Effective Church Visuals

Not too long ago, "Should a church use projectors?" was a hot topic. It seems to have cooled off a bit, perhaps because enough churches are using them that the question is fast becoming moot. Not trying to start a new arguescussion, but in my opinion, the ability to have high-quality visuals is the most important tool for churches since the invention of the sound system. The more senses you can engage, the better the message gets across - why do you think Jesus pointed to the fields, the flowers and the birds when He preached? But be sure that you are making the best use of this tool that you possibly can!

It's really easy to get excited about what we can do instead of what's most effective. Many sound systems will allow you to add an echo effect to the speaker's voice. It might sound cool, but you would never do it because it would be really distracting. On the other hand, it could be very useful at times - during a Christmas play or other drama, perhaps. In the same way, just because you can place a really cool motion background behind song lyrics or the Scripture text doesn't mean you should. Depending on the church and the setting, background graphics can be appropriate or distracting. And never use a great-looking background if it makes the content hard to read. If you are unsure, err on the side of simplicity. There's nothing wrong with white text on a black background.

While you are at it, you should probably learn some basics of creating slides for projection, such as when to use serif fonts or the 1-6-6 rule. (If you don't know what these are, find out before you prepare any more visuals.)

We understand that PowerPoint is a very effective tool for the classroom, and the teacher is expected to use it well. But if our goal (or one of our goals) is to enable people to understand Scripture, then use the church projector for that end. Having a way of presenting quality visuals is one of the most powerful tools I know of for teaching Scripture. 

Clarifying the meaning of "redeeming" in Ephesians 5:15-17. It's much
more effective than just saying, "in this verse, redeeming means
 'making the best use of.'"

There's no limit on how to do that. Many preachers list their points on the screen, but why not diagram the text? Or color-code it to correspond to your points? (You do draw your points directly from the text, don't you??) 

How would you explain what "redeeming the time" means in Ephesians 5:16? Or ever noticed the connection between "redeeming the time" and understanding God's will? Having seen it visualized, I guarantee that the next time you read the passage you'll notice it.

Laying out the text visually helps people (and you!) see the flow of the passage as well as connections between
concepts and terms. Here, "redeeming the time" is tied to both wisdom and understanding God's will.

You should be using every tool you have available - especially the projector - to make Scripture more understandable and memorable. So what do you do to use your church projector effectively?