I felt the call to full-time ministry at an early age. At nine years old I organized my first worship service, in the family living room, complete with songs, a sermon, and special music. While other kids dreamed of being police officers or astronauts, I wanted to be a church worker. Over the years I explored everything from working on the mission field to Christian counseling. All along I developed skills in video, audio, and computers, thinking I had a great hobby to distract me from the rigors of Christian service. Little did I know what God had in store!

About six years ago, an increasing number of churches began integrating video projectors into their worship services, which piqued my interest. At the time I was working at a local church, Calvary Baptist in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as a publications director. When the church purchased a video projector I was asked to prepare songs, announcements, and sermon notes using presentation software. Soon my title changed to media minister. My passion for serving God had finally connected with my favorite pastime.

For the next two years I developed the media ministry at Calvary Baptist. As I did, I began to feel a strong call to help other churches. So at that point I be came a 26-year-old media missionary.

Since then I have traveled to 20 different states and have consulted with scores of churches, training them to use media in ministry. I've facilitated system designs, software implementation, and education. However, the most challenging part of my job is preparing diverse church bodies for when the screen comes down and the colors start to fly. So, I'd like to share four lessons I've learned from my experiences:

1. Include seniors in the process of creating a media ministry. When starting a video ministry churches often worry about the reaction of their senior members. Seniors can offer a wealth of experience and wisdom and should be included in the planning and decision-making process, which will allow them to take ownership of new ideas. The whole church must understand why the media ministry is being implemented, even if it does not directly affect them. If senior members see that visual media will help facilitate spiritual growth, then there is less of a chance for misperception.

2. Make sure the church understands the spiritual motivations behind starting a media ministry. A church that I worked with in the Northeast had the right approach. They were united in their commitment to reach people. If you asked any member what he or she would be willing to do to reach the lost, the response would be, "Whatever it takes." This attitude produced excitement as the video system was readied.

3. Build the ministry slowly and at a steady pace. Implementing change is not easy. I made mistakes when I first started working with video at Calvary Baptist. I was so excited about exercising my graphics skills that I packed each slide with colors and fonts galore. Words danced on the screen. Every presentation was a work of art.

But boy did I blow it! Even my peers commented that they were uncomfortable with the "flashy" new system. By showing all my cards at once, I put the church into shock. After realizing my blunder I backed off and became more of a minimalist. I then integrated new techniques slowly, as I should have done in the first place.

4. Be realistic about the church's budget and manpower. It's important to assess the capabilities of your church when starting a media ministry. I worked with a small church in central Florida, which had about fifty members and met in a small building. The pastor had a heart to reach the community and felt that starting a media ministry could help.

My assessment was that the church should start small, given their very limited budget, space constraints, and lack of manpower. After much discussion, I was able to get a small media ministry off the ground, one which they could build on and expand. Had the church attempted a more ambitious plan, it is likely they would have never implemented a media ministry at all.

I've had many other experiences that have shaped my philosophies. My journey is far from over as I learn from each new situation on my media missionary travels.

Copyright © 2004 Your Church magazine. Click for reprint information.
Mar/Apr 2001