Video for Teaching?

I think it’s just abut time to put this one to rest.  

The evidence is overwhelming that video as a delivery medium for the teaching portion of a worship service works.  Period!

No matter your demographic, your geographic location, or your worship style, using video to deliver teaching is effective, and it it is efficient.  It just simply works. 

There’s a great post today on the Learnings Leadership Network site on this whole issue.   It features an interview with Larry Osborne from North Coast Church.  They call him the “Godfather of Video Venues.”  He says video has worked, and it has worked without regard to age or demographic, or geographic location, or worship style.

“We should have realized that teaching is uniquely suited for a big screen. It allows people to clearly see facial expressions and non-verbals – which is why most people in a large facility with a video screen end up watching the screen rather than the little person up on the stage.”

When Northcoast began working with the concept of a video venue, it was really cutting edge.  At this point in history, in terms of the technology require, it’s simple.  It’s being done everywhere, enough so that it’s tempting to call it “mainstream” despite the resistance still seen in some quarters.

Here are a few powerful reasons to consider using video teaching resources, at least some of the time. 

1. There’s no better way to leverage a teaching resource.  Video technology blasts through the barriers of space and time, to allow a great teacher to have exponentially greater impact.
2. On the flip side, video teaching has the potential to allow a local pastor to focus more on taking care of people, and spend less time preparing a weekly message.
3. Video teaching is a great way to span preference and taste issues in worship.  It’s possible for a single teacher to be featured in services with widely ranging formats, musical content and format.
4. Using recorded video allows far greater latitude for creativity with graphics and other support elements than can be realistically pulled off in a live worship environment.  Pre-production rocks!

Here’s my off the wall thought when it comes to video teaching.  I think it may very well be the saving grace for small community churches in rural areas across the country.  It has the potential to allow a pastor the time to actually care for more people that is possible if they are responsible for preaching and teaching weekly.

More on that soon!