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D-day was in sight for music minister Donna Lucas. Bascomb Methodist church in Woodstock, Georgia, was nearing completion of its first new sanctuary in 60 years, and Lucas was frantically preparing for the first worship service. Three gleaming video projectors sat on the floor, grounded by ceiling mounts that didn't fit.

The order had been placed for the right units and the packing list showed the right model numbers, but the contents were wrong. Even if the correct mounts arrived, the drywall crew, scurrying to finish on time, had bent the threaded rods that supported the mounts. To make matters worse, the video screens had been relocated twice to make room for the new organ speakers, meaning the prelaid video cables were now 20 feet from the projectors.

In her moment of deepest need, Lucas looked to her installation contractors for help, and they delivered. Thanks to overnight deliveries and all-night labor sessions, the opening service proceeded as planned, with the congregation unaware of the sacrifices made to show a five-minute video of the church's 170-year history.

From small fellowships meeting in rented spaces, through midsize congregations in traditional buildings, to megachurches in hangar-sized environments, churches are using video as a way to expand the reach of their message. Lyric projection, scrolling announcements, video footage, sermon text support, and image magnification are the major uses for video projection in today's church.

As video becomes a common-use medium, congregations develop a more sophisticated sense of what excellence means in the visual environment. Just as high quality audio production is now expected by a society brought up on CDs, the video bar is being raised as home video content delivery shifts from VCR to DVD. Poor video is a distraction to unchurched attendees who will focus on the shortcomings of the medium rather than the content. Churches should strive to create and maintain high production values if the message is to have the desired impact.

In a move that showcases the trend toward a visual environment, praise-and-worship music powerhouse Integrity Music recently became Integrity Media. The one-word difference embodies a host of changes for church music in general and smaller churches specifically. The transformation at Integrity into a multimedia-based entity reflects an evolving church culture that embraces the visual element as an integral part of the worship experience.

The tools needed to deliver the visual element differ according to room size, ambient light levels, and intended purpose. To better understand the varying requirements, here are case studies of a small, medium, and large video installation.

With an average attendance of 50, Renaissance Church in Short Hills, New Jersey, is a small congregation, but the impact of its video system is large. Steve Young, the church's director of creative arts, was brought in from Mariners Church in California to develop a media ministry to reach unchurched residents in Short Hills, an affluent area just south of New York City. Young uses audio, video, and lighting in a seamless weave of input to subtly, but consistently, convey the eternal message of the gospel.

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