that the logo and schedule appear correctly on each scene before selecting one for the broadcast.
OBS source order controls what covers what. Its Sources Guide explains that a source higher in the list appears over a source below it and can hide part of what is underneath. This is why the logo and schedule must sit above the sermon source, not below it. Keep the scene’s name and source names descriptive: “Sermon video”, “Church logo”, and “Service schedule” are more useful than a row of generic labels when a volunteer needs to make a careful change.
If you are using OBS for a long-running video playlist as well as a sermon feed, keep the production choices separate from the overlay task. The guide to OBS AMD encoder settings for a 24/7 video playlist covers a different part of that setup. The logo-and-schedule workflow here does not by itself decide the encoder settings or make a stream continuous.
Add the logo as an Image Source
With the sermon scene selected, use the Sources add control and choose Image. Give the source a recognisable name, then browse to the approved logo file. OBS should display the artwork in the scene preview. If it does not, check that the selected file is the intended image and that it has not been moved or renamed since you prepared it.
An Image Source suits a static logo: it is a direct way to add the artwork without building a web page or an animated graphic. OBS documents the available options in its Image Sources guide. Once the image appears, drag it into a corner or another clear area of the preview and resize it with the on-screen handles. Keep its proportions intact so the logo does not become stretched. If the artwork has transparent areas, those should let the sermon picture show through.
Do not judge the final placement only against an empty preview. Look at the sermon feed beneath the logo. A corner that looks clear during a wide shot could cover a speaker’s face when the camera changes, or overlap a lower-third caption. Move the logo if it competes with content viewers need. If the church uses different sermon scenes, inspect the same placement on each rather than assuming one position works everywhere.
Once the image is positioned, lock the source if your OBS version offers that control and you do not expect to move it. Locking reduces the chance of selecting and dragging the logo accidentally while working on another part of the scene. It does not protect against every mistake, so preview the scene after any change.
Add the schedule as a Text Source
Add a Text source from the Sources controls, name it “Service schedule”, and enter the approved schedule wording. OBS’s Text Sources guide describes this source as a way to render simple text in a stream or recording layout. Choose a font and size that remain readable in the preview at the planned output dimensions. Use a colour with clear contrast against the video; a restrained background or outline can help where the picture changes, but check that it does not become a large block over the sermon.
For a fixed schedule, typing the words into the source is straightforward. If someone will update the wording outside OBS, the Text Source can instead read from a maintained text file. In that case, agree who is allowed to edit the file, where it lives, and how changes are checked. Keep a copy of the last approved wording so an accidental edit can be undone. A local text file is only useful if the OBS computer can still access it when the stream is running.
A Browser Source can display a more elaborate or changing web layout, but it adds complexity that a simple schedule usually does not need. OBS notes that browser sources can consume significant resources and recommends minimising their use; its Browser Source guidance is worth reviewing before choosing one. For a static service time, a native Text Source is easier to inspect and less dependent on a separate page loading correctly.
The table summarises the practical choices. It is about how the schedule is maintained, not a claim that one method is right for every church.
| Method | How the schedule changes | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Text entered in OBS | An operator edits the Text Source | Confirm the approved wording before the next service |
| Text read from a file | An operator updates the referenced file | Confirm the file path and review the updated text in preview |
| Browser Source | A page or URL supplies the layout | Confirm the page loads and assess the extra rendering complexity |
Whichever method you choose, keep the on-screen wording short. Put detailed announcements elsewhere, such as the church’s information page or service notes, rather than making viewers read a dense block over the sermon.
Layer and position both overlays
Check the Sources list before adjusting the final layout. The sermon picture should be underneath, while the logo and schedule should be above it. If either overlay disappears behind the video, select that source and move it higher in the list. The list order, rather than the order in which you happen to click the scene, determines which source is drawn in front.
Position the logo and schedule as separate sources so each can be moved or updated without shifting the other. Try to keep them from crowding the same corner. A logo at the top left and schedule along the lower edge may work for one camera composition, but the sermon picture should decide the placement. Check that text is not obscured by the logo, that neither overlay covers faces, and that any captions remain visible.
Resize by using the preview handles and inspect the result at the full canvas. If you need a repeatable layout across several scenes, make the placement consistent and then inspect each scene individually. A logo that fits on a wide camera shot may sit on top of important content in a close-up. Do not rely on a layout being safe simply because the sources are arranged correctly; source order tells OBS what is on top, not whether the chosen location is useful to viewers.
Before leaving the scene, read the schedule aloud from the preview at a normal viewing distance or check it on a separate device if practical. This is a simple way to catch a font that is too small or a line that wraps unexpectedly. It is not a technical test of every device, but it is more useful than judging the layout at maximum zoom on the OBS monitor.
