There’s an incredible sale going at WorshipHouse right now that you do not want to miss! Through the end of May, you can get any (or all) motions from Church Motion Graphics at 25% off. This is a great opportunity for you and your church to stock up on some really great backgrounds and splash screens that you can use all year.
Check out the sale here.
Service Packs, Theme Packs, Matching Collections, Thing-a-bobs… whatever you call it… they are great! I use them at my church on the occasion I run media. Basically, they are a collection of media elements that match a theme. I love it when they have motions, stills, AND a countdown so all of the digital media (at least the more background stuff) can have a really cohesive look. I love them because the producer has already done the work of putting together your visual media and it is really cost effective compared to buying the individual loops.
I recently used a new service pack by Centerline New Media and below is a sample of the slides to give you an idea. I got a ton of compliments on the visuals that week, and highly recommend using one of these handy “Thing-a-bobs”.
You can see that they all have a similar look although they are a bit different and come from different parts of the worship service:
This is all from Service Pack Volume 7.
Let us know if you have used a Collection of similar videos or imagery and how it worked for you!
I’m really lucky. Our church is overflowing with all kinds of talented folks, and I get to split the service media responsibilities 50/50 with another guy (who has a great eye for design). Every other week I get to emerge from the booth and just participate in the service.
I realize not everyone has that luxury.
Having said that – stop thinking of some time off as a luxury, and consider it a necessity.
If you want to do something really good for your soul, take a week off every now and then. I’m not talking about vacation or a sick day. Take a day off and just sit in your church. Don’t critique your stand-in. Worship. Breathe. Enjoy the service without worrying about making sure everything goes off without a hitch.
This time of refreshing will make you a better media guy next week. And the week after that.
How do you handle time off in your media ministry?
If it seems like Mother’s Day was just yesterday… well then… I have news for you. It wasn’t! Mother’s Day is this weekend (the 13th). Thankfully you still have a few days to pick something up for that special mom (whether she be your mom, wife, grandmother, etc) to remind her of just how great she is! You also have time to pick out the perfect mini-movie to share with your congregation this Sunday if you haven’t already done so!
Once again Dale and Luke each take a minute to talk about three of their favorite Mother’s Day Mini-Movies! In fact, that is exactly what they do!
Dale’s Top 3 – humor edition
“Jedi Mom” by Shift Worship
“Your Momma” by Soul Refinery
“A Mother’s Day Moment” by Igniter Media
Luke’s Top 3
“Thank You Mom” by The Skit Guys
“In Her Steps” by Journey Box Media
“Very Special Mommy” By Steelehouse Media
background image still:
“Engage Paper Background” by Church Motion Graphics
For a while after I became a mother, I had a hard time. I was anxious all the time; I let myself get caught up in what other people thought, and constantly questioned my decisions. I struggled with my identity.
But sometimes at night, I would go into my sleeping daughter’s bedroom and pick her up. I’d hold her, pray for her, and think about how precious she is to me. And then I’d be reminded of how precious I must be to my Father. I hold deep value in God’s eyes. And so does every mother.
So I was really thankful to see this beautiful new Mother’s Day mini movie by Floodgate, The Value Of a Mom. I sincerely appreciate the shout-out to moms who don’t have it all together! And to those who do, this is for you too! We are all beautifully unique, and God cherishes every one of us.
Take a look:
Check out all our great Mother’s Day content in the Seasonal Store!
The following is a guest post from Helen Kendall. Helen Kendall is based in Manchester England and is part of the iSingWorship team for Innervation Trust. Helen has been with Innervation since 2001 working with schools bands and touring bands both performing and doing bookings and promotions. She has co-authored a series of 12 Youth Bible study guides and originally trained in California as a mime artist.
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For the last 25 years we’ve been working in Christian music in the UK, setting up bands and music projects that tour churches, schools, prisons and most other venue’s in between. We’ve been in countless churches, festivals and events all over the world and over the years we’ve been asked loads of times if we produce backing tracks for other people to perform or worship to. Back in 1999 we followed up an album by the World Wide Message Tribe with a series of albums called, “Jumping in the house of God” and, “RE:Source” that provided dance versions of popular worship songs as backing tracks for people to use. These were popular but we were really frustrated by the lack of flexibility in the tracks, how can you really worship authentically when everything about the song has already been decided?
We never really had an answer to the problem but felt there must be a better way of doing things, worship tracks for people without bands, but easy to use and flexible. Years went by and finally along came the iPhone 4, the App, the iPad and suddenly the game changed! We realized that by partnering our music production and industry experience with the skills of Lawrence Porter, a local computer programmer, something beautiful could happen! So, we dreamed together, planned together and finally after a lot of trial and error, recording, programming and testing iSingWorship was released in December 2011.
It’s the first of its kind, an App that provides totally flexible backing tracks for worship with lyric projection. You can repeat a chorus, let a quiet instrumental play or end a song by going back to the first verse. You can even turn off the guitar and vocal if you want to play or sing along. The music is as professional as any top worship CD and there are loads of development ideas for the future. It’s free to download from Apple’s App store and for a limited time there’s a free song up there so see what you think. If you like the app you can buy songs from the in App store.
