Ready to bring the wow factor to your church’s Christmas services? At Church Motion Graphics, we’ve made it easy to utilize the power of visuals to inspire your community in ways like never before. Here are ten holiday ideas we’ve come up with to bring creativity to every moment of your time worshipping together:

1. A Custom Event Theme

Having a central look and theme is the best way to start promoting your Christmas services. We’ve created these FREE theme templates that you can download to make it easy. These images are print-quality and come in both JPEG and Photoshop formats. Simply insert your church’s name and you’re done! Plus, they match the look of our December 2019 CMG Pack.

2. Social Media Posts

Since all of your community is on social media, posting engaging content on your church’s pages is essential around Christmastime. Our CMG Social library contains 2000+ graphics that will take your church’s social media to the next level. Included in this collection are over 150 Christmas images that your church can use all December long. These visual posts will bring life to your social pages and help spread the word about your church.

3. A Custom Facebook Profile Frame

Help your congregation spread the word to their friends about your Christmas services by creating a custom Facebook profile frame. This service is offered for free to all Facebook Pages. We have created 3 free templates to help you get started. Plus, they match our popular December 2019 CMG Pack.

4. Announcement Slides

Make it easy for your audience to know what’s happening in your church by using announcement slides. Our CMG Template library is filled with many announcements like these that you can customize to fit your events perfectly.

5. Countdown Video

Countdown timers make it easy to let your congregation know that it’s time to find a seat as your service begins. A matching countdown video is included in each month’s CMG Pack like this one that’s from the December pack.

6. Christmas Video Opener

Video openers are a great way to capture the attention of your audience. This short video was created specifically for the 2019 holiday and is included for FREE with all CMG Subscriptions. It’s an easy way to add a special creative detail to your services.

7. Worship Backgrounds

Motion backgrounds are the perfect way to create a dynamic visual experience during your church’s worship songs. They bring creativity to an otherwise boring aspect of your service – text lyrics. Each of these motions can be found in our new December pack.

8. Custom-Built Titles

Make it easy for your audience to know what’s happening in each moment of your service with custom titles. Our Title Builder tool allows you to easily create custom stills and motion title slides to fit your ministry’s needs. Or, you can get really creative with our new CMG Editor tool.

9. Sermon Graphics

Using a creative visual with your preaching and teaching can create a lasting impression. Our CMG Template library is filled with hundreds of customizable sermon graphics that make it easy to grab the attention of your congregation during your messages. Included in this library are dozens that are perfect for Christmas.

10. Exit Slide

Fill your screens with a friendly graphic saying goodbye as your guests leave. It’s a great way to leave a lasting impression on your audience from your service. This moving exit background is also included in the December pack.

Want These Looks For Christmas?

We love helping churches look great and make a big impact in their communities. Become a Subscriber to get access to all of the latest CMG Packs!

Join A CMG Subscription Today

The Christmas season is a busy time for all of us involved in the Church. As much as church staff members may be feeling it, recognize that your volunteers are also feeling busy, and still volunteering. During this season, taking a few moments to recognize and honor your volunteers can go a long way for your team’s momentum. Here are a few ideas to try:

1. Bring Snacks

You can never go wrong with bringing free food. Whether at a rehearsal, a weekend service, or a performance night, bring snacks for your team. Some bottled water, snack-size chocolate bars or chips, a few granola bars, and mints can go a long way to give an extra boost of energy for your team and keep them alert.

2. Give A Gift With Their Name On It

Nothing shows that you care about your team like giving them something that’s personalized with their name on it. While something engraved or customized may not be in your budget, consider custom ordering bottles of coke or snickers with first names for your whole team. If your budget can’t sustain a gift, then a card or hand-written note will still be meaningful.

3. Give Out Awards

When you celebrate specific behavior, especially publicly, it sends a clear message to everyone about what you value. Giving awards around holidays is a fun way to show honor in this way. Hand out awards to everyone on your team and get a few people together to brainstorm the categories:

• The “Jumps in whenever needed” award.
• The “Most optimistic when something goes wrong” award.
• The “Best cable roller” award.

