By Chris McGowan of Hyper Pixels Media
Would you like to use media more often in your ministry, but you’re unsure of how to incorporate it into your messages? Well, here are 8 creative ideas for using media to make your sermons LOOK good:
1. SERMON INTRODUCTION VIDEO: Your Worship Leader closes with a powerful song… setting up your sermon perfectly. Then the praise band comes down off the stage. You make your way to the pulpit, fix your notes, and your perfect set-up has now been blown out of the water by an awkward 60 seconds of silence. How can you fix this? EASY… with a sermon introduction video.
In our media saturated society, people appreciate transitions from one worship element to the next (in the same way they enjoy TV show openings that tell them that a different show is coming on next).
2.DECORATE YOUR STAGE WITH VIDEO: With the price of flat screen monitors coming down, you can use beautiful motion backgrounds to set the mood for your sermons. When selecting a motion background, find a slow moving (looping) video that has the same theme as your sermon. Be sure not to use a video that moves too fast, because it will be a “distraction” instead of a “decoration”.
* Technical note: When used in this way, motion backgrounds are usually played through a different computer than the one showing your sermon power point.
3. MOVIE TRAILER FOR YOUR SERMON: Movie studios use trailers to promote an upcoming movie. You can use a trailer video to promote and build anticipation for an upcoming sermon series. I would encourage you to use a short Sermon Introduction Video as your Trailer. That way you get twice as much use out of the videos you are purchasing.
4. SHOW A COMMERCIAL: In the church we usually call them “announcements”. And in a lot of churches the “announcements” are B-O-R-I-N-G.
Why not try this… in the middle your Father’s Day sermon when you’re talking about “iron sharpening iron”, show a commercial (a 60 second promo video) for Promise Keepers.
Does this sound weird to you? Well, your congregation won’t think so, because our television saturated minds have already been programmed to EXPECT a commercial every few minutes.
* Side note… Did you know that breaking up your sermon like this will help the youngsters in your congregation pay attention better? Why? Because the average attention span of a person is 2-3 minutes times their age (so a 5-year-old would have an average attention span of about 15 minutes).
5. BUILD CONTINUITY USING A COLLECTION (OR PACKAGE): Did you know that most church media web sites offer collections (or packages) built around sermon topics. Many of these collections include Sermon Introduction Videos, Countdowns, Still Backgrounds, and Motion Backgrounds… all at a DISCOUNTED PRICE! With all these elements, it’s easy to build continuity into your entire worship service.
6. SERMON ILLUSTRATION VIDEOS: There are so many different ways to illustrate points in your sermon using video. Here are just a few examples of the different styles of video that could be used to illustrate a point in your sermon…
o Dramatic
o Comedy
o Testimony
o Word-On-The-Street Interviews
o Movie Clips
o Music Videos
o And many more…
7. USE BACKGROUNDS FOR THE MAIN POINTS OF YOUR SERMON: Studies have shown that there is a 50% higher retention rate when we “SEE” (visually) what we are hearing. So, help your congregation remember your sermon by displaying your main points through a projection system. Plus, when you use graphically appealing still or motion backgrounds… it makes your sermon “look good”.
8. COUNTDOWN VIDEOS: Use countdown videos to NOT ONLY let your congregation know when the service will start, but find countdowns that will ALSO build anticipation for your sermon. And, if you’re like a lot of us, it’s also a great way to make sure the services start on time!
Tags: Pastor resources, sermon illustrations, Sermon outlines, Sermons, Video Presntations
Beautiful concepts! Thanks for sharing this 8 tips.
Hi there.
Thank you so very much for this blog/site. It’s wonderfull and I’m surely gonna use it.
I’ve been asked by churches to help ‘m out on powerpoints and other stuff. They look at me as an expert, but I’m not and that is what I tell them. But they insist that I help them.
This blog will surely help me to give ‘m a better service. This is so great.
Thank you again. And God bless…
Sven
GREAT! I just make a hard copy and send it on to our pastor! (He’s not on the internet yet.) What a challenge!
I have used countless videos during the morning service. A great spot to inject a short video “feature” (at least for us) is right before announcements.
Keep up your fantastic service to the Church, folks!
– Rich Young
I found your site on google and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work.
Hey yall,
Great blog post here. Very helpful! I’m wondering, what are some of the best church media sites that offer these packages with countdown and sermon intro videos that you talked about? I can’t seem to find many that offer those huge packages!
Only by His grace,
Chip