VIEW OPTIONS

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1. Outline View. Clicking this tab displays the outline pane. This view shows an outline of the text on each page.

2. Slide View. Clicking this tab displays the slide view pane. This view shows a thumbnail of each slide in a presentation.

3. Normal View. Clicking this icon causes the window to be displayed in normal view. This is the best view when using an extended desktop.

4. Slide Sorter View. Clicking this icon causes the window to display thumbnails of each slide within a presentation. To change the order of a slide in slide sorter view, hold down the left mouse button on the slide to be moved and drag to the new location. We do not use this view while setting up songs but rather use it when sorting or rearranging announcements.

5. Slide Show. Clicking this icon begins playing the presentation. When on an extended desktop system, the presentation will be displayed on the second screen and the primary monitor will display the outline view. From this point on you must use your keyboard to move through the slides. Use the Up/Down arrows or type in a slide number and hit enter.

DRAWING TOOLBAR

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1. Draw Menu. Clicking Draw displays the draw menu. The draw menu provides options for creating, grouping, nudging, aligning, rotating and changing objects.

2. Select Object. The cursor allows you to select objects. Click this icon, then click an object using the left mouse button.

3. Text Box. To draw a text box, click this icon, hold down the left mouse button on the starting point and drag. Use this command to create text for your announcements or sermon notes.

4. Font Color. To apply color to text, select the text then click this icon. To change the color, click the arrow located beside the icon. Use this to change the color of the font for announcements or sermon notes. We suggest not using this command for our songs as it will override the color scheme settings.

5. Object Shadow. This places a shadow on a selected object or text. This is the shadow we suggest using with songs. It will adapt to the slide color scheme settings and provides greater control than the shadow text command.

FORMATTING TOOLBAR

1. Font . The font name is displayed here. To change the font, click the arrow located to the right of the field and make a selection from the options provided. The songs are all formatted using Halvett Black Condensed which we have found to be the most readable font for music. For a download link to the Halvett Black Condensed font please see the online tutorial.

2. Font Size. The font size is displayed here in points. To change the font size, click the arrow located to the right of the field and make a selection from the options provided. You can also type a number in the box. If the font at 36 points trails onto the next line, reduce the font size to 35 (or smaller if required).

3. Font Options. These buttons change the font to bold, italic and underline.

4. Shadow Text. We suggest not using this option as it has limited control and overrides the color scheme settings.

5. Aligning Text. Use these buttons to align your text.

PICTURE TOOLBAR

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1. Contrast. Increase/decrease contrast in selected photo.

2. Brightness. Increase/decrease brightness in selected photo

3. Crop. This allows you to change the size of an inserted photo.

4. Format Picture. Displays a window, providing options for cropping, image control, position sizing, and borders.

5. Set Transparent Color. Allows you to set a transparent color for the selected picture. This is a good tool for placing your church logo on announcements or welcome pages..

INSERT MENU

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Slides from Files. The insert Slides from Files command allows you to insert an individual song file or announcement. This is ideal for bringing PowerPoint slides in from another file.

SLIDE SHOW MENU

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1. Set Up Show. This option allows you to configure PowerPoint to show the slide show through the projector when in extended desktop mode. This process is described in detail under Display Slide Show On. Slide Shows can also be set to loop forever for announcements.

2. Slide Transitions. This command allows you to change the slide transitions between announcements or sermons. We suggest not using slide transitions in your song lists as it tends to distract from worship.

FORMAT MENU

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1. Slide Color Scheme. This option allows you to change the default color of the text and shadows for a song list. This process is described in detail in the Slide Color Scheme tutorial: Slide Color Scheme.

2. Background. This option allows you to change the default background for the music list. This process is described in the following tutorials: Using  ImageVine Worship Photo Templates & Custom Jpeg Backgrounds.

Overheads vs. Digital Projectors

Overhead transparencies have been notorious for creating distractions during worship. They are easily placed off-center, too high or too low, occasionally placed upside down or moved the wrong way. And don’t forget those big hands on the screen! Transitions from one transparency to another have been awkward at best. The placement of overhead projectors in itself has been responsible for much of the distraction. Typically, they are required to be set up on the floor, near the front of the room, in between the overhead screen and the viewing audience or congregation.

WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)

New technology tends to scare people, and this is especially true in the Christian Church of today. Questions arise regarding the appropriateness of using this new technology in a church. Would Jesus or his disciples have used a projector if it were available in their day? Digital projectors are often viewed as worldly due in large part to their use in the business world, but is this a fair assumption?

If we look at the life and times of Jesus, we see that he was an innovative communicator. When he spoke to people or individuals, he often chose to speak using parables, word pictures or stories. Often he would incorporate props such as seeds, a stick to draw in the dirt or a child held in his arms. He related to people at their level and recognized the increased impact and retention level that visual messages produced. He successfully used the media of the day to communicate his message to the people (including rowing out on the water to clearly speak to the crowd on the shore). Today we have technology at our disposal to further enhance the spread of the gospel.

VISUAL MEDIA

Today, the educational media of choice is almost entirely visual (computer, internet, television, etc). Visual media has affected the way we learn, play and think. It can be found almost everywhere. We have learned to think in much more visual terms than ever before. Projectors provide the ability to reinforce the spoken message with an appropriate image or picture and in recent years churches worldwide have begun to incorporate video projection into their worship services. In fact, studies indicate that while most people cannot remember a sermon even one day after it was preached, a message reinforced with visual media dramatically increases retention.

In many ways, video projection systems are accomplishing visually what sound systems pioneered acoustically many years ago. Just as sound systems in today’s churches allow us to clearly hear the spoken word, video projection systems are conveying or clarifying key points of the message. Video projection is forever changing the method of communication in today’s church. And just as computers (or technology in general) drop in price almost daily, so too does the video projector, making it increasingly affordable for churches of almost any size.

ENHANCING YOUR MESSAGES

Remember that a digital projector is nothing more than a tool. When used effectively it can reinforce, strengthen or even clarify a message or point. Keep in mind that it works most effectively when used to enhance or clarify a message. It should not be used to entertain the congregation. This can actually distract from the message being presented. Ultimately, we attend church for spiritual growth and the projector should be used to enhance or create that environment, not detract from it.

A CHANGING WORLD

Technology is rapidly changing the world around us and is quickly accelerating the spread of the gospel. Used properly, God’s word can be presented in a powerful new way that maximizes people’s ability to learn. However, when incorporating anything new, we must be careful to walk the fine line of living in the world while not becoming part of it.

IN SUMMATION

If you are planning the purchase of a projection system for your church, you are about to begin an exciting journey and you will need to make certain you get off on the right foot. It is important that you assemble a visual media team suited for this ministry which is not unlike any other ministry in your church. It requires much more than a state-of-the-art projector; it requires a dedicated team of people. Also, take special care in choosing the right hardware and software to run this system. A well defined plan will reduce or eliminate problems as well as save you time and money in the future. Be sure to develop a reasonable graphics budget for your system. It is surprising how many churches will spend thousands of dollars on good projector systems and then display poor quality, distracting graphics through them.

At ImageVine we are dedicated to helping you seamlessly introduce this new ministry into your church. We do not sell hardware or software on this site but provide an online shopping mall filled with professionally designed graphics, helpful free articles, tips and resources to help you in your media ministry.

Setting up PowerPoint for Worship in under 5 Minutes!

I know of churches spending 5 hours a week setting up their Sunday worship service, and have sat in the congregation and painfully watched as they page through slides looking for verses. It seems we’ve traded the distractions of overheads for a frantic hunt for the correct slide. It doesn’t need to be this way; I’ll show you how to spend less than five minutes a week using PowerPoint for Worship, distraction free.

PowerPoint is a linear application that was designed for business presentations where you step forward through your message, much like you would if you were presenting a sermon outline. Using PowerPoint for Worship is a little more challenging as you seldom go in order, are constantly moving or jumping from verse to chorus and back, and the presentation also changes every week.

How do you anticipate what’s coming next in PowerPoint?

For most churches, the projector is installed and the first Sunday comes: they load up PowerPoint and realize they have no idea how to setup a song or move from verse to chorus. The challenge comes when PowerPoint is changed to presentation mode- the congregation and computer operator see the same screen. So how do you anticipate what will appear on the screen next when you are no longer in PowerPoint’s outline view? Some ways that are being used in Christian churches are hyperlinks or hotkeys (hidden buttons on the screen), or creating a printout of the slides. This works as long as the worship leader follows the pattern you have in your presentation (verse, chorus, verse, verse, chorus, etc.), however when the worship leader strays from the pattern you are lost. Or worse yet, they add a song not in the current schedule.

