LifeChurch.tv’s interactive online Bible, YouVersion, is about to take the interactivity up a notch and to congregations around the world.
It’s called YouVersion Live (October 2009 launch). And it allows pastors, conference speakers, teachers, and group leaders to share content and real-time feedback on mobile devices during live events. Essentially, YouVersion Live is interactive digital message notes that allow the audience to:
take notes and save them online
read the Bible
ask questions and get answers during the message
do surveys anonymously via a YouVersion Live poll
get extra content via blog links, YouTube videos, and other resources
share the message with a friend
request prayer
give online
It is easy to create a YouVersion Live message guide. All a speaker has to do is drag and drop the features he wants to use into his template on a super-simple YouVersion Live admin area. All an audience member needs is a web-enabled phone, netbook, or laptop.
Already over 1.8 million iPhone users have YouVersion on their phone, which is equivalent to 1 in 27 iPhones. YouVersion’s rapid growth means your user base already exists. All you need to do is use YouVersion Live’s super-simple admin panel, and you can take your audience engagement to incredible new places.
YouVersion Live launches in October 2009. Until then, you can sign up for updates at YouVersion.com/live.
It is not sermons on TV.
It is not a sermon vodcast.
It is not online archived sermon videos.
These forms of “preaching” have no community aspect, but the video teaching church model has pastors and/or elders and fellow believers to help you grow and keep you accountable. A church model is more than just Christian content.
Obviously, some people might replace attending church with watching VideoTeaching.com directly, but those same people may just as likely replace attending church with Christian television, podcasts, the Bible, a C.S. Lewis book, or even nothing at all.
We do need to cautiously ask questions before we dive into a new way of doing church. Video teaching is not for every church’s calling. To help us ask better questions, let us resolve one myth.
MYTH – Video teaching replaces human interaction.
Truth: The DNA of a church determines the quality of its community. While having an in-the-flesh preacher is one of hundreds of factors that can make a church more likely to have strong community, it is no guarantee.
Standard Church: Not every church with a live in-the-flesh preacher has good community. In fact, some preachers rarely interact with their congregations. And some preachers that do more harm than good when they interact with their congregation. Having an in-the-flesh preacher does guarantee a strong, healthy community. Unfortunately, some of the loneliest places are churches (particularly megachurches) without a culture of relationships.
Video Teaching: Just because a church uses video teaching does not mean that church can’t have incredibly relational pastors and elders that engage, counsel, and lead the congregation outside of teaching. A video teaching church is just as capable of a standard church in having good small groups and a culture of community.
Much like the One Prayer initiative, VideoTeaching.com allows churches to hear guest speakers via free sermon video downloads. The idea behind it is that churches can have a free resource to expand their teaching team, give the pastor occasional breaks, share the load with church planters and bi-vocational pastors, and even serve as an interim “pastor” during a leadership transition.
VIDEO TEACHING AS A CHURCH MODEL
But reality is the scope of how VideoTeaching.com can be used is far deeper and versatile. In fact, a church could use video sermons all the time. Many churches have likely not been planted because the church planter believes he is not eloquent enough, theologically deep enough, or seminary certified to preach. However, when free video sermons from some of the world’s best preachers are available, obviously this excuse is gone.
4 Possible Video Teaching Church Models
Central Organization Similar to a multi-site church, this model has central leadership that oversees all locations and determines video teaching content that is the same for all campuses. Locations could either be planted by the central organization like most multi-site church campuses or passionate followers could start a location similar to LifeChurch.tv’s Church Online watch parties.
Central Admin Similar to a denomination, this model has central leadership that oversees all locations administratively, but a campus pastor or elders determine the Video Sermon content for each location based on what that congregation’s spiritual needs are. For example, a New England location may struggle with greed while a location in Oklahoma may struggle with gluttony. While all sermon topics are important, this model allows for each campus to focus on what is most important to their spiritual walk.
Central Distributor Similar to a standard church, this model has a central distributor of sermon content such as VideoTeaching.com, but each church is independent, self-governing, and determines its own video teaching content.
Extra Church Similar to Sunday school and small groups, this model uses video teaching as extra doses of “church” in addition to weekend church services.
WHY CONSIDER VIDEO TEACHING?
