Setup Guide & Help

One person — the broadcaster — runs ChurchLingual. The congregation installs nothing; they just scan a QR code. Pick whichever fits your building:

• 💻 COMPUTER
  From a web browser. Sign in at churchlingual.com/broadcast on a laptop or desktop — nothing to install. Ideal if your church already runs a computer for Zoom or streaming: ChurchLingual can use the same audio feed from its own browser tab. A computer that stays plugged in and awake is the most reliable choice for long meetings. Requires a church account.
• 📱 IPHONE
  From the app. Install the app and set the phone near the pulpit. Can run fully on-device for privacy and even offline captioning. Great when there's no computer at the front.

Either way, the same room code, QR, listener page, and remote control all work identically.

1. On the church computer, open churchlingual.com/broadcast and sign in with your church account. (No account yet? Create one.)
2. Set a memorable Organization & Room (e.g. FIRSTWARD-CHAPEL) so the QR stays the same every week.
3. Choose the speaker language and tap the languages to translate into — your plan can do several at once.
4. Pick the microphone / audio input — the same device your sound system or Zoom uses works great — and click Test to confirm the level bar moves.
5. Click Go live and show the QR or code to the congregation. Tap Summary anytime for a recap of the meeting.

1. Install the app and allow Microphone and Speech Recognition.
2. Settings → Languages: pick your languages — around 30 are supported (e.g. English & Spanish).
3. Settings → Broadcast room: optionally set a memorable Organization & Room so the QR stays the same each week.
4. Tap Start broadcast, then the QR icon, and show the code to the congregation.

💡 Speaking two languages in one meeting? Set both in Settings, then tap the language button to switch which one is being spoken — or let a co-host switch it from the remote-control panel on their phone. (Automatic English/Spanish switching is on the way.)

• To broadcast — pick one: a laptop or desktop with a current browser (Chrome, Edge, or Safari) and a church account, or an iPhone running iOS 18+ (most iPhones from 2018 on) with the app.
• To watch: any phone with a web browser — any age, iPhone or Android. Nothing to install.

On a computer (web). The cleanest setup is to feed your sound system into the computer — a class-compliant USB audio interface gives a line-level signal — or simply choose the same input your streaming/Zoom setup already uses. ChurchLingual and Zoom can read that one input at the same time. After you pick a device, click Test and watch the level bar move when someone speaks. Keep the computer plugged in and awake.

On an iPhone (app). Set the phone near the pulpit:

💡 On the Free plan, a direct audio line is recommended. Free runs recognition entirely on the phone, with no cloud to clean it up — so feeding it a direct line from your sound system (via a USB-C audio interface) makes the biggest difference to accuracy. The paid plans' cloud engine is far more forgiving of a plain room mic.

• Easiest — works great: most chapels amplify the speaker through a PA, so the phone hears a strong, clear signal — and the AI cleans up minor recognition errors. This is all most churches need.
• Position it well: lay the phone face-up (never face-down), bottom edge clear and pointed toward the speaker — that's where the main mic is. A non-slip pad on a sloped pulpit works perfectly; if you use a stand, choose a MagSafe / back-held one that doesn't cover the bottom mic.
• Want a mic on the speaker? Use a wireless mic with a USB-C receiver (e.g. Rode Wireless, DJI Mic). Avoid a Bluetooth-paired mic or AirPods for input — iOS routes those through low-quality call audio.
• Tough rooms — the best setup: plug into the sound system with a class-compliant USB-C audio interface. We recommend the IK Multimedia iRig Stream — it plugs your sound board straight into an iPhone, iPad, or Mac and delivers a clean line-level signal. Keep the device on power.

Wireless mic on the speaker

Best quality — from the sound system

• Engines (app): the app lets you choose On-device (private, offline, free) or Cloud / Best quality (most accurate for long talks). On-device's smartest features — the learning glossary and best accuracy — need an Apple Intelligence device: iPhone 15 Pro or later, an M-series iPad, or an Apple Silicon Mac; it still does basic captions on other recent iPhones. The web broadcaster always uses the cloud engine — most accurate, nothing to install.
• Runs on iPhone, iPad & Mac: the app is universal — a Mac or iPad Pro that stays plugged into your sound board makes an especially reliable, always-on broadcaster.
• Many languages at once: on a paid plan, one broadcast can be translated into several languages simultaneously — each viewer just picks theirs.
• Vocabulary & church terms: choose your Vocabulary preset and add your own names/terms so words like ward → barrio come out right. On the web these live in your account; in the app they're under Settings. The app's glossary also learns — after each service it suggests new names it heard (look for the badge on Church terms in Settings), so it gets sharper every week.

