An integrated media system can be a vital part of any church, no matter what its size. Using audio, video, and lighting tools in tandem will enhance your presentations, and a well-trained media team can ensure a distraction-free worship environment. Smaller churches may be daunted by the thought of having to acquire the proper equipment and staff needed to implement integrated media. However, numerous churches have made extra efforts to implement integrated media, despite their size.

Working as a Team in Florida

"I came to Haines City in February 1999," says Steve Goad, director of media ministries at First Baptist Church of Haines City, Florida, a congregation of about 200. "When I came here, I was asked to see what we could do to expand the use of media in worship. I quickly realized that we must first unite the lighting, computer, and sound under a single umbrella."

The church uses a seven-person technical team at each service. The head of the team serves as the technical director and works with the pastor and the worship director. He is also at praise team rehearsals to check for any changes and ensures that all media needs are being met. The rest of the team consists of two sound technicians, one lighting technician, one projection technician, a closed-circuit technician, and a camera operator.

"Using the integrated media team has helped in several ways. First, the team concept brings unity. If the service calls for a video, the technical director gives the cue, the lighting tech adjusts the lights, the soundman sets the sound, the projectionist switches to video, and the closed-circuit tech sends the signal to the remote sites. Working as a team is more fluid," Goad says. "Second, it brings a sense of trust between the members. While individual members of the team have their own jobs, each member is able to fill in if needed."

Video Pros in Maryland

As multimedia director for Abundant Life United Pentecostal Church in Baltimore, Maryland, Neal Hollis oversees many facets of integrated media. Neal organizes a sound technician, two camera operators, a graphics person, and a director for each service.

"I mainly act in the capacity of a producer," Hollis says, "coordinating all of the elements and helping the director du jour keep everything moving in the right order and at the right time."

Abundant Life uses nonlinear video editing equipment to create in-house productions. "We have done a lot of in-house production of videos since we started last year," he says. "Every event we do

at the church usually has one or two media team members in attendance with either video or digital cameras or both. We then take this footage and edit it into a promotion piece to get more people interested in what the church is doing."

Finding team members from the ranks of the church, which has an average attendance of about 500, has not been a problem for Hollis. "What has been amazing is that the majority of people who have stepped forward have been teens from the youth group," he says. "They seem to be ones who have the desire to play with the technical stuff, and they seem to be the ones who pick it up the quickest."

Churches that feel they are too small for integrated media should be encouraged by these examples. With some determination and a strong team leader, any church can take advantage of these powerful tools of communication.

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today/Your Church magazine.
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May/June 2001, Vol. 47, No. 3, Page 20