Media Tip: Sermon Visuals

Today is the age of technology. Churches need to embrace that technology. It is not a bad thing, and you do not need to compromise your beliefs to do it. Just because you use projector or Powerpoint does not mean that you've become a "contemporary" church in the more charismatic sense of the word. Have you ever been sitting in a service and the preacher said the passage too fast, you missed it, and now you are looking over everybody's shoulder trying to figure out where they are turning to? Sermon visuals a great way to keep the Bible reference visible for anyone who might have missed it. Have you ever listened to a sermon in the morning service and then completely forgot what it was about by the evening service? Don't lie. We've all been there. With sermon visuals, the preacher's main point of the message can be displayed right behind him the whole morning service. By personal experience, I've found myself remembering those main points weeks after the service. Why? Because our minds retain visual images better.

Step #1 - Buy a Projector. If you do not have an digital projector, invest in one. Not only will this be useful for yourself and your church, but it will be helpful to any missionary that you have come through. You can buy projectors almost anywhere: www.bestbuy.com, www.digitalprojection.com, www.optoma.com, and www.viewsonic.com. Projectors come in all shapes and sizes. Not sure how much you'll use it? Buy a $300 projector.

Step #2 - Getting the Visuals. The best a most unique way to get sermon visuals is to have a member of your church who is talented with Graphic Design or Media Production to make them for you. This will guarantee originality and will put the talents of your people to work for the Lord. You'll have great visuals and you'll get someone more involved in God's Word. It's a win/win situation.

Don't have a Graphic Designer in your church? How about someone who knows how to work with computers? This shouldn't be difficult in today's culture. Find someone under the age of 30 and they are almost guaranteed to know how to use and operate a program like Microsoft Powerpoint. Then setup an account at either www.gracewaymedia.com or www.sharefaith.com. Graceway has amazing graphic design, but they have a hefty yearly membership. Share Faith is a little better priced, but a little lower on the design scale. Want something free? www.creationswap.com has a lot of free graphics for download that you can use.

Step #3 - Personalizing those Visuals. Add your Sermon Title and Bible Reference to a slide to keep up during the opening of your sermon. Then get a matching slide for your main points. At the very least include your proposition or main point; The "God wants you to serve Him" type of statement. You can also use the slides to list anything else that you want.

Step#4 - Take the Next Step. So you've got sermon visuals. Now what? Do you use the projector for anything else? Try listing your announcements on it and have it run on a cycle at the beginning of the service when everyone is walking in. Most people talk, but there is bound to be someone just sitting around. Give them something to read and look at. Maybe by the end of the month they'll have your announcements memorized!

I do have one caution. NEVER put your scripture passage on the overhead. The last thing you want to do is get your people into the habit of watching the screen as you read instead of their Bibles. The focus of the service is to worship God and learn from His Word. The Bible is where we learn from God and about God and we should never remove the Bible from the picture. If you do this, before long, people will stop bringing their Bibles to church because they know you'll have it on the overhead. That is the worst possible scenario. Don't let it happen. Technology is a great tool, but it can be abused. Make sure we use it, but use it right.

Below are some examples of sermon visuals I've created personally. I'm just starting to work with this so I'm not that great yet, but I'm learning and, in time, I'll get better.

Posted in: Media Tips, Powerpoint, Sermon Visuals