Chances are your head is full of ideas for putting together a slideshow, which means you are off to a great start.  For those of you who have put their creative reflexes on holidays and are looking for ideas to use in children’s ministry, keep reading.  For end of summer, early fall ideas, you could use pictures from your church’s Vacation Bible School program, or Kid’s Camp. You could also use photos from other sources (with permission) to highlight a lesson being taught, such as ‘creation’, parables, or a children of the world/missions theme.  Another popular idea is to recap all the events or highlights of the past year (harvest, fundraisers, baptisms, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Passover, and Easter).  It would be wise to try and include photos of all the kids that attend your children’s program, if using photos from different events, so that no one feels left out.  Kids do enjoy seeing their pictures projected on a big screen and it makes them feel important. 

The next thing you will need to do is import the pictures onto the ACDsee program.  To do so, choose the ‘Import’ tab and select the desired location.  Keep in mind you will need to connect your device, such as digital camera, to your computer first.  Or, you could use the ACDsee Device Detector to access stored photos on your camera, CD, card reader, web cam, flash drive, etc.  Once the device is connected, the drive letter representing the device will also appear in the folders pane in ACDsee.  Simply browse to the desired device, and copy/paste the images into ACDsee. 

Now that your photos are accessible, from the Create dropdown menu under the Manage tab, choose Slideshow File.  From there, select the type of slideshow you want to create and then click ‘Next’ to continue.  Alternatively, you can also go through Tools/Create/Slideshow File, which are also under the Manage tab.  Next, click on the ‘Add’ button, and then select your images.  Keep in mind you will need to click ‘Add’ after each image is selected.  To remove an image, click on it and then click ‘Remove’. The next step is to adjust the duration of the transition and slide, choose the type of transition, any caption/text you want to add, and finally the audio source.  You can customize each image individually, or check the “Apply to all box” to keep it simple.  The next step allows you to set general options for advancing the images, either automatically or manually, as well as background audio.  The next page deals with the pixel size you want the images to project as, and selecting a file name and location.  It also asks you where to save the project file to, so you know where to find it later on.  One more ‘Next’ button and your slideshow is complete.  You can then choose to launch and view your creation, or record it to a disc.  

If you need to make any changes to your completed slideshow, go back to Create/Slideshow file, but select “Load an existing slideshow project” instead. Browse for the desired slideshow if it isn’t already there, and proceed to the next few steps until you are satisfied with the changes.

You can download a trial version of ACDSee by clicking on the link below.
http://store.acdsee.com/store/acd/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.178981500?resid=TEY4pAoHAi8AAA4gGpoAAAAE&rests=1279670436285

If you are new to media use, there are a lot of resources out there to help you reinforce a lesson or illustrate a biblical truth.  Using countdowns before the lesson begins is a great way to get everyone settled.  Even better if it teaches them at the same time, with a ‘books of the Bible’ or ‘complete the verse’ countdown.  Slideshows are another creative way to use pictures and images to reinforce lessons or even reminisce over kids camp the previous summer.  It is a well known fact that visuals help us remember something better than if we were to just simply hear it. And let’s not forget praise and worship time — motions and still images make great backgrounds for song lyrics and can coordinate with the overall theme of the song, or change with each phrase. 

Nextblog will focus on music media with some tips on putting together a slideshow. I have a lot to learn until then, and hopefully will be able to pass on some new found knowledge.

Part 1 of a series.

There are many resources available that combine lessons with arts and crafts and music for worship.  One such item is Gospel Light’s  “Agents in Action”.

Many churches have now begun a specifc time of worship before Sunday Classes begin to prepare the children for their lessons, just as adult worship prepares the adults to hear God’s messages.  This time incorporates more modern renditions of songs with a progressive beat and visual images through the projector for the kids.   Children’s ministry leaders can also begin to teach the importance of worship by having a team comprised of children that meets regularly to learn new songs and choreography.   You can use the recorded music to sing to so that the “teams” can focus on having fun and praising the Lord.

Media can be brought in by the older ages in your Children’s ministry.  They can put together a slide show or find backgrounds that are suitable for the songs.  This way all ages are involved in the worship.  Another great way to help stay in touch with the more popular sounds is to have your youth who are in leadership roles or leadership development help. 

By using media resources, newer sounds and physical movement your Children’s Ministry Worship time can use music to reach many different age groups at once.