ChurchIT – Supporting ministry with IT

Taking part in a church service can quickly become juggling act of books, bibles and bits of paper. At our local Anglican church this has become worse since the introduction of Common Worship. It’s a fantastic resource of different liturgy but makes it hard to follow the service, especially if you are a newcomer.

One solution is to do away with paper altogether and use a projector connected to a computer (well maybe not completely, there’s still a need to have some large print paper copies on hand for anyone who might have difficulty seeing the screen).

The beauty of this way of producing liturgy for worship is that it shifts the burden of what is said and when away from the people in the pews and into the lap of the person putting it all together. They will probably be doing it anyway for their own service plan, and there is something faintly ridiculous in telling people to turn to section d4 on page 4 of the red books for a simple ‘Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer’ response (I’m not joking).

It doesn’t stop there as it a projector makes it possible to show videos or photo slide shows, which can be a real aid to worship. This can also enliven talks from visiting missionaries and helps to give a better sense of what they have experienced.

Videos from other churches can be a powerful aid to sermons, as can excerpts from films. The potential benefits don’t stop at the end of Sunday either. It is possible to show films by setting up a film club. It’s cheap enough to either make a profit or become a form of outreach.

The price of this is, predictably, both that of the equipment in the first place, and in finding and training people to operate it. There is also the danger of form over function, as it can be easy to get carried away.

Over the course of a few articles I’ll take a look at what hardware is needed, as well as some of the software that can be used. There’s a wide range to suit almost all needs. Some free software can satisfy most needs when starting out, possibly by borrowing or hiring equipment to see if it suits your church’s needs.

On balance, the advantages make the costs worthwhile. In the following articles we’ll take a look at how to choose a good projector, screen and other bits and pieces along the way.

First published on The Sheep Dip,  a Christian-run website offering quality material for church newsletter and magazine editors to use for a small fee.