Using Technology in Worship Using Technology in Worship

preachers are to use visuals and video in their sermons they will needmore preparation time. This doesn’t necessarily rule out such thingsbut the costs in terms of preparation should be considered beforecommitting your church to buy expensive equipment. Sadly thisdimension to using technology is often overlooked, yet it is probablyone of the most important aspects of its effective use.How to make all the right connections!Many people who are quite comfortable using computers start toperspire when it comes to connecting everything. This is partlybecause there are different ways of doing things according to yoursituation. To help avoid this confusion here are two of the mostcommon scenarios:The simple portable set-upThis situation involves equipment that is used in more than onelocation so everything has to be portable and easily set up. Insuch situations the projector can be connected to the laptop PCand (optionally) a VCR. The laptop will be located adjacent to theprojector and the operator will be sat beside it. Most projectorshave the means to control the mouse of the PC with a remotecontrol. This gives the preacher/speaker the ability to advancePowerPoint slides on their command. When preparing the nextitem the projector can be ‘blanked’ by pressing the mute buttonwhich cuts sound and vision.Permanent installationsIf the projector and screen are to be used frequently there areadvantages in locating the operator at the rear of the church(perhaps near a sound desk) and installing the projectorpermanently. This allows a more aesthetically pleasing set-up - forexample, projectors can be ceiling mounted, or even be hiddenby placing them behind the screen for a rear projection. For thesmoothest of presentations a vision mixing desk which allows thegradual fading of inputs and cross mixing between two differentsources gives much greater control of the set-up but requiresmore expensive equipment.It’s hardly a great advance towards the visual dimension ofworship if right at the front of the building is a conspicuousprojector and computer with its associated ‘spaghetti’ of cables!Page 16 ❘