Monday, October 10, 2011

Church Media - Resources You Should Be Using At Your Church

Check out these church media resources!  

Church media is an awesome resource to communicate the love of Jesus to everyone in the church body.  It has never been easier to share Christ and his love for the world than it is today.  When Jesus returns, everyone is going to be able to see it because of the internet.  Every news channel will have videos of this amazing event, and people will be able to watch it over and over again on YouTube! 
 
Most Christians would agree that advancing technologies has had a negative impact on society too.  Media has desensitized society to many sins that would have shocked us 30 years ago.  It seems like you can’t watch a good comedy today without hearing lots of swearing and cussing.  Sexual perversion is everywhere, and it doesn’t seem like there is much that shocks us anymore. 
 
Church media is designed to give Christians alternatives to everything we see on the Internet and television.  While there are many videos we can’t show in church, there are many other media resources that can always be used in churches. 

PowerPoint Style Presentations
Churches have been moving away from overhead projectors for the last 10 years.  The bulbs in overhead projectors are expensive to replace, and many classrooms and churches are moving to computerized projection systems.  Software applications like Propresenter 4 and Mediashout 4.5 make it easy to display the words to the songs.  They are much easier to reach than overhead projectors, and there are many other occasions where having digital projectors can be used in a church service. 

Videos
Video is an effective way to communicate the Gospel today.  People have short attention spans.  They are not going to listen to your sermon for an hour.  If you really plan to speak for an hour, then break up your sermon with a short video.  Using video as part of your church media is appropriate if it helps communicate the message to your congregation.

Music
Music through praise and worship is one of the core components that should be included in your church service.  Many people are not familiar with all of the new music being written today.  Hillsong music has been popular since the late 1990s, but there are many other new artists like Gateway Worship, Kari Jobe, Desperation Band, and Jesus Culture that are producing new music for the church. 

With the right worship team, it is pretty easy to keep the music new and fresh.   Music is essential to church media in your congregation. 

Facebook and social media
Many people only fellowship with other believers on Sunday morning.  Websites like Facebook make it easier than ever to communicate with other believers throughout the week.  Church doesn’t have to be a Sunday morning event anymore.   You can stay in touch with other believers through Facebook. 
 
Church media is becoming an increasingly important part of every church congregation.  If your church is serious about reaching this world for Christ, then we have a responsibility to utilize all of the resources available to us to reach out to a lost and broken world. 

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Christian PowerPoint Backgrounds - Learning How They Are Used In Churches

Christian PowerPoint backgrounds are a great way to utilize multimedia in our morning worship services. In the 21st century church, it is important to remain relevant and meet people where they are at today. People who have never stepped foot in a church may not connect to the worship songs, but they will connect to media presentations, videos, and other modern expressions of worship. Many churches have turned to PowerPoint presentations to display the words to the worship songs.

PowerPoint works much better than overhead slides. The words are easier to see on a PowerPoint projection. You can display videos through the computer too. Replacing the light bulbs for overhead projectors is very expensive, so getting a projector for the sanctuary makes sense.

One of the newest trends in Christian PowerPoint backgrounds is motion worship backgrounds. While the words to the song are displayed on the screen, there is video in the background. You might see slides of Jesus during the song. If you are singing the song God of Wonders, you may see beautiful videos of God’s creations during the song. It could be videos of waterfalls, beaches, mountains, the stars, or other awesome backgrounds.

There are many other motions you can display in your church too. During patriotic holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, or Labor Day, you could have a patriotic motion that plays in the background. Some of the popular motion displays that are seen in churches around the 4th of July include fireworks, flag loops, and other patriotic loops.

During the Christmas season, there are many popular loops you can display behind the words to the songs. You could display a motion that has the advent candles in the background. You could have subtle candle motion videos playing in the church on Christmas Eve. The Christmas Eve service could even have a video motion of the manger scene. There are many popular Christian Powerpoint backgrounds you can use during the Christmas season.

Easter is the most important holiday in the Christian church. In the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday, there are many other video motions you could display. It is important to make an impact on the congregation. You could display a motion video with a video of the Easter crosses. An Easter morning sunrise service could have a background of a sunrise with the Easter morning theme. There are many Easter video motions that could display behind the words of the worship songs.

Christian PowerPoint backgrounds can be used for any time of year. Some of the backgrounds you can purchase are still backgrounds. You do not have to buy motion backgrounds. Some people have found that the motion backgrounds can be distracting in the worship service, so you can get still backgrounds too. These are great to use during sermons. The still backgrounds are often used during sermons because the pastor doesn’t want people to be distracted by other movements happening during the message.

