Basic considerations for technology in worship

Technology in worship can help congregation members fully engage in the worship service (and church life in general). Or, when done sub-optimally, technology and worship aids can actually hinder more than they help. Here are a few highlights and things to think about.​

Bulletins
Paper bulletins may have been around for ages, but it still falls under technology that can enhance & enable church & worship life...or distract from it.

Many larger churches are moving away from bulletins (in part, because they employ the use of sanctuary screens to project all service content...more on that later), or at least rethinking what content a bulletin should include.
There are a few different schools of thought on bulletins:

• Full service liturgy & announcement center: The most comprehensive bulletins include the full liturgy of the service, including all readings, prayers, calls & responses, etc. They also include announcements, often spanning multiple pages, that are aimed toward everyone & anyone: visitors, regular attendees, and special interest groups (think Sunday School news, small group news, etc.). These bulletins may also include information such as full staff contact information, a serving schedule (ushers, greeters, etc.), council/elders contact information, ministry leaders contact information, take-home prayers and activities, and more. If you're putting this much information in one document (whether a bulletin or even a monthly newsletter), make sure it is very organized by category to prevent information overload...or move some of the information to other mediums instead.
• Order of service & announcement highlights: More "middle-of-the-road" bulletins contain a high-level order of service (with full liturgy found in an accompanying worship book or on screens). Announcements may be highlights that are generally of interest to the entire congregation, or organized by category (for visitors, small group info, children & youth info, etc.).
• Welcome guide for newcomers: The most pared-down bulletins these days are less "bulletin" and more "welcome guide" for visitors and newcomers. Rather than updating weekly with service info and announcements, they contain basic information about the church and information on "next steps" for visitors to take to get more involved.

On top of that, churches with multiple service formats may provide one bulletin to rule them all, one bulletin per service, or simply an announcement flyer/booklet.

When deciding what approach is right for your church, it's best to look holistically. For worship service details, is the content projected on a screen or provided elsewhere, or is the bulletin the only source for congregants to follow along and participate? Are events & announcements communicated in other ways, or is the bulletin the sole source for information? Besides the printed bulletin, how are newcomers welcomed and informed?

Another clue is, if your church collects bulletins after the service for recycling, to take note of how many are returned after each service and consider the implications. For example, if your announcements are in your bulletin, and not in take-away form (i.e., as a separate insert or flyer), then anyone turning in the bulletin for recycling no longer has the announcement information. 


Front Sanctuary Screens
Ah, sanctuary screens...so controversial to some! I love them, and I'll tell you why. For now, let's talk about screens that appear at the front of the sanctuary (i.e., for the benefit of the congregation, not those leading worship).

The short version is: sanctuary screens get the congregation members' heads up and out of their bulletins/hymnals/etc.

When you talk to another person, do you aim your face toward them or do you aim your face straight down to the floor? You look up toward them so that your voice carries in their direction. So why, during a worship service, would we sing our praises down to the floor instead of lifting our voices out to reverberate in congregational song? 

Perhaps you've noticed this before: during a fairly familiar song out of the hymnal (Amazing Grace, anyone?), verse one (with familiar lyrics) sounds vibrant and strong, while verse two or later (with unfamiliar lyrics) fall a bit flat. Next time this happens, look around - you'll probably notice that during the well-known verses, people have their heads lifted up because they don't need to read along for every word; during later verses, their heads are buried and the sound doesn't project as well. 

Similarly, we've been in many churches where very familiar songs are used during communion, but you still can't hear anyone singing because people don't know the words even if they know the tune. (Not a lot of people want to carry a heavy hymnal around with them to take communion.)

But add in sanctuary screens, and suddenly the lyrics are accessible in a way that keeps people's heads lifted up in praise. If congregational singing is meant to be a communal thing, let's help that in any way we can!

Outside of music, screens also help congregation members stay engaged in the service by allowing them to follow along during prayers, readings, etc. without burying their heads in a bulletin (which may or may not have the full text written). Remember, not everyone can consume or engage with information solely by listening - projecting written content on screens gives another way for people to consume information.

As with anything, screens can be implemented properly to fit any style, whether your worship culture has more of a flashy light-show feel, a more traditional feel, or anything in between.


Rear Sanctuary Screen (Confidence Monitor)
A screen in the back of the sanctuary is called a confidence monitor - the purpose of which is to provide prompts to those leading worship - including ministers/pastors, musicians/cantors/singers, assisting ministers/prayer leaders, etc. These can be set up to project different content than what's on the front screens, or the same content. Either way, they help!

In the same way that front sanctuary screens allow congregation members to participate in worship without burying their heads in a bulletin, confidence monitors allow those leading worship to lead worship without getting bogged down in a worship leader guide.

How many times have you seen a pastor or worship leader get lost in their bulletin and have to find their place before continuing? Or perhaps you've even seen portions of the service skipped or repeated because the leader got lost (we've seen that happen several times, unfortunately). 

Confidence monitors allow worship leaders to see the right content at the right time to enable them to better lead worship. No more need for a clunky worship leader bulletin in a big binder! If you have music led by a band, band members can get rid of their music stands! It also means that worship leaders can more easily make eye contact and engage with congregation members, since they're not trying to hold their place in a lengthy bulletin.


Amplified Sound
We've written about this before, so I'll just say: always use a mic!


Other Considerations
This was a basic primer, but other things to consider are:
- audio recording/streaming
- video recording/streaming
- graphics/media content for your bulletins and screens, and projection software
- website & social media
- worship planning/scheduling software (such as Planning Center Online)
- lighting system
- overall sound system
- podcasts, blogs, apps, etc.​

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- Salty Consulting