Over the years I have used Media Shout, PowerPoint, and Easy Worship.  All of these presentation softwares are adequate for churches.  I have many friends who use these softwares and love them.  When I switched from PC to Mac, I started using presentation software called Pro Presenter.  I quickly fell in love with this software and recognized its power and ease of use.  It has a very easy to use user interface so I could quickly put presentations together, but it also was very powerful in the way that it allowed me to seamlessly integrate audio and video into the presentation.

The one drawback for Pro Presenter was it was only compatible with the Mac platform.  Not anymore.  Pro Presenter recently put out a version of the software for Windows.  I have played around with the Windows version and can say that it is almost identical to the Mac platform in the way that it performs.  If you want to take your church presentation software to the next level at a very affordable price, look no further than Pro Presenter.  You can find out more about Pro Presenter and all of its features at www.renewedvision.com .  What presentation software are you using right now and how is it working for you?

Photo by: psd

However! If you’ve already converted, then Facebook’s blog post about the new apps is probably something you’ll be interested in.

What kind of apps are available?  A Few examples:

Pinterest- post your favorite items from your Pinterest account to facebook.

TripAdvisor- your virtual passport

Foodily- share recipes

Rotten Tomatoes- share movie reviews

Ticketmaster- Find and buy tickets from facebook

Click here for a full list of apps and to start downloading them now.

1. Don’t overuse videos. I know of churches that use a pre-service video every single week.  This approach weakens the effect a church can have by using videos.  People get so used to a video playing as they walk into the auditorium they start to tune them out.  Use videos at key points of the year and as sermon illustrations to get maximum effectiveness out of videos.
2. Adequately train your volunteers. There is nothing worse than being in a worship service and having the song lyric slides jumping all over the place.  The person who is running the slide presentation is just as important as any of the band members or the worship leader on stage.  The best way to distract the congregation and keep them from worshipping is having a slide presentation that is not organized or having a person who does not know what they are doing running it.
3. If using media, do it right. I have been in many churches where they have thrown their song lyrics up on a screen, and I can automatically tell that they have half-heartedly done it.  If you want to keep first time guests engaged and keep them coming back, you have to do everything with excellence.  After all, we are worshipping the one true God, and I think he deserves our best.

These are just a few starter suggestions for really making media work in your worship service.  What are your suggestions for using media in a worship service?

Photo By: ragingtornado

Jay Baer gives us 3 tips on when QR Codes are more valuable than just a URL:

1. Unlock information, not a destination
2. Lead the user to information that’s relevant immediately
3. Perfect mobile formatting of the information delivered

I agree that QR Codes shouldn’t just be a destination. Give the person who takes the time to scan the QR code something valuable.

What does this mean for your church?

Think outside the box. Use QR Codes:

-          At the entrance of your sanctuary for people to scan and download an electronic version of your church bulletin (Go Green!)

-          In your printed church bulletin to receive details for church events. Provide time, date, place, rsvp info within the QR Code.

-          To provide sermon notes

What other ways can you think of to use a QR Code in your church?

*photo by waxorian