I sent out 42 personalized Christmas video cards! It was energizing, fun and was also one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. The reaction by Christians and non-Christians friends alike was one of being stunned and was overwhelmingly positive. No one had ever received a video Christmas card, and the personalized version just blew them away. I got numerous thank you calls and notes in response (I can’t remember the last time that someone called to thank me for a Christmas card). Even my Buddhist and Hindu friends all reached out and thanked me.
Example — New Christian Education Class
Every so often, I get the honor and privilege of teaching at our church. After conferring on the standard logistics (key truths, title, duration, passages, etc.), I suggested a short video announcing the class where we could insert the link in the web site, weekly newsletter, Facebook and other social media.
Over the next two hours, I thought through and wrote what I wanted to say, shot the video, created the slides, merged it all together and published it on the Internet.
I’m certain your initial reaction is that this video announcement is not ready for prime time or network news. It’s not supposed to. It is not perfect, but it’s good enough. I sent the video to a few trusted friends that speak truth into my life — they have my permission to say the good, the bad and the ugly. They all commented that the video looked and sounded just like me. And that’s the best possible feedback. Be yourself, who God has made you to be.
As you can see, I love to use movie and news clips. They are available all over the Internet, and easily inserted into sermon messages, slides and other media. They help people understand what you are talking about, and immediately build bridges to your audience.
A large part of my ability to publish this so rapidly is because I’ve been practicing for the past year. Without practice or repetition, we learn precious little in life or ministry. Preaching a sermon, leading a ministry or teaching rarely comes by default — it takes time, practice and even failure. Through this practice I’ve created video “templates” that I reuse. A video template is similar to your church bulletin: It’s a way to create videos that have a standard flow and certain things go in standard places.
Another key ingredient to using video is that distribution is free! You put them on YouTube and people literally around the world can get them. Your people and staff can easily point people to them, sharing the video with friends, neighbors and family.
There will be naysayers in abundance. But I really encourage you to try it out. You never know who God may reach through your video.
