In a typical service environment, the pieces of the service that tend to get the most attention are the worship/music section and the sermon itself, and rightly so. Since those tend to be the most impactful parts of the service, those become the parts that are planned, scripted, rehearsed, and dissected more than any other.
The key ... is not to just do the content, but to do it well.
For most contemporary churches, those pivotal service elements are often supplemented with multimedia content, specifically videos of varying forms. Sermon intros, announcement videos, testimonials, and event promos are just some of the many types of videos that churches use to add extra impact and energy to a service flow.
The key, however, is not to just do the content, but to do it well. And in order to do it well, a church must first have a clear purpose behind why it wants to use media content in the first place.
Let’s take a look at three purposes of video content and focus on the importance of each.
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1-To entertain
For many, coming to church can be a heavy or sobering experience. The weight of life can be overpowering, and it’s common for people to come to church looking for something to bring an uplifting note to an otherwise weighty week. People need joy and excitement, and where better to bring that than church?
So, if there’s an opportunity to bring some sort of entertainment or laughter to a service, it can be a critical piece of enhancing audience engagement. Church should be a fun place that people look forward to visiting, not a heavy place where people dread going!
People need joy and excitement, and where better to bring that than church?
Instead of just trying to give cut-and-dry announcements of church news, why not try to do it in a funny or memorable way, like a movie spoof, musical parody, or even in a poetic/spoken word format? Can something standard be done in an outside-the-box and unique way that helps create a “wow” moment for the congregation?
While the primary focus of a church isn’t just to entertain, that doesn’t mean that the experience can’t be entertaining. When I’m planning out service elements each week, I can ask myself if there’s a natural way and place to add something fun or exciting that will get the audience talking. Sometimes there’s nothing better than people leaving a service one week and already anticipating coming back the next Sunday because they don’t want to miss out. Make church exciting again!
Can I leave them wanting more?
2-To inform
Obviously it’s important to use a multimedia platform to communicate important information to the audience. And a video format can often be more engaging and interesting than just a boring talking head on stage.
If I want people to leave the service with some measure of retention though, I must be very intentional and strategic in how I package and give the information I have.
For starters, a key adage is that if you give people too much to remember, they won’t remember any of it. So, I must ask myself what are the most critical pieces of information that I need to highlight for the whole church. I can’t spend four minutes on a video just talking about a bunch of names, dates and times; that’s simply too much for people to process.
Lower-thirds (or graphics) in the video package are a critical way to highlight important information like dates or websites. Plus, b-roll is a MUST! Having video highlights to accentuate the information will create must-needed context and can also help spur excitement and engagement when the audience can actually see what is being talked about. Lastly, a simple but upbeat music bed is an additional way to add some energy to what otherwise could be a boring exchange of calendar items.
Information on its own isn’t very exciting. It’s crucial that I package that information in a way that’s easy for the audience to engage with and digest. And sometimes, this is where I can bring an element of entertainment value into the mix as well: can I use something creative to help people remember what’s important?
3-To inspire
Church should really be the most inspirational environment on the planet. It’s an exciting message full of hope and potential. If done well, a church service each week should be able to have some sort of “call to action” tied into the programming. I don’t just want people to be entertained or informed, but I want them to be moved to act in some regard.
Whether it’s to go on a missions trip, volunteer in children’s ministry, or get baptized, there could be any number of things that I want to inspire my congregants to do. They key is how: by telling stories.
A testimonial video is often one of the most impactful thing a church does. In that, I’m not just telling you what can be done, but I’m using the first-hand experience of someone to explain why you should do it.
Seeing a “real-life” person on screen (just like me!) is often a reminder that normal, everyday people can do great things, and I can experience those great things myself; extraordinary circumstances are not just reserved for special people! Inspirational videos allow people to speak from their heart about their own experience and connect with others in the audience who may be in a similar position.
At its core, church is all about telling a personal story, and that’s really the center of the most effective form of evangelism: this great thing happened to me, so let me tell you about it so it can hopefully happen to you too!
A church should be just as excited every week to tell that story, and without creating a platform for people to share their stories broadly, a ministry’s effectiveness and impact can be limited. Churches should consider a regular application for inspirational content so that their audience can consistently be encouraged to move towards action.
Video content on its own can miss the mark unless it’s catered to a specific purpose. Answering the “why” during the content creation process can help define a value and ensure that the content is done as effectively as possible and has the greatest level of engagement and impact.
People long to hear the message of the Gospel. But if it’s not packaged well, it all can get lost in the noise of life. Intentional, strategic packaging is key for taking standard service content to the next level!