Preview edits privately in Studio Mode
Studio Mode separates the scene you are preparing from the scene currently being sent to the live output. Turn it on before making a change to an active broadcast. OBS’s Studio Overview guide explains the Preview and Program areas and the Transition control. Use Preview to select the sermon scene and adjust the logo or schedule without immediately putting those changes on air.
A safe update routine is deliberate:
- Confirm which scene is currently live in the Program pane.
- Select the scene you intend to edit in Preview, and make the change there.
- Check the logo, schedule wording, source order, and sermon picture in Preview.
- Ask another person to confirm the schedule if it includes a service time or announcement.
- Use Transition only when the preview is ready to become the live output.
If a layout is wrong, correct it in Preview and check again rather than transitioning to discover the problem in front of viewers. When the current live scene is already the one being edited, do not assume that Studio Mode makes every edit private in every situation: understand which scene is in Preview and which is in Program before changing a source. OBS’s interface can vary by version, so take time to identify those panes before the service.
For a schedule change during a broadcast, keep the sermon scene on air while you update the text in the prepared preview scene if your scene arrangement allows it. Review the wording and position, then transition when ready. If you only have one scene and are uncertain whether an edit will be visible immediately, make the change during a test or arrange a separate staging scene in advance. The point of Studio Mode is to give you a review step, not to remove the need to know what viewers are seeing.
Connect OBS to the YouTube event and check the output
In YouTube Studio, open Live Control Room and create or select the encoder stream that the church intends to use. Follow YouTube’s current encoder stream setup instructions to obtain the stream URL and key, then enter them in OBS’s stream settings. Treat the key as a password: YouTube describes stream keys as a stream’s password and address in its live stream settings help. Do not show it in a screenshot, send it in a public message, or include it in volunteer instructions that will be shared broadly.
Before a service, run a private or unlisted test if appropriate for the church’s account and plan. Start the encoder, open the Live Control Room preview, and check that the intended sermon picture, logo, and schedule are visible there. Verify that the correct microphone or other audio feed is present. A good-looking OBS canvas alone does not confirm that the YouTube event is receiving the intended output.
Check the viewer-facing watch page as well, using the access setting you chose for the test. Confirm that the stream is present and that the overlays remain readable in the actual output. During the service, have someone monitor the picture, sound, and stream health rather than assuming that a successful start means the broadcast will remain connected. YouTube’s live streaming tips and OBS’s Quick Start Guide both support testing and checking the stream rather than relying on an untested setup.
YouTube’s encoder guidance recommends RTMPS for ingestion and provides encoding settings by codec, resolution, and frame rate. Use its current encoder settings recommendations for the actual output you plan to send, then test with the church’s connection and equipment. There is no single bitrate or setting that can be recommended for every combination of resolution, codec, and upload connection. Avoid changing a working configuration just before a service without a test.
For a recurring broadcast, YouTube’s stream settings include auto-start and auto-stop controls, and reused settings can carry prior selections forward. Those controls concern how a stream starts or stops from the encoder; they do not establish recovery after a power cut, network loss, or OBS failure. If the aim is to keep a sermon or playlist running continuously, assign a person to check the Live Control Room and know how the church will restart or end the event if needed. A guide to reducing OBS CPU use during a nonstop stream may be useful when performance is a concern, but monitoring and recovery still matter.
YouTube Help states that streams under 12 hours are automatically archived. That condition should not be read as a promise that longer broadcasts will be archived, or as evidence that OBS can run indefinitely without interruption. Check the current guidance and the event details in the church’s own Live Control Room when planning a long-running stream. “Nonstop” can describe the intended schedule; it is not a guarantee of uptime or archive availability.
When leaving a computer running is not practical and the church wants an uploaded video to continue as a live broadcast, StreamNeo removes the need to keep that particular computer switched on for the stream; it does not change the need to review the YouTube event, overlays, and service details.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Can I change the schedule without changing the sermon video?
Yes. The schedule is a separate Text Source, so you can edit its wording without replacing the sermon source. If the event is already live, use Studio Mode and confirm which scene is in Preview and which is in Program before updating; review the result before transitioning it.
Should the schedule be a Text Source or a Browser Source?
For a fixed service time, a Text Source is usually the simpler choice. Reading text from a file can help if a designated person maintains the schedule outside OBS. Use a Browser Source only when you need a web-based or more dynamic layout and have checked the extra rendering requirements.
Does Studio Mode guarantee that viewers will not see an unfinished change?
Studio Mode provides separate Preview and Program areas so you can inspect a scene before transitioning it. It does not remove the need to know which scene is live or how a source edit affects that scene in your OBS version. Confirm the panes and test your routine before the service.
Does a nonstop OBS stream stay live indefinitely, and will YouTube archive it?
Neither should be assumed. YouTube Help says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived; that does not promise archiving for longer streams or guarantee that an encoder remains connected. Plan to monitor the event and check current YouTube guidance for the intended arrangement.