You do not need a technician, new equipment or a weekend to put live translation into a church service. You need a device with a browser, the sound of the speaker, and about two minutes. Here is the whole set-up, step by step, from a phone, from a tablet or from the sound desk.
Somebody at church has asked whether you could have the sermon in other languages next Sunday, and the job has landed with you. Maybe you run the sound desk. Maybe you are the person who is "good with phones". Maybe you are the pastor and there is nobody else.
Good news: this is not a technical project. MulingStream runs in a browser, the speaker keeps speaking the way they always do, and every guest follows on their own phone. Here is the whole set-up, in the order you will do it.
Nothing new. You need one device at the front that can open a web browser and has a steady internet connection: a phone, a tablet, or a laptop or PC. Ordinary Wi-Fi is fine. Your listeners do not need your Wi-Fi at all; they can use their own mobile data.
There is nothing to install, no receivers to buy, and nothing for the guests to download. They use the phones already in their pockets.
Sign up and start with a free, generous trial. In your room, set the language you preach in, then add the languages you expect your guests to need: the Persian family who came last month, the Ukrainian students, the Spanish speaking couple at the back. You can see every language on the languages page. All of this takes about two minutes.
MulingStream translates what it hears, so the only real decision is how the speaker's voice gets into the device. There are three ways, and the right one is simply the one that fits your room.
From a phone. If your church is small or you are trying it for the first time, a phone is enough. Open the room in the phone's browser and stand the phone close to where the speaker talks, on the lectern or a stand, with the microphone facing them. Plug in the charger, because a service is long.
From a tablet. A tablet works the same way and is easier to watch during the service. Put it on a stand in front of the speaker, close to their voice. It picks up speech well, and you can glance at it to see the words arriving.
From the sound desk. If you have a sound desk, this gives the cleanest result. Send the same sound your speakers already carry into a laptop or PC, from a free output or an aux send. A small USB audio interface is the usual way in, or the computer's own audio input if it has one. A mix with only the voices is best, because the music stays out. In the room, choose that audio input as the microphone and watch the level move when somebody speaks. That is the whole check. The details, for the person at the desk, are on how it works for sound and media.
Every room has a short passcode, and since yesterday it also has an invitation link. A guest opens the join page, types the passcode and chooses their language, or simply taps the link. Put the passcode on the screen before the service and as one line in the bulletin. Copy the link and send it in the church WhatsApp group, in the newsletter, or to the family you know is coming. We wrote a whole guide on welcoming guests who do not speak the language, including what the greeters can say.
Do one run in the week before, in the room where it will happen. Open the room on the device at the front, press record and speak for a minute. Then join from a second phone, choose a language and watch the words arrive.
One thing catches almost everybody the first time: when you test with a phone close to the device that is listening, use earbuds. Otherwise the device hears the translated voice coming out of your phone and translates it again.
While you are there, check the connection where the device will actually stand, not only in the office. A steady connection matters more than a fast one.
Open the room and press record before the service begins. Leave it running. MulingStream follows everything spoken into the microphone, whoever is speaking: the welcome, the readings, the prayers and the sermon. If the sound comes from the speaker's microphone or a voice only channel on the desk, the songs mostly stay out. If you want a break, pausing and starting again is one click.
When the service ends, press stop. Next week, you open the same room and press record again. That is all.
Set it up once. Every week after, open the room and press record.
Do we need a technician on the day? No. Once the sound is going in, nobody needs to touch anything until the end of the service.
Several people speak in our service. Does it follow all of them? Yes, as long as their voices reach the same input.
What about the guests? They need their phone and nothing else. They can read the translation, hear it with an earbud in, or switch to the speaker's own words. More is on how it works for listeners.
Who decides? If you are making the case to your pastor or council, our page for leaders answers the questions they usually ask.
Since 25 October 2025 every room also has a QR code next to its passcode and link. Show it on the screen or download it as a high quality image for the bulletin and the welcome desk, and a guest joins by pointing their phone camera at it. Read more in joining with a QR code.
Since 7 April 2026 the sound desk set-up can do one more thing. With MulingDisplay, the computer that drives your projector or TV can show the live captions to the whole room, while every guest still follows on their own phone. This is for the sound desk and laptop set-up; with a phone or a tablet as the microphone, the translation goes to the listeners' phones.
Since 24 September 2026 a new account has its room ready the moment you sign up. Add your languages, share the link or the QR code, and start speaking.
Since 4 October 2026 each room has a microphone check in its settings. Press Start and speak for ten seconds through your usual microphone and sound desk, the way you will when you go live, and the room remembers how loud you normally are. During the service, a level meter and a clarity meter show at a glance whether the sound is coming in well, and the room warns you if a session runs much quieter than usual.
We show you the whole thing live, in about fifteen minutes. Nothing is decided on the call and nothing follows it: you see it, and then you are the judge.