Thoughts on Using IMAG

The use of IMAG (short for image magnification) has grown exponentially in churches across the US over the last several years.  The decision of whether or not to implement this concept should be weighed carefully.

By IMAG, we mean that one or more cameras are focused on a person or group of people (e.g., a teaching pastor or worship pastor), and the image from that camera is projected onto large screens in the sanctuary so that the congregation has a better view of that person or group.  It can be a great help to a church when used correctly.

But here are some random thoughts: 

1.   Make sure it fits the size and style of your church.  If the size of your church is not sufficient to necessitate its use, don't do it.  Also, anything that is projected should fit into the overall flow and style of the service.  So, for instance, if your church strives to create a 'big living room', homey-type feel, IMAG may not be the approach for you.
2.   Do not use the same video feed as you use for your broadcast ministry.  When selecting shots for broadcast, you generally will incorporate wide shots, and well as shots of the congregation.  These shots are not appropriate for IMAG (wide shots, because they would serve no purpose, and congregational shots, because they would be incredibly distracting.)  Side note:  NEVER turn a camera on the congregation during an invitation time - this can have a huge, unintended negative effect.
3.   Only attempt IMAG if you are able to do a good job with it.  If it is not done well, it can be more of a distraction than a help.  Do you have a competent director who can call the camera shots?  Do you have the cameras, tripods, lighting instruments, switcher, headsets, cabling, etc. that you need?  Take a good inventory before you get started to determine what pieces you might be missing.

For Pastors: What Your Tech Teams Wish You Knew

We have the privilege of traveling to different conferences every month and meeting a lot of great people involved in technical ministries.  As we do, we often hear stories that start like this:  “The thing is, I really wish my pastor understood…”  So what follows here is a sort of open letter to you, pastors, listing the things most often heard.  Please know that this is shared in humility from a heart that honors and respects your leadership, position and sacrifice, and believes wholeheartedly in serving under spiritual authority in the local church (which I gladly do!):

1. If your techies keep asking you to stick to a timetable for turning in sermon notes or getting sound checks or choosing videos, it’s only because they want to do the best that they can.  Some processes need to be done in sequence and require a certain amount of time to be done well.  When a task does not get done on time (and worse, when it is re-inserted later in the process), the chance of error increases dramatically, which is not fair to the people that show up early to see that everything will be working as it should.
2. Generally the more lead time your technical staff has from you, the better they can do for you.  Unique requirements, whether it’s mic placement or set design or videos, equate to extra time, and a high percentage of techies are perfectionists who get really frustrated when they don’t have the time to do their best.  So try to give them the time they need to do well.
3. When you ask someone to create a video, please be cognizant of the amount of time that is required to produce it.  A simple 3-minute testimony video can easily take 20 hours to produce.  Short projects with actors and costumes can take weeks. 
4. Your tech guys need you or someone on your staff to block for them before the service.  People are continually coming up to the sound booth or control room area asking for last-minute items to be projected or songs to be played – all at a time when the technicians need to be able to really focus.  It would help greatly if you would enforce a policy that says, in effect, last-minute requests cannot be honored, so please plan ahead.  As much as your technicians want to serve, these last-minute requests put undo stress on them, and often result in sub-par results.
5. Technicians need your positive feedback and encouragement.  Generally, we fail to notice the service of the folks in these positions until something goes very wrong – and then they hear from too many people.  Expressions of appreciation and recognition of excellence are two critical needs that your technical staff has.

Working as one team, from one playbook, is so key to having an awesome worship experience full of the presence of God.  May God bless your church with a great partnership between your technical staff and your pastoral team and worship teams!

Ideas for Tech Outreach

Many, if not most, readers of this newsletter would consider themselves church techies, and most church techies (including myself) often fall into the rut of getting trapped in the booth, and we tend to see that as our realm of ministry. But the truth is that every person who belongs to Christ is called to evangelize and disciple, and that requires us to get outside. So to that end, here's a short of list outreach ideas for techies:


Does your church have an outreach to an inner-city neighborhood? If so, tag along when they are in the neighborhood. Find a teenager that has audio-related interest, and ask him if he would be interested in learning how to run sound. Offer to pick him up and bring him to your next worship practice, and start teaching him. Get to know him and find out where he is coming from as you are driving back and forth. If he does not go to church, tell him you could use another guy on the sound crew and see if he wants to start coming on Sunday morning. In the meantime, you are finding out if he has any relationship with the Lord, and where you need to begin in the discipleship process.


Offer to start a media club at a local high school, teaching kids about sound, cameras, video editing, and lighting. Get them to the place that they can run tech for school events. In the meantime, again, get to know them and look for ways to expand your relationship with them. If you have decent camera guys and video editors, offer to make a short movie with them. Let them create the script, then use what they want to focus on to start a larger conversation.
Offer to run sound and/or projection for community events at no charge. It’s an easy way to use your gifts to love on your community, and it puts the church in the community in a highly visible way.


If your church is predominately of one ethnicity, try to form a relationship with the tech people at a new or small church that is predominately of a different ethnicity. Offer to help with tech training and sharing equipment that you are no longer using. Have your tech teams meet together to share ideas, and brainstorm possibilities of joint projects. Breaking down racial barriers in the body of Christ is, I believe, a critical component of our future effectiveness.
Host an outdoor movie night. This is the perfect time of year for this, when the nights are starting to get a little cooler. Set up your screen and projector and a good sound system, get any noise permits that you need to get and any licensing for the movie. Serve free popcorn or hot chocolate, and have blankets or chairs for people to sit on. It doesn’t have to be a movie with an overt salvation message, but you may want to consider having your pastor get up at the end and make a spiritual connection, and possibly even a salvation invitation, and invite people to your next church service.


Help your children’s pastor take their ministry into the community by offering tech support. Neighborhood parks are great places to set up kid’s ministry because you are going to where the kids are. But it can’t be done without the tech guys being involved. Sure, lugging sound stuff around is not fun, and you have to be careful about the wear and tear on the equipment. But there are so many neighborhoods out there where the kids are desperate for hope and attention, and they need to see that someone cares about them on a consistent basis. It will be worth the investment of your time and effort.
Document your church’s outreach efforts. If you have a video camera and can edit, go out and document what your church is doing around the city. Then bring the stories back and share them with your congregation. True stories about real impact encourage faith and inspire people to get involved, and being able to actually see real people that are being impacted makes a huge difference. One note of caution: Make sure that as you are videotaping, you are being discreet, and that you are respecting and honoring the people being helped. You never want them to feel like objects or feel used.

Builders Skit

Builder Skit.egg on Aviary.