Should You Move to HD Projection? 

Many churches are currently debating over whether or not to upgrade their projection equipment to high definition (HD).  Is the change inevitable? Necessary? Good stewardship?

The answer is certainly not the same for every church. But as you are seeking God for direction, here are a few questions you will want to be asking:

1.How important is your media ministry to the overall ministry of your church? 

•  Do you use projection every week?

•  Is your media an "out-in-front" ingredient in your worship service?

•  Do you consider your projection a key tool in drawing people to your services?

•  Do people routinely comment on how the media you display has impacted them?

•  Do you project full-length movies for outreaches or other purposes?

•  In what ways would a failure to make the upgrade hinder the ministry of the church? 

2.Can you afford the upgrade?

•  Have you done your homework on equipment and installation pricing?

•  Have you traced your video signal from end-to-end to make sure that all components can process an HD signal?  If you have a component that cannot, is the replacement cost for that component included in your estimates?
•  Will you have to take on additional debt to obtain the equipment, or have the funds already been budgeted?  

3.Will a change in screen size work with the architecture of your existing building?

•  Most HD projection is done using a 16:9 screen aspect ratio instead a 4:3 ratio.  Can your building easily accommodate the change?

4. Is the media that you want to project available in HD resolution?

•  Many Christian video producers are still creating content that is only available in standard resolution.  How about your favorite producers? (WorshipFilms.com has a ton of HD content - just for the record!)

•  If your favorite videos are not available in HD, have you experimented to see what they will look like "stretched"?  Some still look great, others - not so much... 

5.  Will making this expenditure, at a time of economic hardship for many, create a stumbling block to your members who have continued to sacrificially give, or are they supportive of making the investment, realizing it is important to your church's ministry?

6.  What other investments or new ministries will be put off or cancelled in order to make this change possible? 
Ultimately, of course, we want the heart of God on this decision, just as we do in every decision.  These questions are only meant as guideposts to be prayerfully considered.