Once you're live (computer or app), show the QR code, room code, or link. Your code stays the same every week, so you can print it once and post it — in the bulletin, on a wall, or on screen. People scan it in their phone's browser — any network, no app — pick their language, and tap the speaker icon to listen with headphones. No need to pass anything around.

Both the app and the web broadcaster show a “Control from your phone” QR. Whoever scans it (e.g. the bishopric) gets a web panel to Pause, switch the speaker's language, or Clear — handy when the broadcasting computer or phone is in the audio closet. They can “Add to Home Screen” to reuse it.

Translation isn't only for the meeting. A face-to-face is a private one-on-one — a walkie-talkie-style conversation where each person speaks and hears in their own language. Great for welcoming a visitor, ministering and home visits, or interviews.

• Host it from your phone (web): open churchlingual.com/face, sign in, pick your language, and tap Start conversation. The other person scans your QR code (or opens the link) on any phone — no app — picks their language, and you both hold to talk.
• Or from the iPhone app: start a face-to-face the same way; the other person still joins in their browser.
• Tap the 🎧 button to also hear the translation spoken through headphones. Spoken audio is available for major languages; for others, simply follow along with the live captions on screen.

It's private and separate from your room broadcast, and (like broadcasting) it counts toward your plan's hours and respects your Controls.

Manage everything at churchlingual.com/account — sign in with email & password or Continue with Google. Your dashboard includes:

• Overview — your plan, status, and translation time used this month.
• Organization — your church name and contact details (so we can support you).
• Rooms — name your room (Organization + Room → a stable code like FIRSTWARD-CHAPEL), get the join link & QR, and print a QR poster. The same room is shared with the iPhone app when you sign in there.
• Controls — turn translation on/off and set allowed hours (see below).
• Vocabulary & Church terms — your faith preset and custom names/terms.
• Plans & billing — start or manage your subscription, or apply an offer code.
• Settings — change your password and more.

Forgot your password? Use “Forgot password?” on the sign-in screen and we'll email a reset link.

In account → Controls, the organization leader can:

• Turn translation on or off for the whole organization with one switch.
• Stop any live translation now — instantly end a running broadcast.
• Set scheduled hours — pick your time zone and the days/times translation is allowed (e.g. Sunday 9:00–12:00). Outside those hours it won't start, and a running broadcast auto-ends. Great for cost control and preventing off-hours use.

If someone tries to broadcast while it's off or outside the scheduled window, they'll see a message explaining why. (These apply to the web broadcaster.)

Free — runs on the iPhone app: two languages, fully on-device (private, even offline), your own learning glossary, and unlimited use. Your congregation reads on any phone with no app. (Free runs on-device, so a direct audio line into the iPhone — see “Getting good audio” above — gives the best accuracy.)

Captions — $29/mo — adds the cloud for readers: translation into up to 4 languages at once (from a 30-language library), broadcasting from a computer (no app), highest-accuracy translation, and meeting summaries, with 8 hours of cloud translation a month.

Voice — $79/mo — everything in Captions, plus premium spoken audio (listeners hear a natural live voice), face-to-face conversations with voice, and 12 hours a month. With several languages running, the premium voice covers your first-listed translation language (other languages hear the standard voice, and everyone gets captions) — so list the language that matters most for listening first. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial (card required, cancel anytime).

Reach the monthly cloud hours? It keeps working — broadcasts fall back to the free on-device mode, never a hard cutoff. Manage your card, switch monthly/annual, or cancel under account → Plans & billing. Have an offer code? Apply it there too.

App: check mic/speech permission and that you tapped Start; try the other Speech engine. Web: make sure you picked an audio input (the Test bar should move) and that you're signed in with an active plan. The same device your sound board or Zoom uses. Click Test and confirm the level bar moves when someone speaks. Yes — both can read the same audio input at once. Just keep ChurchLingual in its own browser tab or window. Keep the computer plugged in and stop it from sleeping. ChurchLingual keeps the screen awake, but system sleep can still cut a long meeting short. A speaker is playing the translated audio back into the mic (a feedback loop). Use headphones for listeners, or a direct sound-board feed. Add it under your account's church terms (web) or Settings → Church glossary (app). Check account → Controls: the master switch may be off, or you may be outside your scheduled hours. The message on screen will say which. They just need the QR code or link — it works on cellular or any Wi-Fi.

Still stuck? Ask the 24/7 assistant or request a callback at the top of this page — or email [email protected].