Part of producing quality weekend services is to have a way of critiquing them after the fact. At Northview, we have a post service meeting is called “Yays and Heys” and includes the entire worship and production team, as well as other staff members from other departments and some pastors. This meeting is essential to pointing out what worked and what didn't, things that engaged the congregation or stood out like a sore thumb. A powerful time of worship, or a specific way the pastor delivered the message may get a “Yay.” While announcement length will usually get a “Hey” as it breaks the flow and continuity of the service (but this article isn't about announcements, we'll save that for another time.) One thing I have become much more aware of recently as I prepare for the weekend is this saying we started using: “Avoiding the Hey” I realize right now you're reading this saying, “Duh, we should always avoid doing things that don't go over well.” I am speaking of the idea of forgetting our audience, and making assumptions of their previous knowledge of Christ. It becomes a balancing act of spoon-feeding seeks while still preaching to the choir.
Often times assumptions are made about our audience and their knowledge of “churchy things.”
On big weekends such as Easter and Christmas Eve it is a given that there will be guests in attendance and it is our duty to explain the story to them. We need to explain why as Christians we are celebrating these events. This past Easter we opened with a video segment that spanned across four screens hanging over the stage. The video started with creation, then into how humanity chose to disobey God's commands which lead to why we needed a Savior. That story has to be told. It cannot be assumed that even in 2013 that everyone knows that there is more to Easter than just a bunny who delivers eggs.
Besides content selection and length, I have also become more observant of where we are directing the congregation's focus. If there is a video happening on our rear screen that we want people to focus on, then we cannot have lyrics and IMAG on the side screens. This leaves people wondering what they're supposed to be watching.
The same goes for lighting – our lighting guys do an amazing job of not just flooding the stage in light. They spend the week aiming and focusing fixtures to light up each individual spot on stage. This just helps create a more intimate environment and draws the audience's focus into worship.
How the service starts is another area to watch closely. I was recently at a conference for church tech and creative people. At this conference they used these amazingly engaging countdown sequences leading up to the main sessions. Every time, the countdown hit zero and nothing happened. The screens remained on 0:00 for seconds. It was dead silent, and so incredibly awkward. I critique this conference, but we are sometimes just as guilty. We've planned services that incorporat a high-energy countdown where the music was loud, and as it hit 0:00 we went silent --- completely letting the steam out of the energy we had been building for the previous five minutes.
I have to remind myself that I am seeing it or hearing it many more times than the person sitting in seat
As church staff members, we do this stuff day in and day out, week after week and the details can become monotonous. But we must remember that those things are fresh to the first-time vistor. I can quickly become burned out on a worship song or video element but I have to remind myself that I am seeing it or hearing it many more times than the person sitting in seat E17. It is fresh for them, and could possibly be a life-changing moment if we have been diligent in avoiding distractions and those little things that people may only notice as a passing thought, but it still breaks the moment. That is why we strive for excellence and do everything we can to “Avoid the Hey” before it happens.