Christian PowerPoint backgrounds are becoming very popular in churches today. They are used for special holidays, and they are used in many churches every Sunday. Most individuals and businesses have high speed internet connections today, so it is easy to preview thousands of Christian PowerPoint backgrounds before buying any of the backgrounds available today.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Great Sermon Illustration Videos For the 21st Century Church

In the 21st century church, sermon illustration videos are a great way to keep the congregation engaged in the message.  In our fast paced society with cell phones ringing and spam emails trying to get our attention, it is hard than ever to keep the members of the congregation focused during the sermon.  Pastors can either choose to embrace new technology, or they can choose to run from it!  It is not just children and teenagers that have short attention spans.  The average adult can only focus on most speakers for 20 minutes at a time. 
Sermon illustration videos are a great way to embrace new technology while keeping the congregation focused.  Streaming videos and overhead projectors have made it easy to show videos in the church service. 

Here are a few examples of sermon illustration videos that are perfect for most messages:

Short Videos for Memorial Day & Labor Day
It is important for the congregation to recognize the fallen heroes of the United States during Memorial Day weekend.  It is because of the sacrifices that these individuals made that we can freely worship today without fear of persecution.  If you are preaching a sermon near Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day, or other historical holidays, this is a great way to get the attention of the congregation. Almost everyone knows someone that serves in the military, so these types of videos can usher in a time of reverence and seriousness during a sermon.  

Short Funny Videos for Opening a Sermon
There are many short funny video clips you can use at the beginning of a sermon.  These short videos give you a chance to break the ice with the congregation.  Another great use of funny video clips is to save them for times when it seems like the congregation needs to wake up on Sunday morning.  Sermon illustration videos can be funny too, and you can reach people who otherwise wouldn’t be pay attention to what you have to say.

Sermon Illustration Videos Just Before the Altar Call
If you know you are going to be giving an altar call during the service, showing a video right before the altar call is a great idea.  There are many Christian videos that are designed to get the viewer to consider their salvation or their walk with the Lord.  If it is Mission Sunday, there may be a call for people to join the mission field.  There is always a need for more missionaries, and videos can stir the emotions of Christians to take action!


Sermon illustration videos are a growing part of church services today.  People are used to spending hours watching TV or surfing the internet, so we need to be willing to adapt to the changing attention spans of our society!

Sermon Video Illustrations


Sermon video illustrations are being used in many churches today.  Are you looking for a video to use in your next sermon?  With all of the advances in video technology today, there are many sermon video illustrations you can use that can make a big impact on the congregation.   It is tougher than ever to keep the congregation focused on the message, but you can mix things up by showing a video during the sermon.  There are many types of sermon illustrations you can show in your congregation.

Humorous Mini Movies
These are some of my favorite sermon video illustrations to use in a sermon.  We live in a world today where it seems like comedians can’t be funny without using foul language and crude humor.  It can be hard to find funny videos that are appropriate to show in a church service.   There are a few companies that produce humorous religious videos to use in church services.  

This is a great way to break the ice in a church service.  If you have a Sunday where there are going to be a lot of guests during Christmas, Easter, or other special occasion, this would be a good time to try a humorous clean Christian video.

Inspirational Mini Movies
Inspirational mini movies are great because they can stir the hearts and emotions of the congregation.  Inspirational sermon video illustrations could be on many different topics.  Many of the inspirational videos work with different seasonal videos.  Late spring videos could focus on graduation topics.  Fall and early winter inspirational videos could focus on Christmas, and you could have other inspirational videos running near the Easter season.  You could also show videos to your congregation about changing the world.  

Life Story Sermon Video Illustrations
Life story video illustrations are awesome.  They can truly inspire an audience to take action.  Life story videos might feature someone who has a testimony of God’s faithfulness in their life.  A truly inspirational video would be a great way to stir emotions at the end of a sermon, and people that haven’t been paying attention during the sermon might pay attention to the video. 

Reflective Videos
Reflective sermon video illustrations reflect on different events that occur in life.  It may reflect what Christ did on the Cross for us.   Reflection videos may cause the congregation to reflect back to a time in life when the Lord worked in a special way.  

Sermon illustration videos are great to use as a sermon intro or as part of an inspirational message.  People love hearing life stories on videos, and there are many ways you can reach lost people in the congregation through sermon video illustrations.