Tips
4 Ways to Use Digital Media at Church
Shift Worship would love to share 4 ways in which churches can use digital media. Digital media and its uses are an incredible tool that churches need to capitalize on! We have provided the tools, and now it’s up to you to use them! Plus, check out our latest Shift Worship tips and how to use our amazing media for your benefit.
4 ways to use digital media for church:
- Livestream Services
- Podcasting for Sermons and Discussions
- Social Media Campaigns
- Small Groups and Classes
Let’s jump in!
1. Livestream Services
Reach a larger audience by sharing your services online! Guests may not always be able to attend the in-person gatherings, and streaming makes your setup accessible. Typically churches stream Sunday services, but it does not have to stop there! Stream events, groups, worship services, or anything that a community would benefit from. Platforms like YouTube, Facebook Live, or other dedicated church websites off accessible and user-friendly options for broadcasting.
2. Podcasting for Sermon and Discussions
Turn your sermons, discussions, and services into Podcasts! It’s a great tool for listeners who want to hear what is being shared while they go about their day-to-day. It’s also a perfect resources for anyone who missed the previous sermon, or those who want to listen again. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts are all great platforms to utilize.
3. Social Media Campaigns
Bring the church to the phone! Social Media as a whole is trending, and is filled with various platforms used to share people’s thoughts, moments, and memories. You can create interactive campaigns that match any content shared during services. Momentum and excitement can be built on these platforms that encourage viewers to attend or tune in. You can also stimulate and encourage spiritual growth by starting prayer chains, Bible study discussions, and sharing testimonies.
PS. Shift Worship has a vast amount of graphics to use on social platforms!
4. Small Groups and Classes
Advertise or conduct classes-the options are endless! Conferencing tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams are great resources for leading discussions amongst peers. You can expand on lessons taught in service, and provide a community for those who need it. Digital Media allows for the promotion and content of these groups to have a sense of cohesion and professionalism.
Shift Worship Tips Recap
Shift Worship is excited to share the latest insights and updates from the world of Shift Worship, as presented by Mariah, the brand manager, and Dale, who also works on Shift Worship. Let’s dive into the conversation about the upcoming Christmas season and the remarkable resources Shift Worship is offering.
The discussion revolved around a notable announcement that there is a brand-new Christmas collection available of Shift Worship called Christmas Villages! On the Christmas Idea Page there is a “download free collection preview button” that allows users to access a free PSD and JPEG image to get a glimpse of what’s in store for the upcoming Christmas season. We are excited to provide churches with a wealth of resources for their Christmas services.
This new collection features a snowy village backgrounds that could set the perfect ambiance for a Christmas service. Dale highlighted the size of the pack, noting that it contained over 30 motions and stills, far exceeding the norm for our collections. The snow-themed graphics and border effects were especially praised, making it feel like you were living inside a snow globe.
As always, you can select your preferred format and download anything from the collection. They highlighted the “Merry Christmas” title slide and the streaming option for online church services. The darker backgrounds in the collection were appreciated for their readability and accessibility, especially for song lyrics.
The duo also mentioned a valuable resource: a free font that matches the design, which is offered on each collection page. This was hailed as a pro tip for users looking to create cohesive slides.
In conclusion, Mariah and Dale expressed their gratitude to the talented designers behind the collection and eagerly anticipated sharing more resources with their audience. The Christmas season is an exciting time at Shift Worship, with an abundance of resources to enhance church services!
7 Strategies to Increase Church Attendance
7 Strategies to Increase Church Attendance
In today's culture of high productivity, and long "to-do" lists, churches are facing the challenge of maintaining and increasing attendance. There are several ways in which the church can use well-known resources to its advantage. Follow along as we discuss how to boost church attendance as well as create a welcoming and educational faith-based community.
