Ryan NelsonYour church is people, not a place. Your community is not defined by the buildings you gather within, or the spaces you inhabit. When people visit your church, every interaction they have with your members shapes how they feel about your church as a...
People don’t walk through the door of your church with a big tag that says “Visitor” on it. And hopefully, you aren’t handing those out when they get inside. Especially in a big church, it’s hard to tell newcomers from...
“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, Faithlife’s motion graphics team lead. But using animation well isn’t 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...
Right now, there are people in your church who want to volunteer, but aren’t involved yet. Some of them are waiting for the right opportunity—the role that perfectly aligns with their gifts. Others are literally just waiting to be asked. The...
Faithlife’s online church bulletins provide you with a convenient way for your congregation to follow your service. For those in your church who are always skeptical of downloading new apps or guard their email addresses with their lives, this...
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...
Andre KazadayevThe latest update of Proclaim brings new multi-line custom text fields, confidence monitor improvements, and a brand new Quick Screen. Customize slides the way you want Have you ever wanted to have more customization options for text fields...
I’ve been volunteering as a youth leader with Young Life for six years. Once or twice a year, one of our regular leader gatherings includes a time where volunteers are recognized for their years of service, and the community of people who...
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...
Ray Deck IIIThere 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...
Over the last decade, media has played a more prevalent role in the church than ever before. And it shows no sign of slowing down. By media, I mean everything from websites and worship presentations, to bulletins and podcasts. That flyer your...
Faithlife 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...
Beautiful Eulogy is well-known for weaving powerful theology with fresh beats. The Christian hip hop trio from Portland, Oregon both challenges and encourages believers with lines like, “How can mankind decide how God should be identified? Can...
Today’s guest post comes from The Unstuck Group. The Unstuck Group helps churches grow their impact through church consulting and coaching experiences designed to focus vision, strategy, and action. Churches traditionally feel momentum cooling...
Kaleb CuevasToday’s guest post comes from Derek Schrock. Derek works in the Design department at Faithlife, and helps lead worship at his local church. In contemporary Christian music, songs are often recorded in musical keys 2 to 4 steps higher than what...
Today marks the 64th annual National Day of Prayer. Millions of people across America will join Dr. Jack Graham as he leads the nation in prayer. This year’s theme “Hear Our Cry,” is an echo of Kings 8:28. As the excitement of National Day of Prayer...
Guest AuthorBy Kevin Bradford As a creative director and worship leader, what is displayed on screen is very important to me. I want to have confidence in what’s being projected, and know that when the inevitable glitch happens, the support staff will have my...
One of the easiest ways to spice up your presentations is to choose interesting fonts. But like all good things, fancy fonts become a problem if you abuse them. The result is a distracting jumble of letters that makes it difficult (or impossible)...
Gone are the days when changing the church stage design meant bringing in Easter lilies in April and a musty, oversized fake Christmas tree in December. Now churches are designing elaborate stage environments, sometimes designing them to coincide...
Joel MuddamalleRecently, I attended All about Worship, a worship conference in Kansas City. During my time there, I spoke with some phenomenal songwriters and worship leaders. Traveling to similar conferences all across the country gives me the opportunity to...