3 Simple Ways to Use Video in Your Service Next Week
Have you started incorporating video into your worship services? Throughout the past year, we’ve noticed a tremendous shift towards the use of video, especially in worship. Now to some of you this may seem a little unrealistic, but as technology continues to advance, not only has the equipment become affordable, but it’s also become easier to create, edit and present video in your services.
Why are churches gravitating toward the use of video? Well, our society as a whole is growing more accustomed to the use of video and visual information in our everyday lives. People enjoy and gather more information from being shown, not just told. So using video has empowered churches to stay current and engaging, while taking a dynamic approach to further enhance the worship service.
Now, Audio-Video Group wants to share with you the three simplest ways to bring video into your service. Start with any one of these, and you’ll reap the benefits almost instantly. And these are just the beginning.
Step 1: Lyric and Message Support
This one is where most communities start with video. By displaying lyrics to a song or hymn during worship, or by displaying the sermon notes, you begin to communicate directly through video with your community. The benefits of this use of video are seen dramatically in the first few weeks of use. It frees up useful volunteer or staff resources, and keeps your community in step during worship. This allows everyone to focus on building relationships, not reading cue cards.
With a little guidance, displaying lyrics and messages can be extremely simple, and inexpensive. In fact, it really only requires a few pieces of equipment: a screen, a computer, and display device such as a projector (For further explanation on choosing your equipment, please view Three Common Mistakes in Video Projection and Leaving PowerPoint and Going Pro.) With this most basic setup, your service can start connecting with your audience in more dynamic ways almost instantly.
Step 2: Video Announcements and Transition Videos
The second way to use video is making the jump to video announcements. Allowing you to show, not just tell what is happening in your community. So where do you start? There are a number of ways to incorporate video.
- You can play 30 second clips to set expectations for the sermon
- Have your Pastor sit down weekly to record devotions
- Create videos to engage with the community outside of Sunday
- Video recaps of past events
- Or simply have fun and bring excitement to announcements
By implementing these types of video in your service you will need to focus on creating good videos, which in the industry is called “video production.” High-quality video production can make these types of videos really shine. It all starts with creative planning of each week’s announcements which brings excitement to what is typically seen as a rather mundane aspect of your service. This planning is followed up with utilizing the right tools and equipment to bring it to life. To do this, it may require some technical expertise, and guidance, which Audio-Video Group is equipped to provide. But there are great resources available online to help those with minimal experience get started.
Step 3: IMAG and Webcasting
And our last option fully unlocks the power of live video and brings it beyond your front door. The first two steps touched on ways to bring video into your service, but by introducing IMAG (Image Magnification) and webcasting you can broadcast your message outside of your four walls.
IMAG is a live video feed shown inside the worship service. The technology is often used in large sized churches, churches with obstructed views, or where the intimacy smaller churches have to offer is lost towards the back row. It gives churches the opportunity to broadcast the facial expressions of the speaker, the movements of the choir, or hard to see baptisms. It truly is a powerful tool that can help accommodate rapid growth.
Couple this with Webcasting, and you now have the power to record and later post your service, or record and stream live via the Internet. It brings the whole worship experience outside of the building and allows for your message to reach new audiences. We did a deep dive into webcasting a few weeks back, but for those able to produce and edit video, streaming video has limitless potential for your organization.
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Are you seeing the true potential of video for your worship? Are you interested in learning more about one of the three steps? We’d be happy to map out all the benefits and the ideal solution for you. For more information, or questions, visit www.audiovideogroup.com, or call (800)668-4988 to speak with one of our team members.