1. Utilize Digital Outreach
With the increase of technology, the room for audience growth is huge! Create and use media that can be used across platforms, and social media allows churches to reach potential new attendees, as well as communicate with current members. Digital media is a fascinating tool that allows the word of God to be shared on a whole new level. Not only does it serve as a way to highlight God's word, it can be a main source of knowledge. With live-streaming or podcasts, churches can reach their current congregation, along with those who may not be able to attend in person. Social Media can reach widespread audiences, and be utilized as a free outreach tool to connect with younger generations. Churches can use these platforms to highlight why people enjoy attending!
Examples of social posts:
- Summary of the sermon - perfect for lesson retention
- Schedule of service times and locations
- Events happening each season or month
- Special announcements (birthdays, weddings, celebrations of life, etc.)
- Class or small groups offered
2. Enhance Your Worship Experience
It's no secret that a Church's worship experience can be very influential for attendance and the level of engagement for the sermon. The worship experience remains a large reason as to why members return, and why new guests want to stay. By investing in this portion of the service, churches can see an increase in congregation attendance. What would this entail exactly? The first would be to provide music that the congregation as a whole can relate to. From there, churches can make sure they have amazing volunteer or staff members to lead the congregation during this time, and to ensure that the music ties into the sermon to come. Another factor for enhancing the experience is the level of technology used. If sound systems are used, then it is crucial to make sure these are up to date-and working as correctly as possible. Lastly, any screens or lyrics should be displayed in the best possible format. Any lyrics that are displayed should be readable on screens with interesting and unique media backgrounds.
3. Reach Out to the Community
Meet people halfway by exploring your community for guests! Whether it be through goof drives, clothing giveaways, or community service projects-there are tons of events that the church can host to highlight the acts of God, while keeping a causal environment.
4. Focus on Youth and Family Ministries
Youth and families are a huge part of the church! Families usually attend church together, and can have unique needs that the church should be prepared to meet. Childcare, accessible parking, and youth groups are some fantastic way to make attending church easy and fun for everyone in the family.
5. Curate a Visitor Friendly Culture
First impressions are crucial for churches looking to grow their congregation. It is very important for first-time guests to feel welcome, and picture themselves as part of the church. Create a warm welcome with this awesome strategies:
- Have a Welcome Team established to great and guide first-time guests.
- Set up a refreshment station for people to mingle over.
- Create a center point to welcome guests and provide more information about the church (ex: a Welcome Table)
- Gather guest information to follow up with them after the service.
6. Small Group Connections
Having multiple small groups, each with different focuses can an unique tool to retain first-time guests, along with current members. Small groups are a great place to create connections, expand on sermons, foster community and provide supports. For individuals that may not feel comfortable in large congregations, small groups provide a gateway into their involvement in the church.
Small Groups can exist of:
- Marriage Counseling & Connection
- Young Adults
- College Students
- Grief & Loss Sharing
- Financial Advising
7. Optimize Your Church Building
Church is more than just a place to hear a sermon. It can be a place of community, fun, connection, and education. Churches can create these feelings by using what they have! Depending on the layout of your building, you can have special events, booths, meeting places, ect.
What else can you do?
- Utilize lawn space with yard games the the whole family can play
- Have youth ministries draw Biblical images on sidewalks/pathways
- Spruce up windows by with special paint to decorate or share announcements
- Pull out tables and chairs into a courtyard to encourage
Facebook Copyright Claims?
Have you started getting claims or blocks on your Facebook streams because of the music in our videos? If so, it’s because Facebook has changed … something … again. You can be confident that we (and you) have the legal right to stream that music. Most of it comes from a service called Artlist. If it’s happening to you, add this to the description of your stream or post: “Music licensed through Artlist.io.”
In this post, we will go over what these claims are, and what that means for you!
What is a Facebook Copyright Claim?
A Facebook copyright claim occurs when someone’s digital property (aka intellectual property) is used without permission. Facebook, along with other social sites, have internal systems that make sure users are not violating any agreements when it comes to this property. This property can include several forms such as music, poetry, novels, songs, movies, computer software, and architecture. These claims exist to make sure that people can have ownership and control over items that are not literally in their physical grasp.
Why Do Copyright Claims Exist?