The actual prize could be as simple as a lollipop, or a free coffee at your church’s coffee shop, or an app store gift card, but take the time to hand out awards, have some fun, and recognize your team.

4. Give Them A Weekend Off

While it’s a busy time at church, it’s also a busy time outside of ministry, from family events to office parties, to recuperating from family events and office parties. Find a way to give your volunteers a weekend off.

You could do a simplified service where you sing acoustic Christmas Carols that don’t require a lyric operator. Or, consider having your youth media team take over a weekend or at least switch in as many positions as possible. Some churches even take the last Sunday of the year off annually to give their volunteers a break during the Christmas/New Year season before going into the next year. Every church is unique, so find the way that your church can create some time off for volunteers.

5. Pray For Them

It’s amazing how in the busyness of the holidays, we take specific time to honor Jesus’ arrival on Earth, but often find ourselves too busy to take one-on-one time with him to pray and study. Your team deserves your best, and spending time with God is the best way to lead them.

Take a moment to pray for your team, not just as a team, but as individuals. Send them a text or email to let them know you’re praying for them. Be sure to ask if there’s anything you can pray for, not for the recognition that you’re praying for them, but the encouragement they’ll have in knowing you’re thinking about them and caring about their needs.

6. Gift An Upgrade To CMG Premium

Here at Church Motion Graphics, one of the most frequent reviews that we hear from churches is that our Premium Subscription makes their lives so much easier. When your volunteers are equipped with a massive library of the best motion backgrounds, fully editable sermon and announcement templates, and thousands of eye-catching social graphics, it becomes quick and simple to create meaningful experiences for your community. Around Christmastime, we see many churches finally make the jump to Premium because it brings so much joy to their teams.

The holiday season is here! One of the easiest ways to bring a fresh look to your worship environment is switching up the style of your lyric slides. If you’re looking for something new for Christmas, the December 2019 CMG Pack is an easy choice to get started. This pack of motion backgrounds is filled with stunning glitter and paint moving together through water. It’s the eye-catcher you’ve been looking for this season.

Try These 8 Stylized Lyric Looks

If you want to take your December look even further, we’ve put together 8 slide arrangements that are easy to recreate in your presentation software. You’ll see that when you’re working with quality backgrounds, all you need is a simple font and shapes to make your lyrics really pop. We hope these slide ideas will inspire you!

1. Broken Accent Frame

Font: CMG Sans Extra Bold
Background: Stardust Shine Sweep

2. Corner Flow

Font: CMG Sans Medium Italic
Background: Stardust Shine Gold

3. Dual White Bars

Font: CMG Sans Bold
Background: Stardust Shine Weaver

4. Stunning Side Script

Font: Lust Script
Background: Stardust Shine Solar

5. Narrow & Tall

Font: Steelfish Regular
Background: Stardust Shine Blue

6. Liturgural Left

Font: CMG Sans SemiBold
Background: Stardust Shine Festival

7. Multicolor Match

Font: CMG Sans Extra Bold
Background: Stardust Shine Love

8. Centered Script

Font: Lust Script
Background: Stardust Shine Expand

Ready To Try It?

If you’re ready to make your worship lyrics slides look like this, it’s super easy. Click below to download this pack of December motion backgrounds. Then, apply the recommended fonts and shapes in your presentation software to add a cherry on top.

Christmas is almost here, and churches all over the world are preparing for powerful worship services to celebrate the birth of our Savior. One of the most important elements of every Christmas service is the music.

To help make your life easier going into your holiday services, we’ve handpicked motion backgrounds that match perfectly with the top 10 most popular songs for this season. All of these motions are from our new December 2019 CMG Pack.

1. Joy To The World

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Rejoice
Artist: Phil Wickham

2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Sweep
Artist: Jeremy Riddle

3. Little Drummer Boy

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Gems
Artist: for KING & COUNTRY

4. O Holy Night

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Weaver
Artist: Hillsong Worship

5. Light of the World

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Joy
Artist: Lauren Daigle

6. O Come All Ye Faithful

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Night
Artist: Jeremy Riddle

7. He Shall Reign Forevermore

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Desert
Artist: Chris Tomlin

8. Christmas Day

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Push
Artist: Chris Tomlin

9. Noel

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Solar
Artist: Hillsong Worship

10. Silent Night

December 2019 CMG Pack | Stardust Shine Festival
Artist: Hillsong Worship

Ready To Try Them Out?

