As you plan Christmas services this year, don't forget to add video to the mix. Here's 5 reasons to include video in your services.
- Cultural comfort - people are familiar with video (thanks YouTube). When newcomers visit our churches over Christmas, many of them will find parts if not all of our services unfamiliar - singing, listening to a sermon, spoken liturgy, etc. Watching a video is familiar, and therefore makes it easy for them to feel comfortable.
- Retention - playing a video that has a similar theme to the sermon will help to reinforce the big idea, and make it more memorable. Afterall, when an image (and this includes video) corresponds with an idea, retention is 65% more effective.
- Variety - a video can communicate the same point (reinforcement), but it can also communicate another point. Use video to share multiple aspects of the Christmas story.
- Simplicity - the nature of the medium means that video needs to make a point quickly (not always true of sermons). The beauty of video (when it is done well), is it's ability to communicate one point, very simply, in a short period of time (e.g. Christmas in a nutshell or Jesus and Santa).
- Engagement - Steve Jobs recognised that there is a universal point at which people lose concentration. It doesn't matter how good you are, 10 minutes into a talk, minds start to wander. A video can help bring people back in - ever noticed how when a video starts playing, everyone sits up and starts watching? Thinking about how to keep our listeners engaged is part of loving them.
Can you think of any other reasons?
Giveaway! I've got 3 Christmas video packs up for grabs, featuring two of my favourite Christmas videos. For more details, click here.
I've also collected a number of other videos that you might find helpful for your Christmas services - check them out here, here and here.