After a three week absence of no new video blogs, I’m sure all of you are itching for a new one – am I right? Well, today is your lucky day!
There are so many cool things going on in the church media world these days! We are here to bring you the news. Find out which conferences the WHM team thinks you should attend, and learn a little about two new projection apps.
Church Media News:
ProPresenter 5 (For Windows – Order Pro4 now and be eligible for a free upgrade to Pro5 when it releases)
ProPresenter 5 (For Mac)
Conferences:
background image: “God Of The Heavens Still 03” by Centerline New Media
Unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, chances are things are starting to warm up and you’re starting to dream of that beach trip you may or may not be taking soon. Whether you’ll be feeling sand between your toes this summer or not, we want you to experience some of the beauty anyway. Add this beautiful photo (and calendar?) to your desktop this month and dream away. (Special thanks to our designer, Natalie, for taking such a gorgeous picture!)
Download the ZIP folder below and grab the image that best fits your screen. We have provided a calendar and non-calendar version for each resolution.
Get the ZIP file here!
I recently posed the following question to our panel of experts:
You’re thrust into a new congregation and asked to run the visual media ministry. How do you discern what will work and what won’t for that particular congregation?
This was Camron Ware‘s response.
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It all comes down to relationships. Not only with the congregation, but also (and mainly) with the senior pastor and worship pastor.
Now, I’m assuming your leadership actually talks to each other about the service and about the direction/theme/message (you’d be surprised how many I talk to that don’t). Once that is happening, then your role (as the visual worship leader) needs to be seen as an important role, and you need to be included in the worship service planning meetings. You should be meeting at least once a week solely about the direction of the service and message, but also spend time with your leadership outside the church, building trust and learning each others’ personality.
Trust is huge within a worship department. The leadership needs to trust you to make the right choices with media, and you need to trust them with the direction of the church. You should be able to look at a set list from the worship pastor and see the message notes from the pastor, and understand the overall message they are trying to communicate. Then, you can find and select media to match that message.
Another way to discern what the church wants/needs is to simply ask your friends and family in the congregation! Ask them from time to time about media you used that Sunday, and what that communicated to them. After a while, you’ll be able to discern an overall style and theme for the media you use. You can’t please everyone all the time with your media – don’t try. But if people tell you that certain media is a distraction, listen to them. Be humble enough to not use certain media if people are distracted by it, even if it is your favorite motion loop of all time.
It also comes down to your heart as the visual worship leader. If you’re praying and asking God what should be shown in your service, the Spirit will speak to you as you pour over your visuals and media.
So, listen, ask, pray, be in relationship.
I recently posed the following question to our panel of experts:
You’re thrust into a new congregation and asked to run the visual media ministry. How do you discern what will work and what won’t for that particular congregation?
This was worshipVJ‘s response.
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Experiment. And be a part of honest community.
First, I would ask the leadership what everyone is used to, and I would start from there. I wouldn’t go too “out there” with effects & moving imagery, as I would want the visual transition for the congregation to be as seamless as possible. You can’t lead anyone to a new place unless you meet them where they are already at.
I would also try to attend the band rehearsals (which should always happen, in my opinion) and allow my direct leader/authority to watch and approve what I’m VJ-ing, so that it isn’t too far off from what everyone is used to. For me, this is the worship leader. The worship leader knows what is best for your church more than anyone else. They are the ones with the creative vision, typically.
My goal would not be to simply replicate what has already been done…to make everything look familiar, but I would want to provide a fresh visual experience that feels familiar.. Example: if the congregation has been used to mostly nature stills, I wouldn’t do a bunch of nature motions, or any motions at all. I would stay “still” as much as possible. But I also wouldn’t use the same old still they have been recycling forever; I would use fresh ones. Then go from there.
As you progress, lean into the feel of the experience.
For me, when I VJ, it’s all about the music. If the music doesn’t move me, then it’s hard for me to put “feeling” into the visuals. But when I’m able to connect with the music, I am inspired to add a visual harmony, of sorts. So study the music, live with it, practice alongside the band, and fuse the two mediums together as much as possible.
Then…
Go to lunch with people. Hang out with them outside of church. Get out of the production booth. Turn off your computer. Break down any barriers of isolation and be one of the people, not just the man behind the curtain. You’re not the Wizard of Oz… and they need to experience you as a person, not the tech guy who runs the screens. Build authentic relationships, and through the course of conversations, get a read on what people think of the visual changes. Share with them your passion & vision for creativity, media, technology & visual worship. Ask them questions….you’ll be surprised at how much people notice things and want to dialogue about everything.
Not only will you earn trust in the congregation, but you’ll start to get a feel for what they respond to and how best you can serve them, and yes, even challenge them.
Don’t ever assume what the congregation thinks & feels. And don’t sit in board room meetings and theorize about what worked and what didn’t. Staff meetings have their place, but you won’t get a full, balanced picture of what reality truly is. Don’t communicate AT your congregation….communicate WITH them. And be true to yourself. God placed in you a gift… and He has you in this new situation for a reason. So lean into your God-designed ability to create the way only you can.
