Matthew Boffey“Build My Life” was released by Housefires in 2016 and by Passion Music in 2017. It’s quickly climbing the charts, and it’s a fantastic song to lead in your church. Here are five reasons why. 1. It has sound theology Most importantly, the lyrics are...
“It needs to be affordable.” “It needs to be professional.” “It needs to be easy to use.” Can it be all three? You’ll hear statements like these when church staff debate which ministry tools to buy, especially in the beginning of the year when...
A. W. Tozer, pastor and author of many Christian classics, once wrote, “We do not want new doctrine—we want fresh emphasis on doctrine already well known by all of us.” Tozer is getting at something very much related to the role of art in worship...
Andre KazadayevOne of the most tedious tasks in the church media world is formatting song lyrics. Do I make a new slide for these lines, or keep it to one? Do I use punctuation? What about font, size, color, etc.? Oh, and what do we do about that guitar solo or...
Ray Deck IIINo more than 10 slides. No longer than 20 minutes. No less than 30 point font. That’s the 10/20/30 rule as popularized by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, a man who has sat through more than his fair share of presentations...
Now that you can share custom-made Smart Media with the Proclaim community, you might wonder, “How do I create great designs that others can use?” It’s actually pretty easy. Here are six basic design tips that will help you make...
Guest AuthorThis is a guest post from Paul Fleming, former pastor and president of ChurchINK.com. Sparkling lights. Wonderful smiles. Familiar smells. Family traditions. These are some of the things we think of when the Christmas season rolls around. But, for...
For a long time, professional church lighting has been a luxury reserved for churches with big budgets and experienced personnel. Not anymore. A recent Proclaim update lets churches with limited budgets and volunteers enjoy tasteful, professional...
Preparing for church services is hard work. It takes a lot of prayer, planning, and teamwork to consistently construct services that encourage others and glorify God. That said, sometimes we make it harder than it has to be. Here are three mistakes...
Ryan NelsonProclaim’s team of designers constantly produces fresh sermon backgrounds, announcement slides, motions, and more. You may have noticed that with the exception of mini-movies and Bible animations, we produce media “sets,” not...
Proclaim makes it easy to record your sermons, and publishing them online or in a podcast is nearly effortless. But what if you want to review your sermons with staff, a mentor, or on your own? Or, more importantly, what’s the best way for...
Kristen SchaferPlanning a church service takes a lot of coordination, communication, and attention to a large number of details. And your church benefits when you’re able to focus on the core message of your service – not the details of planning it. That’s...
Facilitating corporate worship is a big responsibility. Everything you do, every choice you make, is intended to lead your congregation to worship their creator more fully. Some churches play the same songs frequently to make it easier for people to...
When you can’t even get your congregation to say, “Good morning,” it might be hard to imagine those same blank faces giving you personal answers to questions that matter during the service. But thanks to smartphones, that’s...
“I visited an Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, and the design and silence of the room made me feel like I had to take my hat off to be there,” says Eleazar Ruiz, a senior designer at Faithlife. As the former art director at Mars Hill...
Your follow-up plan for visitors isn’t a biannual program you turn on before Christmas and Easter. Those are obviously the weekends you can expect the most newcomers, but your church should always be refining the journey from visitors to...
“The same way a campfire draws us into conversation and deep thought, on a basic level, abstract animation captures our attention,” says Fred Sprinkle, our motion graphics team lead. But using animation well isn’t as simple as...
Good design is about clearly communicating your message. Every component of your church presentation should visually align with what you’re trying to say to your congregation. But that’s not easy to do. Without a clear understanding of...
You’ve seen it before. Your sermon is going great, but for some reason the sound tech is trying to distract you. They’re interpretive dancing a message to you. You’re supposed to do something—something is wrong—but what? It’s...
When you’re onstage, you don’t see what the audience sees. It’s all bright lights and (hopefully) smiling faces. That’s why it helps to have someone in the sound booth who can discreetly tell you when your mic is off, or...
Some pastors spend 30 hours or more preparing a single sermon. It takes time to prayerfully study Scripture, craft a relevant message, and prepare to share that message with your congregation. That time is important. Pastors should spend time...
Nobody likes to feel like they don’t know what they’re doing. Maybe more than that, nobody likes to look like they don’t know what they’re doing. If either of those scenarios is the reality for people who volunteer at your...
Buying individual pieces of church media lets you choose exactly what you want from the brands you love. But those purchases add up fast. If you recognize the value of using quality media to visually communicate the gospel, you still have to decide...
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that a lot of churches let things slide (pun intended) when it comes to worship lyrics and sermon slides. And I understand why. Nearly 60% of all churches in the US have under 100 attendees and are operated...
Hillsong Church has released over 40 worship albums since the early 90s. Songs from these albums regularly feature in the top 25 songs sung worldwide recorded through the CCLI. I recently wrote a post about 5 of my favorite Hillsong songs, here are...
Hillsong Church has been creating worship hits since the early 90’s. The church, which is estimated to have over 30,000 in attendance every week, has produced over 40 worship albums and continues to consistently release two to three new albums...
A well-crafted setlist can mean the difference between a smooth worship set, and one that stalls out at the end of every song. Over the years I’ve learned that there are a few keys to consider when crafting your worship set. 1. Pray This one doesn’t...
Chances are you’ve heard or joined in singing at least a couple of Chris Tomlin’s songs in your lifetime, after all he is the most sung songwriter in the world. I recently wrote a post outlining some of my favorite Chris Tomlin songs to...
There are 3 kinds of preachers in the world. Those who have been interrupted in the middle of a message. Those who will be interrupted someday soon. Those who are being interrupted right now. Murphy’s law tells us that service interruptions...
Logos StaffToday’s guest post comes from Rich Kirkpatrick. Rich is a writer, blogger, worship leader, musician, and author of The Six Hats of the Worship Leader. You can see more of his writing at rkblog.com. I have enjoyed being part of worship and...