 |
CHURCH |
 |
|
BROWSE... |
|
|
|
|
 |
Today's Visual Church
by Anthony D. Coppedge
Multimedia. Interactive. Virtual. Does this sound like a good description for today's churches? Probably not for most houses of worship. But that's changing . . .
I'm not an expert on church growth, but George Barna, author of the Barna Report, is. Mr. Barna reported in his book, Absolute Confusion , that the average American spends four hours a day watching TV. That's the equivalent of about two entire months out of a year spent in front of the tube. Mr. Barna also pointed out that just under half of all adults claimed to have attended a church service, other than for a special event, during the prior week. We're trying to reach all of these people so that when they come to a church service, they can expect the same level of quality as what they see on TV.
Can we match it? You bet.
I'm not talking about getting your church on TV, although that is an option. I'm talking about using today's technology to enhance and improve your church members' retention. After all, we're teaching them the most important lessons in their lives, so we need to teach for retention. People remember about 30% of what they hear, and about 70% of what they see in the same 24 hour period. Video, slide projectors and overhead projectors are effective ways of visually enhancing the spoken word, and should be incorporated into the worship center if possible.
I know what you're thinking: "We're not NBC, we don't have an unlimited budget." You don't need to have all of the latest computers, video projectors and graphics to be effective; all you need is to make the best of what you do have. I read a quote a few weeks ago that has given me a great perspective in my ministry: "It is a poor workman who blames the quality of his work on his tools." In other words, use what you have to the very best of your ability. Too many times I have heard guys say, "Man, we could do some really cool stuff if we just had this new piece of equipment. But all we have is this old switcher and this Radio Shack distribution amplifier. We'd be able to do so much more if we had the new stuff. (Sigh)" Get over yourself! People have literally laughed in my face when I told them we posted our weekly TV show on an old Amiga 4000 with the Video Toaster. Then they saw the show. They don't laugh anymore.
Use What You Have
Many churches have a slide projector or overhead projector hidden away in some back closet. Pull that valuable piece of equipment out and put it to use! Use it during your volunteer workers' meetings, Sunday School classes or Youth Ministry Nights. If you have some control over the lighting in your sanctuary, use them to project the lyrics to the songs during your praise and worship time. What better way for your visitors to feel right at home than having them learn some of the songs by the second or third visit? They'll feel more comfortable and less like a standout when they can sing right along with a member who has been there for years!
If, however, you have the ability to use video projection, your options open up. Now you can have "promos" running in the foyer or Sunday School area for upcoming events, announce the newest members of your church, promote choir sign-up, or tell everyone about the upcoming lock-in for the youth department. The possibilities are almost limitless--most of the above can be done with a home video camera and a music soundtrack with only an hour or two of time invested, along with a simple VCR and TV on a cart or table to play it back.
Plan For Video
It used to be true that you had to spend a fortune to get a good quality video projector. Technology has changed rapidly, and you can now easily buy a high-quality, bright projector for under $4,000. Of course, you can also equip a 3,000 seat auditorium with two rear-screen projectors and easily spend over $150,000.
Look at your needs now, and what you think you'll need in a few years. If you're not familiar with video, call another church that has video and ask for their expertise. Churches call me regularly to ask questions about equipment or dealers. I'm sure someone in your area would be more than happy to help you out, too.
The point is, plan for the growth of your church and ministry needs. A small portable LCD projector can be used in a small church until the need for more room arises, and the same projector can then easily be used in the youth or singles ministries for showing movies or music videos.
Be A Multimedia Church
We're living in the age of information. People expect more. The average American sees multi-million dollar movies weekly and 30 second commercials that cost $2 million. That's tough competition, so our work is cut out for us. We must use all of the tools that we have at our disposal to reach all that we can.
Multimedia is just a catchword that means sight and sound combined for an interactive experience . . . isn't that what church is all about? An interactive experience can be achieved in today's houses of worship if we get on the multimedia highway.
|
|
|
