When thinking about technology and the church we have to look at it from a few perspectives:
1) What are we called to do?
2) What would we like to be able to do?
3) What can we afford to do?
What are we called to do? To lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.
How does technology play into that calling? We use technology as a tool to enhance the message that God wants us to hear.
The message needs to be easily seen, and clearly heard. It isn’t necessary to invest a ton of money into the glitz and glam, flash and trash that comes with a large production rig. However, in my opinion, I do believe you should invest your money in quality sound and projection, and let the lighting be the icing on the cake (if you can afford it).
As is the case with our campuses and network churches, we utilize video teaching for the message in place of a live teaching pastor. In this scenario, it is vital that you have a reliable video presentation, whether that be through a projector or as simple as a TV. Either way you decide to go, you want your attendees to be able to easily see the lyrics to the songs and, more importantly, the pastor bringing the message.
It is also important that you have a sound system that is clear, without distortion or muddiness, and can be easily heard throughout your venue. I have been in some churches where they had plenty of PA but wouldn’t turn it up so that you could hear the pastor. I literally had to strain to hear the pastor speaking…it was painful and a major distraction! I’m not saying that you should run the PA at a screaming 110db, but a comfortable 94-100db during worship is ideal, and 80-86db for spoken word is ideal.
You may be thinking, “man, I wish we could afford to do all of that, but our budget just won’t allow it.” I’m here to tell you that you can do it for a lot less than you might think.
While our goal as the creative and technical teams is to create the best experience possible for our attenders, it doesn’t mean you have to break the bank to have all the bells and whistles that come with big PAs and intelligent (moving) lights! You can actually do it for a lot less money and a lot less stress than what you might ever realize!
Keep your setup simple…somewhat like a “Church in a Box”. To get started takes a relatively small investment, doesn’t require much technical knowledge to operate, and takes little time to setup.
Here is what it could look like:
- iMac with Pro Presenter is your complete presentation package. It allows you to have moving graphics behind your lyrics, while at the same time giving you a platform to play all your videos, including the message!
- Pro Presenter…this game changer from Renewed Vision has forever changed how churches do graphics and video!
- A Projector…or a TV…you will need something to show your content on.
- ROKU…this streaming device requires minimal setup and a quality internet connection. But the trend in some technically advanced churches is to create their own channel from which you can stream the content, including the weekend message. Check out LifeChurch.tv’s Roku channel for the latest from our weekend experiences!
- Internet Connection (preferably not dial-up)…but something that will allow you to pull large files down and show in Pro Presenter or stream from another device.
- Fender Passport…this is just an example of a small, portable PA that can fit in your car and allow you to setup church in any small venue!
As far as projection screens go, you have many options that range in price from $ to $$$$$. Here are just a few of the lesser expensive surfaces you can do on a budget:
- TV
- Projection screen (Da-Lite is normally one of the lesser priced, but is great quality in performance and durability)
- Spandex…if you want to get creative and change the shapes of your screens, Spandex is an option. While not as efficient as a hard surface, it is still reflective enough to get the job done!
- Paint screens on the walls and frame it in with black trim…this is the cheap of cheap, but it works all the same!
Some of you might already have an initial site and are now thinking multi-site. There are many cost effective options that will allow you to launch without a lot of overhead. Beware of the mighty “consultant” who will over quote what you really “need” to do it “right”. We have done our best at LifeChurch.tv to keep our technical setup at the campuses as simple as possible so that volunteers can easily operate the equipment and so the staff doesn’t have to stress about training them on how to use it.
The great thing about production equipment is that it’s scalable to your budget. It doesn’t take a lot to make a BIG impact! Take that same approach to your churches. Use the “Church in the box” approach…keep it simple and spend your time focusing on what you’ve been called to do…to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.
