The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” has been tossed around for a long time, but it is absolutely true. Pictures have a way of sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings with people that can sometimes be hard to put in words. You can even experience God in pictures by viewing the beauty of His creation. Photography is another tool that churches can use in a wide variety of ways.
Worship Services
Many churches are moving away from printing out bulletins every week, and moving more toward projecting the order of service for the congregation to follow along. This can not only save the church time and money, but it can add another opportunity to bring beauty and design to the worship service.
Churches can use photography in the backgrounds of their projected slides to help church members visualize what the song or worship element is about. For instance, if the hymn or song is about the beauty of God’s creation, the background image could be a picture of nature. The pastor could also use photography during his sermon to show examples of the topics he is talking about.
Website
A church’s website is a great place to share images of the church and the people who attend it. When visitors go to a church website, they are many times hoping to get a glimpse of what the church looks and feels like. If a church uses stock or generic photos of churches, rather than the particular church, it is giving a false idea of what the church is like. If a church website uses pictures of its particular church, it gives people a window into what the services are like and what kind of people attend.
Social Media
There are many ways that churches can use photography to increase their social media presence. Having an image of some type will make people much more likely to stop and see what a post is about. One way churches can use photographs on social media is to create an advertisement for upcoming events, like Bible studies. The image will grab people’s attention and get them to read what the event is and any information pertaining to it.
Another way churches can use photography is by sharing a Bible verse or theological thought on top of an image. The image will not only grab people’s attention, but can help them better visualize what the church is trying to share.
Church Directory
Photo directories are extremely helpful tools for congregations to use. They are especially helpful for new members, who are trying to put faces to names. Having a professional company come in and take church member’s photos can be expensive and difficult to organize. If a church has a good camera and lights, they can easily take the pictures themselves by having members sign up for a time slot, spacing the shoots out over a month or two after Sunday services. For more information on how to set up for and take pictures for your church photo directory, check out this blog post.
What are some other ways your church uses photography? Share in the comments!
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