Church announcements haven’t
been the same since the AARP
crowd at Russellville Christian Center embraced music videos and YouTube. In a recent video set to the thumping rhythm of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” The Golden Agers, a group for senior citizens, dons baseball caps and leather jackets as they rap to let folks know about a dinner and game night. The video also features footage of silver-haired saints sporting dark sun glasses and buried in bling. A Russellville Police Department vehicle even makes an appearance, lights flashing, as it “chases” two older women who are cruising around town in a red Toyota convertible.
Thanks to YouTube, anybody anywhere can view this and other Russellville Christian Center videos.
Just as many churches are turning to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to reach an increasingly media savvy audience, so too are congregations posting videos on YouTube as a way to fill the pews. Many see the video sharing Web site as a cost-free and engaging way to share information about the church.
Angela Wiser, media director at the church, said the videos have been a big hit. “One of our older ladies, her daughter lives out of state, and she was so thrilled to see her mom doing something so out of character,” Wiser said.
VARIETY OF VIDEOS Videos range from simple welcome messages to elaborate short films and carry titles such as “Potluck Blues” and “Pirate VBS.” Wiser said the videos are a way for members to share church news with their friends. “It gives them something to talk about and gives them a chance to share church activities with their kids or friends, to show them what they are a part of,” Wiser said.
The video scripts are written by Wiser’s husband, Kevin, and star church staff and members. In one video, a lasso-wielding man in a pickup truck drives around town roping in people to come to church. Another black-and-white video is done as a classic detective story and features Joe Sunday and his trusty informant Wednesday Night. The two work together to solve a mystery, all the while sharing details of coming events as possible clues.
Wiser said some of the videos take a lot of planning, from writing dialogue to selecting music and shooting the footage. She said the timing of the next video depends on when creativity strikes. The youths of the church also post videos, on GodTube, a video sharing site similar to YouTube, but with the focus on religion. “We put them out there for fun, to share with their friends, anything to get them to come back to the Web site and generate interest in the church,” Wiser said.
HOLY LAND VISITORS Members of Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville used GodTube earlier this year to share videos of a trip to the Holy Land with the congregation back home. The results far exceeded expectations. So far, the videos have been viewed more than 35, 000 times.
Titled “Where in the World Are Our Pastors ?” the videos tracked the group’s progress as they visited the Garden of Gethsemane, the location thought to be the tomb of Jesus and other holy sites. Some videos were reverent, while others were decidedly more playful. Video of Day 6, for example, featured the Revs. Tony Holifield, Bryan Fink and Steve Pulliam slathered in mud as they hammed it up in the murky waters of the Dead Sea.
The videos were Fink’s idea. At the time he was serving as an associate pastor at the church, but has since been appointed as senior pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church in Little Rock. He was pleased with the response to the Holy Land videos and plans to use the technology at his new church, starting with a welcome video.
“Instead of people going to the home page and seeing a still picture of me with print to read, it will be me sitting on my scooter welcoming them,” Fink said. “Not a major production, but just an organic video with a real person.” Fink said video is a good way to introduce people to the life of the church in a more personal way.
MAKING CONTACT “I think a simple, short video, say of the pastor welcoming the viewer,... gives them an emotional and relational contact from the start,” Fink said. “When that person chooses to visit the church, they already have, to some degree, felt like they’ve met someone. And that goes a long way in removing the anxiety a person has visiting a church for the first time.” Fink also said churches should harness the power of media as a way to reach a broader audience, especially the younger generation. “So much of our communication these days is driven by media, that to not have a media component on the site is a red flag to a generation that has moved beyond email to instant messaging and texting,” Fink said. “To not have a video component is to be a step or two behind where we need to be.”
The Rev. Pam Morgan, vicar of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Mountain Home, does just that. She has posted a welcome video on the church’s site.
Located in Baxter County in north Arkansas between Norfolk and Bull Shoals lakes, the church is in the middle of a popular retirement area. Morgan said Episcopalians thinking of relocating will often hit the Internet in search of the nearest Episcopal church before making a decision. That’s where a video can make an impact. “We get notes from people considering moving here all the time,” Morgan said. “We kind of did the video for them and for anyone who is unchurched who might be church shopping.” AN INTRODUCTION The video begins with a shot of a hand knocking on the red double doors of the church. Morgan, clad in clerical vestments common in the Episcopal church, welcomes the unseen visitor inside for a tour of the church. She also shares information about the life of the church and its ministries. Morgan said she was nervous about starring in the video, but used a script for the roughly five-minute film. The congregation is working on another video starring the people of St. Andrew’s as they share what they love about the church.
Morgan said YouTube has been a way for the congregation to reach a wider audience.
“We’re a small church and we can’t afford a really top-notch Web site, so we have to do the best we can with our resources,” she said. “That’s why YouTube was really good for us.”
Members of the Downtown Church of Christ in Searcy are also using YouTube to share videos. The videos feature “cardboard testimonies,” a tool used by other churches online with much success.
Church member Milton Harris organized the project, which is highlighted on the church’s Web site. The films feature church members, particularly those involved in the Celebrate Recovery ministry, which Harris leads.
Members came up with their own messages and wrote them in black on pieces of cardboard, which they held up silently in front of the congregation. One side of each sign featured a message of struggle that, when flipped over, revealed a message of hope. The signs included confessions of drug abuse and infidelity, as well as messages of loneliness and doubt. Each also highlighted how God and faith had changed their lives; for example, “Prisoner to drugs for nine years / Freed by the Almighty.”
The videos were filmed during worship services.
“It was a powerful experience for everyone,” Harris said. “People who have talked to me have said it was very encouraging to see how God was working in the lives of people who have needs or were desperate.”
Harris said the church would like to post more videos.
“It’s free and it reaches so many people. I’m sure we’ll do some more,” he said.
Harris hopes the videos will lead viewers to a greater faith, whether or not it brings them to the Searcy church.
“If they want to come to the Downtown Church that’s great, but we’re looking to encourage people to a beginning faith or a greater faith,” he said. Videos can be viewed at: www. rus sellvillechristiancenter. org, www. stan drewsmountainhome. org, www. down townchurch. org and www. godtube. com / whereintheworldareourpastors.
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