In today’s world, more and more of the items that people consume and use are digital. For example, teachers used to physically write lessons on chalkboards and handout textbooks. Today, teachers can stream lesson slides via computers, and assign reading passages via email on student’s laptops. The internet is vast, with many capabilities of using material that you may own.
Individuals have worked hard on their creations, and deserve to have credit (and monetary compensation if applicable). Claims make sure this can happen!
How to File a Copywrite Claim on Facebook
If you feel that property you have created has been used on Facebook without permission then you can fill out this form. https://www.facebook.com/help/ipreporting/report/copyright
Facebook does make it known that only the owner or representative of said owner can make these claims.
How to Make Your Media More Interesting
Upgrade Your Media with Design Elements
Maybe you’re an expert in media content, maybe you’re a newbie-we made it easy to look like a pro but without the hassle.
What Are Design Elements?
Design elements are considered “extras” placed media curated by you or other sources (like Shift Worship). They have many names like stickers, extras, elements, ect- all depending on where you are editing content.
They are typically symbols, images, or existing text that are designed to add embellishment or style, tailored towards specific needs.
How to Use Elements
Depending on the software, elements can exist on that site (like Shift), or you can upload your own items. For ease of use, we will walk you through the Quick Editor software.
Step 1: Open Quick Editor and choose the media you wish to edit.
Step 2: Head to the ‘Elements’ section (bottom left), and select to open.
Step 3: You will see a section where you have the capability to upload your own ‘My Elements’ (like a logo), or select the ‘All Elements’.
Step 4: Browse and select one or multiple elements that you wish to appear on your media.
Step 5: Adjust and resize the chosen elements.
Step 6: Add text (if you need it), make final adjustments, and click ‘Render’ (bottom right) to download your media!
How to Find Lower-Thirds on Shift Worship
Setting Up Your Lower-Thirds
You asked, and we answered! Lower-thirds are created and released with each new collection on our site! Follow along to see how easy they are to find and use.
Step One: Head to the collections page on Shift Worship.
Step Two: Select the collection you would like to use for your next service.
Step Three: Select and open the collection you want, and scroll down to the transparent text layers section of the page.
Step Four: Download what you need!
What Are Lower-Thirds?
Lower thirds are graphical elements or overlays utilized in videos to showcase information about the content on the screen. They are commonly used to provide additional information, such as a speaker's name, location details, or any other relevant text that complements the video content. Typically, lower thirds can be viewed at the bottom of the video. You can typically see lower thirds in action in television broadcasts, documentaries, news reports, online videos, church services, and various types of video content.
How to Use Lower-Thirds:
Lower thirds typically include text, graphics, or a combination of both, and serve several purposes:
1. Identifying Speakers: It's a great idea to let your congregation know who is speaking, and what their role in the church is. It gives authority towards messages and announcements, and it also gives a great point of reference. For first time guests, this is one of the first impressions they have of the church. It is a great tool to make newcomers feel welcome. It also allows for viewers to establish a stronger connection with the church. It provides them with a name and face that they can find and connect with afterwards.
2. Provide Information: Lower-thirds are a great way to offer information while someone is speaking or singing. It's an opportunity to provide extra details about the conversation happening on screen, without changing the flow and disrupting attention. It also creates space for attention to be grabbed again. For example, a guest may have been unable to engage in the initial conversation, but can easily grasp the content of the conversation by viewing the information on the screen.
3. Transitions: Need to change direction during a service? This is a great way to do this! Lower thirds are a nifty tool that can be used to change the direction of the conversation. It let's attendees know that the message is moving forward, and gives then the tools to follow along.
4. Call to Action: Use lower-thirds to provide instructions you would like your congregation to follow. You can have call to actions such as prayer requests, offering, volunteer opportunities, and small group connections.
Lower thirds can be designed in various styles and can be customized to match the service! They are often created using video editing software, graphic design tools, or specialized lower-third generators. The use of lower-thirds in video production enhances the overall viewing experience by providing context and improving the visual aesthetics of the content.