Church conferences, authors, and blogs have been rallying for years for the Church to be like the early Church. We talk about organic explosive church growth that produces authentic disciples, but then we do little to change our methods. If we hardly change how we do church, then we can hardly expect to revolutionize the results we get.
So why don’t we change how we do church? I think it is because we are scared. We are scared of failing, and we are scared of doing something theologically wrong. Christians are notorious for boycotting anything new, including church organs and church choirs when they were first introduced. This is not to say that we should all jump on the Video Teaching band wagon like a bunch of lemmings. But I think we should ask questions.
Thinking rationally and theologically, why or why shouldn’t churches pursue the Video Teaching model of church?
I will be addressing some questions about video teaching in the weeks to come, including:
What size should a video teaching church be?
How can video teaching churches be kept spiritually accountable?
How does the video medium affect the message?
What about the development of future preachers?
What are the advantages of video teaching versus one or a few preachers?
What about video teaching children’s ministry?
Will video teaching create more celebrity pastors?
What does a multi-site video teaching house gigachurch look like?
For Discussion: - Share your thoughts about video teaching in the comments and join in the unraveling discussion in the weeks to come.
Last year, Cisco and Munsion Systems performed the world’s first real time 3D holographic telepresence video presentation. In other words, two men interacted live on a stage. But one was physically present in India, and the other was a life-size 3D holographic projection from California.
So how can churches use this technology? You are probably already getting ideas, but if you want to realistically assess the opportunities, it helps to understand how holograms are already being used.
Telepresence allows you to create live “in-person” experiences by combining telecommunications with advanced imagery. And when that imagery is 3D holographic technology, the experience is truly remarkable.
Businesses use telepresence for meetings, and hospitals use it for training. But the areas of public speaking and presentation telepresence offer the greatest opportunities for churches.
Obviously, this technology is very expensive, but perhaps one day it will quite affordable. For the latest on telepresence technology, visit Telepresence Options. According to ZDNet, by 2010 we will have holographic handsets that place 3D imaging capabilities in the hands of millions.
For Discussion: - What do you think of telepresence?
- How could your ministry utilize this technology (if it was affordable)?
Quite a few pastors use Post-it notes in their Bibles as preaching aids. If you are one of those pastors, you will probably enjoy 3M’s new Post-it Notes in sheer colors. They are transparent and allow you to make notes while still being able to read text underneath.
I could not find any online retailers who sell these transparent Post-it notes, so perhaps they are not yet available.
Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) has been a pioneer in sermon branding for years. Not only are their sermon titles and messages creative, but their sermon series graphics are also a great source of inspiration. Here are 36 well-designed sermon series graphics Fellowship Church has created over the past several years. Enjoy!
If you want to be a great graphic designer, study great graphic design. If you want to be a creative preacher, study creative preaching. What you put in comes out.
LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) is doing a sermon series this upcoming June called One Prayer. But they are not the only church doing it. In fact, over 25 other churches have already signed up to preach the sermon series, as well.
Each pastor will preach one week from his church about what one prayer he would pray if God would answer one prayer for the Church at large. And then the participating churches will share video teaching from other participating churches in the following weeks. For example, Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) will be preaching “Make Us One.” And Ed Young of Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) will be preaching “Make Us Creative.”
But that is not all. Aside from the sermon series, each church is encouraged to participate by:
Receiving an offering and combining it with hundreds of other churches to help people in need.
Mobilizing your church to do something ministry-related in your local community and with other local churches if possible.
Promoting the unified website (to be announced) that will encourage your people to fast and pray with other believers.
Using the free promotional resources online (including graphics, mailer templates, video promos, banners and other promotional tools).
This January, Church of the Resurrection (Leawood, KS) is beginning a new sermon series called “Seeing Gray.” Pastor Adam Hamilton will be searching for insight to some complex gray areas of faith, morality, and politics by studying the Bible and Christ’s example.
They are also taking the discussion from the pulpit to YouTube, and they are looking to hear your thoughts, opinions, and questions on each topic that will be discussed over the first five weeks of 2008.
Liberal or conservative? Republican or Democrat? Is there a right answer? What would Jesus say?
I appreciate this fresh approach to getting the congregation and others to join in discussion around each topic in the sermon series. To join the dialogue, visit their YouTube page.
