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?

Fearful Trust

Ahab was a very wicked king of Israel. He and Jezebel his wife worshipped Ba'al, a Canaanite god, and killed all the prophets of God that they could find.

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, worshipped God, and destroyed the pagan idols and shrines. But he became an ally of wicked king Ahab. Ahab tried to trick Jehoshaphat to save himself, but trick failed and Ahab was killed in battle. That story is in 2 Chronicles 18, if you want to read it.

Jehoshaphat returned home in defeat, and the Lord sent a prophet to rebuke him for becoming the ally of a king that hated God. Soon after, Jehoshaphat got news that three enemy nations had joined forces and were sending a huge army to wipe him out. Instead of trying to find a new ally, he did what he should have done in the first place, and immediately went to prayer. 2 Chronicles 20 verse 3 says that Jehoshaphat "feared and set his face to seek the Lord." "Set his face" is an old phrase that means he decided and stuck to his decision. He would seek God's help. When terrified, he steeled himself to wait on God.

Then Jehoshaphat prayed a beautiful prayer: "O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In Your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You."

In his prayer, Jehoshaphat recounted God's promise of protection, saying, "We will cry out to you in our affliction, and You will hear and save." He also told the Lord the huge challenge that they were facing: "We are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us."

Then he prayed this incredible ending: "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” This is the same man that had, not long before, gone and sought military protection from God's enemy. He'd been rebuked and repented of that decision, and here he simply throws himself, his family, and his nation on God's mercy. "Our eyes are on You" - we are waiting for You, trusting You, and will obey You.

And God stepped in and saved them. The enemy armies started fighting among themselves, and God's people watched as their enemies wiped themselves out.

I don't know what you are facing today. Maybe you are overwhelmed, maybe you don't know what to do, maybe you've failed before and are afraid that you will just fail over and over. Even if you are scared to death and not feeling very trusting, you can still do what Jehoshaphat did - dedicate yourself to seek God, take your situation to Him, then wait on Him. And He will take over for you. It may not be as spectacular as He did for Jehoshaphat, it may not be immediate, it may not be what you expect. But keep your eyes on Him, and He will come and save you.