In order to use PowerPoint distraction free you need to configure the computer properly and come up with a method for using PowerPoint, a way to format, find and display songs for worship. Follow the steps below and you’ll be on your way to setting up PowerPoint for a Sunday morning worship service in less than 5 minutes, distraction free.

4 Steps to Using PowerPoint in Church

        1. Dual Screen Setup for PowerPoint
        2. Entering Song Files in PowerPoint
        3. Creating a PowerPoint Worship Schedule
        4. How to use a PowerPoint Worship Schedule

Congregation shouldn’t see the Windows Desktop

A dual screen setup is a way of having two monitors connected to one computer with each screen showing a different layout or desktop, in windows this is known as an ‘extended desktop’. You can have one screen for the computer operator which shows all the icons and menus (the standard desktop) and a second screen for the congregation (extended desktop) with no icons or menus, this way the congregation never sees what you are doing on the standard desktop.

You may already have the hardware!

I went into the media booth at another large church that had been using PowerPoint for over two years. I was shocked to see all this video and computer equipment, it seemed like they knew what they were doing; however their dual video card was incorrectly configured. I asked if I could show them something, in a few minutes they were sitting there amazed, using the dual screen setup for PowerPoint. Most churches already have a dual video card; it’s just not configured properly. The dual video card has two outputs- one is used for the computer monitor and the second is connected to the projector.

Already have a dual video card

If you have a video card that has two outputs and the computer monitor and projector screen show the same information, follow the tutorial Extend Desktop Mode to set it up correctly.

Purchasing a dual video card

If you have a video card with a single output then we suggest purchasing a new video card with two outputs. After installing the new video card follow the tutorials Extend Desktop Mode to set it up correctly. (You can also install a second video card in your computer, however there can be compatibility issues when having two video cards installed in one computer, so we don’t recommend this unless you are experienced with computer hardware.)

4 Steps to Using PowerPoint in Church

       1. Dual Screen Setup for PowerPoint
       2. Entering Song Files in PowerPoint
       3. Creating a PowerPoint Worship Schedule
       4. How to use a PowerPoint Worship Schedule

PowerPoint Worship Friendly Songs

Because every church has its own unique way of worshiping, you may find that you need to modify some of our suggestions to better suit your specific needs. For example, your church may move from one song to the next without pausing; to help facilitate this worship style, you may want to remove the song titles from each of the songs.

Above is an example of the song template window. The song template window is used as a reference for previewing the song once you have finished entering it. To download the song template for entering new songs, click here.

Below is a step by step guide to help you enter songs quickly:

• Delete all but the first and second slides from the template
• Delete all notes on slide 2
• Save the file as a new template
• Open the new template and save as the new song title
• On slide 2, type the footer text in the slide pane
• Enter the title of slide 2 in the outline pane
• Copy slide 2 to create additional slides (e.g. slides 3, 4 or more)
• Change the numbers on slides 3 and 4 in the outline pane
• Enter the words for slide 2 in the slide pane.
• Enter the words for slide 3 in the slide pane.
• Enter the words for slide 4 in the slide pane.
• Copy & past the words from the slide pane of 2,3 & 4 to the notes pane of slide 2
• Format the notes pane of slide 2 similar to the template.
• Copy the notes from slide 2 to slides 3 and 4.
• Add the *** ON SCREEN *** note to slides 2, 3 & 4.

When entering the words in the slide area, there are two types of returns you can use: a hard return and a soft return. A hard return is created by pressing the enter key. A soft return is created by holding down the shift key while pressing the enter key. The template we supply uses soft returns between lines in a verse and hard returns between verses. By using the correct return, the line spacing will be automatically done for you.

If some lines of the verses are too long to fit on the screen, you can adjust the font size. If you do this, be sure to adjust all of the lines and slides for that song accordingly. Note: do not reduce the font size to less than 28 pts. If the line is still too long, you may let it wrap to the next line and change the line spacing so the two lines are closer together.

