And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

—Mark 16:15 NKJV

Technology…

I am old enough to remember simpler times before technology was a necessity in most aspects of life. I will admit that I have more than one gray hair from trying to learn new technology for worship during the pandemic! It is easy to be resistant to new and different things, but if new technology can help share the Gospel with more people, it’s worth taking a look. Here’s an interesting article about technology in the Bible and in ministry: 26 Verses About Technology from Tithely.

It’s also important to encourage members of your tech team (or start one) as a way to allow people to use their gifting for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV reminds us: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (just don’t eat or drink in the tech booth!).

The following resources are merely a starting point if you find yourself searching for where to begin. I’ve included the Tech pages and groups from the Social Media page at the bottom as well. The groups are a great resources for learning more about these and for troubleshooting questions.

Helpful Websites, Softwares, and Apps*

  • Renewed Vision—The parent company of ProPresenter 7 (and more). ProPresenter 7 is an excellent presentation software, and the Renewed Vision support team has been equally impressive in my experience. The software is free to download, so you can check it out before purchasing the license. You can also use it for free on a non-presentation computer to build files. You must purchase a license to remove the watermark for presentation in worship. Check out the system requirements for ProPresenter 7.

  • YouTube Channels—For ProPresenter 7 tutorials, check out Renewed Vision and Paul Alan Clifford on YouTube.

  • Sweetwater—Sweetwater is a great place to begin for gear, including audio equipment, lighting equipment, and instruments. Their reps are very knowledgeable, and they can help you determine what’s best for your particular situation. They also have a lot of educational articles and videos on their website as well.

  • MxU—An online platform for training worship teams and tech teams, including training on audio training!

  • Church Motion Graphics (CMG)—I cannot say enough good things about the team at CMG! I have never seen a business more customer-centric than CMG. Their efforts to support ministries is truly impressive and so appreciated! They offer a wide variety of graphics and backgrounds for worship and so much more! You can edit graphics to fit your needs with ease in CMG Designer. CMG also offers many free worship resources, including a font—CMG Sans, which is a great font to use for worship slides. You can download CMG Sans and more on their free worship media page.

  • Planning Center—Planning Center Services is web/app based church management software that allows worship staff to plan worship services, catalog songs and chord charts, and schedule volunteers in one place. Team members can use their Music Stand app to access chord charts on their phones or tablets. Planning Center also offers products to help manage registrations, directory, giving, and more. They have extensive help articles and have a great response time if you need to submit a support ticket.

  • Verseable—A brand new website with Planning Center Services integration to allow you to search your own song library for song lyrics that fit themes and scriptures.

  • Transpose—A Chrome extension that allows you to change the key of YouTube videos, so you can hear a recording in the key you need for worship.

  • AutoPad App—Available for iOS or Android, this ambient pad app is easy to use and has a decent sound. If you are looking for ambient pad files, check out the options at Reawaken Hymns.

  • LightKey—There are many lighting software to choose from. If you are using Mac computers in your worship space, I recommend LightKey is because it’s a native Mac app. It is helpful to use software that will be updated as the Mac OS is updated.

*I will update this list periodically. Do you have a favorite tech tool that I’ve missed? Send me a message, and I’ll add it to the list!

Tech/Media Pages and Groups*

*There are many Facebook groups for specific equipment, such as a specific soundboard model or lighting software. I recommend searching for groups that specialize in the equipment you have. This is also a great way to stay up to date on changes and updates that might affect your equipment.

Technology Final Thoughts…

Be mindful of ALL of your equipment before updating your presentation/lighting computers, especially if you have limited experience with the technology your ministry is using. Technology changes very quickly these days, and all of your components for worship won’t necessarily update at the same time. For example, once a computer OS update is released, application and software developers will likely need time to prepare an update of their product as well, particularly where there is a full OS update, i.e. macOS 13 (Ventura) to 14 (Sonoma). The process of updating software to work with the new OS can take several months. Make sure to tell all volunteers with access to your tech equipment to resist the urge to click the update button as soon as it pops up, and NEVER update on a Sunday morning!

It’s also important to research specs and requirements of the software you use when looking for a new computer. Presentation and streaming software will need a more robust computer than one that would be used in a office setting. For your presentation computer, make sure to keep in mind how many displays (screens in the worship space including the computer monitor and livestream output) you have in your worship space. The ProPresenter Users Facebook group above has great threads on computers as well as equipment set up.

Questions? Send me a message, and I’ll try to find an answer for you!