Below is a condensed version of the article "Why Should Churches Use Video?"
from Christian Media Magazine
April 9, 2013
Video is the Future
Video communication is progressing to become OUR MOST WIDELY USED form of communication. Consider YouTube. There are over 2.89 billion videos on YouTube alone, and 48 hours of content uploaded every minute! Research speculates that in 10 years, video will represent 90% of online traffic. Current online traffic consists of over 50% video . . . . Videos are becoming the way we share laughter, we share thought provoking messages, and also emotional messages. Consider this: How many books have you read this year, compared to movies watched?
Video for the Brain
First of all, we only remember 20% of what we hear and 30% what we see, but we remember 70% of what we hear and see! Video dramatically helps your congregation remember your sermon. In addition, you help those people who learn by seeing. Video helps communicate an idea effectively and efficiently.
Jesus Used "Videos"
You are right, he didn't really use a visual medium for his followers, but he did use the concept of video stories. Jesus told over 30 parables in the New Testament alone. This is not counting the Old Testament, which in itself is one big story.
It Starts the Conversation
I would like to share an email I received from my brother to drive this point home.
"Monday the guys casually asked me what I did over the weekend. I mentioned that we watched "The Bible" on the History Channel. I told them about how much I liked it. They said they would check it out on their on-demand cable service.
Today they told me that they watched it and were blown away by how good it was. One of my friends told me about all of the things he learned. He said that he did not know that God tested Abraham by having him sacrifice Isaac. Then he said something that I thought was the most awesome thing. He said, "It made me so interested that I opened up my Bible for the first time in years to look stuff up."
Can you see how a film or video can open up doors to people we never thought possible! Wow, video is so powerful!”
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Video is simply the overwhelming medium of today. It is the way people communicate, learn, share, grow, and experience life. Increasingly, churches that fail to use video will be viewed as out of touch and out of date. If we can do anything more to retain our kids and grandkids and reach out to others, we need to do it. And powerful videos have the ability to move the heart as well as the mind, motivating people to take action for Christ and others.
What do you think that the incredible explosion of video (see stats above) is having and will have on the way that we communicate in work, life, churches? How you seen a powerful video lately?
Comment
@Joy Rousseau - Thanks for the great examples of visual presentations by God!
@Darryl Willis - Yes, I think that we are coming from very different backgrounds and experiences, dealing with different problems. I really doubt very many of the churches in our fellowship could be accused of too much technology or too many videos! :) Certainly this alone is not the answer. But neither should we ignore one of the primary and most powerful communication mediums of today.
The Master teacher used Visual Aids almost every day...which is simply what a video turns out to be. Christ pulled a coin out of a fish's mouth (my favorite), withered a fig tree, restored a man’s hand, rubbed mud on eyes, you can think of the rest…. But even in the O.T. God used visual aids constantly: a rainbow, turning rivers to blood, having Ezekiel lay on his side for 40 days in front of Judah….much more (Hey, that would fall under the category of “dramas” as visual aids as well…Oh, don’t get me started!) I have a doctorate degree in Education Administration…and here is all I have learned…our God and His Son, understood how the human brain learns!
Should churches use video? I'd say, whenever it is useful. But I would also say, don't see it as a universal remedy for communication. It is merely a tool in a box that will probably become dated as has most every other form of technology in the past.
Video use can be helpful, but I vote against over-use for several reasons.
1) it is an overwhelming medium that fills our days and nights--not using video sometimes creates an unusual situation that brings more attention to the point (e.g. in a similar way receiving a hand-written note sometimes has a greater impact than an email because it is unusual). For this same reason I don't care to always be using power point.
2) Yes we are audio/visual--but there are other ways to engage the visual than just video--again, I'm not against it per se--,I've used it myself on more than one occasion to great effect (clips from the movie Wit or Babette's Feast can be very powerful when dealing with grief or the Lord's Supper/Community).
3) Video use can make us lazy when it comes to preparation of material--I've seen so many times when someone used a video that was either poor quality or really didn't fit the lesson--it was like "I need to use a video--what do I have?" (just like throwing in an opening joke that has nothing to do with the lesson...why--does it move the point along?)--as someone once said about stories: "stories are wonderful slaves but terrible masters."
More on this point: we don't see a great video or hear a great story and say--"Wow that's powerful, I need to incorporate it into a lesson"--at least I hope we don't. We develop what we know our people need to experience/hear and then cast about for the tools we need to bring that point home--whether it is a video clip, a live interview, a story, a group conversation, a piece of visual or audio art, etc.
Personally I opt for a live video that is a sermon which takes on the form of narrative. You have to be good to pull it off and hold attention. And that's the rub, isn't it? I know storytellers (and comedians/humorists) who can hold an audience spell bound for hours (even contemporary audiences) by just the power of their facial expressions, words and vocal inflections. But of course that takes skill and preparation. And not everyone is skilled in this medium.
I understand many of your readers probably are involved in churches that have avoided any technology or change (and perhaps have reacted inappropriately to positive change). That's not been my experience the last few years. So I am speaking from the perspective of someone who participates in communities who have no problem with video or power point technology--but I also know that it is not a panacea nor the answer to reaching a younger generation. Developing relationships and becoming an authentic community of Jesus is the answer. One can have all of the technology in the world and still not create disciples for Jesus.
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