Make certain you do not change the background or the font colors when setting up your song files. They need to be set up properly so that they will adapt to the song list when inserted (i.e. take on the background and formatting). If you change a background or a font color, it will retain the properties you assign to it. Use the song template we provide to ensure your songs adapt to the background templates properly.

Printer Friendly

4 Steps to Using PowerPoint in Church

1. Dual Screen Setup for PowerPoint
2. Entering Song Files in PowerPoint
3. Creating a PowerPoint Worship Schedule
4. How to use a PowerPoint Worship Schedule

The following steps proceed the background setup. For a list of instructions on how to setup the pre-made PowerPoint backgrounds supplied on this site click here. For a list of instructions on how to setup your own backgrounds click here.

Below is a list of instructions on how to insert a song into your song list. The slides will be inserted under the slide you have highlighted. Highlight the top slide to have the song inserted just under the welcome screen. We do not use a blank slide after the title as this allows us to move right from the welcome screen into the worship. Blank slides are a series of dashes “——-” that we use to create spaces between the songs.

STEP 1. Under the drop down menus click on Insert, and then choose the “Slides from files….” option.

STEP 2. In the popup window choose the Browse button.

STEP 3. Under the look in drop down list locate the directory where your songs are located, then choose a song you wish to insert, and click open.

STEP 4. Click on the insert all button, and then click on the close window button.

Once the slides have been inserted they can easily be moved around in the slide layout view. To move a single slide drag it to a new location. To move a group of slides or an entire song click on the first slide then hold down the shift key and click on the bottom slide.

Always keep a blank slide at the bottom of the list. If you accidentally enter a number using the keyboard that is higher than the slide numbers in your presentation you will be moved to the last slide in the list. If this is blank slide, you wont be sending the wrong song to the screen. The blank slide at the end also allows you to arrow down when the last song is over.

You will need to copy the HalvettBlackCond font into your windows font directory. All the downloadable songs have been formatted using this font. The font is the same type as Arial only bolder and more condensed. It works excellent as a projected font as it is more readable. The file needs to be copied to your WINDOWS\FONTS directory.

4 Steps to Using PowerPoint in Church

1. Dual Screen Setup for PowerPoint
2. Entering Song Files in PowerPoint
3. Creating a PowerPoint Worship Schedule
4. How to use a PowerPoint Worship Schedule

Drag the slide view area to the smallest area possible as illustrated above. You want to be able to see as much of the note area as possible. We have also found that people tend to watch a computer monitor if it is in front of them instead of the projection screen. You should be watching the projector screen and not your monitor, as you need to be constantly aware of what is being displayed on it. By minimizing the slide view area this forces you to watch the projector screen as it becomes hard to read the slide view area.

Once you have put your activated your song list as described in “Show on Setup“, you will only be able to use the keyboard to navigate through the slides. The mouse cannot be used to choose slides or for scrolling through the slides. The dual video card has allowed you to see the screen but you are still in slide show mode. For more information on how the mouse is used with the dual screen card see “Switching Shows“.

Use the up and down arrows keys to move between your slides. The arrow keys beside the keypad on your keyboard are very helpful when needing to move one slide down or up.

The keying in method is extremely helpful when you want to jump to a slide. You can jump to any slide in the list by typing in the slide number and hitting enter. Using the keying method you can jump over the chorus and back to a verse without having to page through two or three slides. We once had a music leader who would sing a chorus from one song and then skip back to the chorus from the previous song. I could keep up with him without a problem even though I had no idea when he was going to do it. There is a number at the front of each verse in the notes area, which corresponds to the number beside the slide number in the outline view. These numbers will help you to quickly jump to the right verse. These numbers will also let you know if the verses of the song are out of order.

The notes area is extremely useful. This allows us to look ahead at the verses in the active song. If you are unsure of where the music leader is going next you can look at the first few words of each verse and be ready to jump to those slides when you hear those words. Every church and worship leader has a different style. The dual screen video card will help you get to verses and songs quickly.

There is not a lot of time to react when you go to the next song and it is not the one you were expecting to sing. Sometimes a song gets added to the program or the order gets changed, it doesn’t happen often but when it does you want to be prepared. If this happens move to a blank screen. Then insert the new song put the show back on screen and you are back up and running. After opening your song list always insert one slide of a song, then delete it. This will set PowerPoint to look back in the song directory when you next use the insert command. This saves valuable time when searching for that missing song. Using this method you can insert a missing song in 10 to 15 seconds.

