As the multi-campus “meta-church” structure gains popularity, visual media (as they call it) is necessary for HD sermon broadcasting when the pastor is teaching from, well, one of the multiple campuses. But videoscreens and jumbotrons are also necessary for the videos that are sure to be displayed.

A church video is often produced by the church’s creative team who work closely with the worship leader. It will feature lots of smash-cuts and white flashes set to Christian music that sounds like Nickelback. (Although they want it to sound like Coldplay.) The purpose of a church video is usually to tell an inspirational story, introduce a sermon series, or to get you “pumped up” for worship.

The presence of the video screen tells you that this church Values Technology and wants to be Culturally Relevant. These same churches often encourage tweeting during church and have a church iPhone app. The nuances of these technological treats will be discussed further in a future post.