The WHM Blog

We have some sweet Black Friday Deals that you don’t have to wait in line outside of Toys R Us for!

Just head on over to the On Sale Store for $5 mini movies from producers like Dan Stevers, Access, Centerline New Media, and Motion Worship. See them all here.

AND – Don’t miss our Black Friday sale at WorshipHouse Kids! Get $5 Song Tracks from Yancy, Uncle Charlie, and Amber Sky Records! See all the deals here.

These sales are for today only – so be sure to head over and stock up on some great media. And don’t forget to check back on Monday for our Cyber Monday deals.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and, to thrifty shoppers who are less interested in Turkey than they are in huge deals, that means just one thing: Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner.

We have some great deals for you and your church on Black Friday and Cyber Monday that you won’t want to miss. We’ll have deep discounts on mini movies, countdowns, motions and kids videos from some of our top producers. Make sure you check the On Sale Store on WorshipHouse and WorshipHouse Kids this Friday and Monday!

After a three week absence of no new video blogs, I’m sure all of you are itching for a new one – am I right? Well, today is your lucky day!

There are so many cool things going on in the church media world these days! We are here to bring you the news. Find out which conferences the WHM team thinks you should attend, and learn a little about two new projection apps.

Church Media News:

ProPresenter 5 (For Windows – Order Pro4 now and be eligible for a free upgrade to Pro5 when it releases)

ProPresenter 5 (For Mac)

Planning Center Projector

Conferences:

Luminous Project

Create Conference

ECHO

background image: “God Of The Heavens Still 03” by Centerline New Media

Our friends at Ministry Centered Technologies have released a new app for users of their Planning Center Online worship planning tool. Projector, available on iPad only, allows users to run a simple presentation using their PCO service plan. The integration with your existing service plans, sheet music PDFs, and media is really slick. Projector is free to download, and has affordable monthly pricing options based on your current PCO pricing plan ($2 for Lite Users, $5 for Basic Users, and $10 for Plus and Premium).

Projector is far less robust than software like ProPresenter and MediaShout, but provides a compelling, lower-cost option for smaller ministries, home groups, etc. who don’t need all the advanced features presentation software provides just yet. Be sure to check it out (video below). Also check out ChurchMediaDesign.tv’s review and Clark’s take.

Introducing Planning Center Projector from Planning Center on Vimeo.

Two weeks ago, Camron Ware shared his thoughts on why a church should consider moving from PowerPoint to presentation software. Today, we dive into worshipVJ‘s journey from MS DOS  to worship in full motion.
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Years ago when I first got into media presentation for worship, I was a huge PowerPoint fan! I can hardly call what I did back then VJ-ing, nor did I even know what the term meant.

Few people can say that they UPGRADED to PowerPoint. You see, what my campus ministry used back in the 20th Century ran on the MS-DOS platform. That’s right… C:/

So when I was asked to take over, I made big plans and upgraded to PowerPoint. We could finally enjoy drop shadows, font selections and still backgrounds behind the lyrics! I would even animate some of the slides and transitions to add a little visual jazz to the experience! Yes… it’s true. #confession

In my senior year (2002), I was exposed to SundayPlus, ProPresenter & MediaShout…. and was introduced to the idea of playing VIDEO behind the lyrics! I was in heaven.

But I didn’t jump on board initially. Each program had its challenges and I was too lazy to overcome them, so I sunk back into the familiar and stuck with making my “slides” the old fashioned way. But after working at a worship conference and seeing “visual worship” led in a way I had never imagined, I buckled up, picked a software and disciplined myself to master it.

I became addicted to the drug of motion backgrounds, and the song library feature saved me hours of work! (PowerPoint isn’t exactly a song ‘library’). I left PowerPoint in the dust, and I never looked back.

Did PowerPoint serve me well in those early years? Absolutely. Those were my foundational years for understanding “visual worship.” And it’s probably good that I started simple and with stills rather than a powerful program loaded with motion.

But when I was ready and had a more developed vision for visual worship, it was time to move on.

When switching softwares, technical features are definitely important. But what’s more important is the person behind it all and having visions/dreams for the future. Pay attention to who that is (it might be you!) and invest in that person as much (if not more) than in any computer or software program.

After a bit of a hiatus, Countdown Creator for Windows is back with a NEW, fully updated and expanded version. If you use countdowns and have always wished that you could customize your pre-service timers with your own photos, videos and songs, your wait is over. Below is a short video that walks you through the software and should answer any of your questions, as well as show you how easy and functional the software is. Not on a PC? Don’t worry… We also have Countdown Maker for Mac.

I recently posed the following question to one of our experts, Camron Ware: 

Why should a church switch from PowerPoint/Keynote to Presentation Software (like ProPresenter, MediaShout, etc.)?

This was his reply:

There is really only one question to ask – are you being limited in your visual/media ministry by your presentation software?  To me, every church must ask and answer that question before thinking about moving beyond PowerPoint or Keynote.

For some, the answer is no!  I have met a few churches who just aren’t ready or don’t yet need the features that most presentation software provides, but that doesn’t mean they should ask IF they should change.  Once you’ve evaluated and tried all the presentation software made for churches, only then can you really see if it’s right for you.

Now, for most; the answer is yes! Churches tell me all the time “We have PowerPoint and want to do ______, but we can’t because the software doesn’t do that.”  I then show them my favorite presentation software and it’s such a joy to see their eyes light up when they see the benefits and they let out such a sigh of relief that I just solved a problem and frustration of theirs.  And more importantly, their ministry is now broadened.

If you feel like something as simple as presentation software is hindering how you run your visuals in your service, you owe it to your congregation to see if real church presentation software is a needed change!

I recently wrote a post for the new Echo Hub site. If you want to know what we think your media resolutions could be for 2012, check it out HERE.