4 Steps to Using PowerPoint in Church

1. Dual Screen Setup for PowerPoint
2. Entering Song Files in PowerPoint
3. Creating a PowerPoint Worship Schedule
4. How to use a PowerPoint Worship Schedule

Purchasing a Computer for your Projector System

If you are having someone configure a computer for you, or are putting a computer together yourself, review the recommedations that follow:

		CPU You should purchase a fairly fast CPU. Although the use of stills does not require a fast processor, the use of video certainly will. Also, some of the animated effects will skip or crawl if the processor cannot keep up. A CPU speed of 1.6GHz or higher should be fine. Processor type is a matter of preference, however we highly recommend the AMD CPU mainly because of its lower price.
		Motherboard The use a quality ‘motherboard’ in the computer system is another must. Again, the reliability of your computer is largely dependent on the quality of the motherboard. Avoid using first generation motherboards – a motherboard that has been on the market for 8 to 10 months will have had the kinks worked out of it. Asus has been making quality the mothherboards for many years and we are confident in recommending their motherboards.
		Dual Video Card To run your system in dual video mode, you will require a dual video Card. A dual video card allows you to easily plug your monitor and projector into your computer system. Some dual video cards do not work well when displaying overlay video. The GeForce FX chip set is fairly stable. A video card we have found that works well in video overlay mode is the Asus V9520. Make certain that the video card has a minimum of 128mb of ram if you intend to use video.
		Memory You should have a minimum of 512mb of memory (RAM) installed in your computer. This will allow you to use video and open multiple presentations without slowing down your system. For the few extra dollars it costs to increase the computer’s memory, we recommend installing 1Gig.
		Hard Drive (IDE) Choose a reliable brand name hard drive. You should purchase at least an 80GB drive as graphics will take up a fair amount of space over time. If you have the money, you may elect to invest in a high revolution hard disk such as a SCSI. This will allow you to run live video directly off of your Hard Drive without dropping frames.
		CDROM (Writer) You will need a CD ROM drive in your computer to load or install software. We recommend purchasing a CD Writer which will allow you to efficiently backup your materials. Graphics and Video files can be fairly large and backing up onto a CD is fast and safe. A DVD writer can be used in place of a CD writer and will give you 8 times the backup capacity.
		SoundCard A sound card enables you to run sound from your presentation through your sound system. You will also be able to play music CD’s or mp3’s through your sound system. Sound Blaster, the industry standard in PC audio over the last 3 decades, offers a full range of quality audio cards and accessories. Some motherboards have quality sound boards built into them.
		Monitor A good quality monitor can serve your needs for many years to come. While computers require upgrading or replacement, monitors tend to last for quite a long time. It is best to get a monitor capable of a resolution of 1280×1024 or higher. Larger screens give you more viewing area which is helpful in Projector System applications. 17″ – 21″ monitors are recommended and if you have extra money, flat panels will use up substantially less space.
		Keyboard When using PowerPoint in slideshow mode with a dual screen system, you will be constantly using your keyboard. Invest in a quality keyboard. A keyboard one or two price steps up from the low end keyboard will do. Examine the keyboard and make certain that you can feel when you’ve pressed a key.
		Mouse When using a worship program, you will be using your mouse a fair amount as well. When you are using the mouse, you will often be in a hurry to get something on screen. Purchase a quality mouse. We recommend an optical mouse as their movement is more accurate.

We don’t recommend playing DVD movies with the computer DVD player/writer. It is much cheaper and easier to operate a stand alone multi DVD/VCR player and plug it into your sound board and the video feed on the projector. Although the computer can handle it, the sound board on some computers will not always play the audio properly when connected to a sound system. It also means that someone must understand the computer system to properly play a DVD. Programs such as EasyWorship can control a DVD installed in your computer for playing video clips.

Although it is a good idea to purchase a name brand computer like Compaq or Hewlett-Packard, some of these computers have video cards built into their motherboards. Verify that you can install a Dual Video Card in the system before you purchase. Laptops also have built in Video cards and they cannot be changed.