Learning | Articles

A YouTube guide to Visual Worship

Craig Borlase

10th June 2014

Visual Worship comes in all shapes and sizes. Some of it feels instantly familiar, while other examples are genuinely surprising. Whatever your church size, demographic or denomination, there’s probably a place just like yours out there that’s already experimenting with this stuff.  

 

Still images of sunsets and big skies - this is what many of us think of when we consider using video in worship. It doesn't get much simpler than this... 

[embed width=459 height=344 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/_zpnccRiuJ8/hqdefault.jpg?r=270]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zpnccRiuJ8[/embed]

 

 

The images used here aren't a whole lot more adventurous than the previous example, but with eight projectors and a beautifully high ceiling the effect can be powerful...

[embed width=459 height=344 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/WYPw7cs9L2M/hqdefault.jpg?r=34102]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYPw7cs9L2M[/embed] 

 

 

We often talk about worship as a journey. Well, here’s a great of example of how Visual Worship can help map the journey out...

[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/Uihswh1UlUo/hqdefault.jpg?r=3311]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uihswh1UlUo [/embed]

 

 

Of course, Visual Worship can be every bit as culturally edgy and alternative as most people think it can be…

[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/kSQA55ZP7k8/hqdefault.jpg?r=11213]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSQA55ZP7k8 [/embed]

 

 

But don’t think for a moment that it’s limited to post evangelicals and hipsters. Look, even the Mennonites are in on it!

[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/oTB9bwPQPoU/hqdefault.jpg?r=43042]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTB9bwPQPoU [/embed]

 

 

And so are the Baptists!

[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/Df0e6hv2Luk/hqdefault.jpg?r=76002]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df0e6hv2Luk [/embed]

 

 

Can’t decide whether to go with IMAG, lyrics or Visual Worship? Do all three!

[embed width=459 height=344 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/PHSNymzHxHc/hqdefault.jpg?r=91741]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHSNymzHxHc[/embed]

 

 

And it can work wonders in small rooms - even with still images projected.

[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/Yhd8CC6v2Gc/hqdefault.jpg?r=17620]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhd8CC6v2Gc [/embed]

 

 

Want to know more about how to do it? Have a look behind the scenes at one church’s setup.

[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/pb1j6sxPfjE/hqdefault.jpg?r=59983]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb1j6sxPfjE[/embed]

 

 

And, lastly, if you want to go even deeper, take 20 minutes out and watch this excellent guide to video - and lighting - in action in a range of churches. 

[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/6xpegwva9JM/hqdefault.jpg?r=51581]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xpegwva9JM [/embed]