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10 Steps to the Best Video for Worship

Churchgoers around the world are experiencing a transformation. Many worship services now incorporate video elements, and there are several reasons for the change. Most obvious is the fact that time marches on. The modern media world surrounds us in our everyday lives, so why should the church experience be a step into the time machine? In addition, generations have learned to watch television from birth. Why not leverage that information to distribute the messages you want to get across? What follows are ten popular ways to use video in the church world.

Back in the early days of church video, most congregations used PowerPoint to display their media. Given its limited feature set, this proved impractical and inflexible. Churches needed access to a database of song lyrics and scriptures, along with some media muscle. After a few false starts, the worship software category was born. These media-savvy applications offer instant access to lyrics, Bible verses and sermon notes. In addition, they can play videos from the hard drive, network or even DVD. They allow still and moving images to serve as backgrounds. There is full control over text font, size, color, alignment and weight. Most of these applications require a fast computer with a large hard drive and a dual-head graphics card. Windows is the most common operating system, but Mac solutions are also available. The best part: one person can easily control all the media for the service or event.

Years ago in my home church, we suffered through two straight weekends of 15-minute announcements. The church leadership decided this could not continue, so the next weekend, we hooked a computer to a video projector and ran a PowerPoint loop with each announcement on its own slide. This played before and after every service. This was a new concept at the time, and the slides captivated the members. People would come into the auditorium early just to read the announcements on the big screen. The irony was that the exact same information was printed in their weekly bulletin, but hey, whatever works.

A natural progression from the simple PowerPoint loop is digital signage. Rather than print large posters, many churches have re-purposed their graphics and video into digital versions of printed materials. Hook a computer to a large-screen LCD, and you have a digital sign. Turn the display on end, and it's a poster-shaped format. Attach the computer to a distribution amp and feed multiple displays in different areas, or use two feeds for more variety. You can run the display with PowerPoint, dedicated presentation hardware or even a DVD player - your choice.

For whatever reason, many church members never participate in church events outside the building. With a video camera and some production skill, you can bring the events to them in the form of a documentary, video recap or promotional announcement. This is great for mission trips, summer Bible clubs or community service projects. Who knows, they may see something they like and sign up for the next event.

As you know, video is a powerful communication tool, and it can be used to accent sermons or Bible studies. This can take several forms. Maybe there's a clip from a movie or TV show that reinforces a main point. Alternatively, you may choose to produce a short segment for that purpose. Humorous clips and spoofs are always winners that get the people smiling and more receptive to the message.