They say that pictures are worth a thousand words. Imagine the power of video; its impact is substantial and much more powerful than a picture.
The prophets spoke powerfully, but they often added strength to their message by performing symbolic actions. Drama is a powerful tool because you both hear the message and see it, causing a greater impact. A few compelling examples from the Bible include:
Isaiah 20:1-4: Isaiah walking naked
Ezekiel 4:1-8: Ezekiel’s brick siege on Jerusalem
Acts 21:11: The prophet Agabus takes Paul’s girdle and binds Paul’s hands and feet
I’ve been an entertainer since I was a young teenager. I became a Christian at seventeen and soon after created a drama team called “Paradox” to minister to people through the power of drama. We performed at churches, prisons, schools, at bases for thousands of Marines, and we even did street theatre. The reaction we received from the audience was always so much stronger when we used drama to present the message.
After seeing the impact drama had on audiences, we started a movie ministry. Our church owned a large 1,200 seat movie theater and so we’d post ads in the local newspapers and invite the public to come watch films at no cost each week. After the film was over, I’d preach a short message using the film as a reference. People were saved each week and Christians made recommitments to Christ. It was wonderful and showed me once again the power of visuals to grab people emotionally.
Now I produce short films with the purpose of changing lives using the power of video.
“Foreclosed” is a film that follows a family through job loss and eventually foreclosure and teaches that Godliness with contentment is great gain. “But Now I See” is an evangelical message and follows a homeless woman who finds two treasures in a garbage bag – a mirror and a Bible. One shows her how the world sees her; the other how God sees her. Both films have a powerful message.
With the power of video at your disposal (and for such a reasonable cost), I believe you should be using it as often as possible to engage your audience. Video can be used as an outreach in many areas including to aid in worship, to impact the community, to provide family entertainment, to evangelize, to launch a discussion, and to illustrate sermons.
Think about it, how often are you moved by a person speaking compared to being moved by a film or video that you’re watching? For me, films touch me much more often and to a larger degree. The same thing is probably true of your group.
You can use a short two minute video or a longer short film to impact your listeners before the message, during the message, or after the message. A video can be used in church or in home Bible studies where you can show a film and then discuss it. As the leader, you can watch a film in advance and create a discussion guide that includes the main points of the film, bible verses that relate, and questions that can help create a group discussion to drive home the message of the film.
This is a great way to minister. You have a video with a powerful message, a leader who will teach specific points, and then a group discussion. This allows the people to experience much more than just sitting and hearing one person speak the entire time.
As you can tell, I’m a big fan of video because I’ve seen the power of the visual change the lives of many. Videos should be a tool that you use regularly to impact your gathering. Then sit back and watch how God changes lives.