Christmas is the perfect time to add a little extra creativity to your worship slides. Download this new pack of motion backgrounds to make it easy to have a great look.

Are you looking to attend a church conference in 2020? Here is a list of great conferences that may be perfect for you and your team. Conferences are a great way to get inspired, learn new things and connect with other like-minded people.

 C3 Conference

• Dallas, TX
• February 19-20, 2020

We believe healthy leaders talk about the raw and real of leadership. C3 Conference is a two-day event where leaders from around the world gather together for intensive coaching, inspirational teaching, incurable learning, and intentional relationships to advance the Church!

Proclaim 19

• Nashville, TN
• February 25-28, 2020

The NRB International Christian Media Convention is a jam-packed, four-day event that connects, equips, and edifies thousands of Christian communicators.

Exponential Conference

• Orlando, FL
• March 2-5, 2020

The theme focuses on how each of us is called for more in our lives, churches, and networks. We will walk through the 6 chapters of Ephesians during the main sessions. Shift 1: From More Effort to More Jesus. Shift 2: From More Volunteers to More Masterpieces. Shift 3: From More Guilt to More Love. Shift 4: From More Hierarchy to More Missionaries. Shift 5: From More Programs to More Mission Fields. Shift 6: From More Strategy to More Surrender

Watermark Church Leaders Conference

• Dallas, TX
• April 28-30, 2020

Join us next spring at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas to be inspired by all God wants to do through His Church and spurred on to excel wherever God has planted you. You’ll be refreshed, encouraged, energized, and refocused. Bring your whole team to dream together, laugh together, and double down on the unique mission God has placed before you.

LIFT

• Atlanta, GA
• May 1-2, 2020

LIFT is a time to gather together to learn, grow, and be refreshed in your gifts with other creatives without the restraints of leading others. These days will include main sessions with teaching and worship, as well as breakouts ranging from leading worship to production to other creative themes and topics.

FILO Conference

• Chicago, IL
• May 19-20, 2020

Whether volunteer or staff, FILO aims to provide skill development, community and inspiration to help equip technical artists to become effective contributors to their local church. FILO is a combination of the FILO Conference, FILO Blog, FILO Podcast, and personalized FILO Coaching.

Canadian Church Leaders Conference

• Barrie, ON
• June 4-6, 2020

The Canadian Church Leaders Conference brings together church leaders from every background across Canada for an intimate, interactive gathering at Connexus Church north of Toronto. Fresh insights, practical strategies, and conversations with top Canadian church leaders who are reaching people in their communities. Hosted and led by Carey Nieuwhof, Jeff Brodie and Connexus Church, the conference is designed to give you the tools and renewed passion you need to reach more people in your community and beyond. Helping Canadian church leaders reach people.

VOUS Conference

• Miami, FL
• June 11-13, 2020

So God came to us. So we could go into the world. Carrying the light into the night. To bring the broken home. If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Who are you waiting on? The charge has been set. The orders given. Go. And if we don’t go‍ no one else is coming.

Bethany Conference

• Baton Rouge, LA
• June 23-25, 2020

The heart behind this conference is to equip, inspire, and empower the local church to carry on the greatest call on this side of heaven. Championing a movement that will see no comparison or end for all of the time as the next generation of church leaders, creatives, and servants rise up into the future; further together.  If not now?

National Worship Leader Conference

• Nashville, TN
• July 21-23, 2020

The National Worship Leader Conference (NWLC) first began in Austin, TX back in 2007 as an event to bring the training found in the pages of Worship Leader Magazine to life. Since then it has become an inspirational and informative gathering, that brings together musicians and songwriters, movers and shakers, theologians and scholars across the global worship community. We hope you can join us in 2019 for two full days that will renew, challenge, and ignite your worship team.

Capture Summit

Capture is a two-day educational event designed to help church content creators and filmmakers reach more people for Christ. Keynotes, workshops and product demonstrations will stretch your imagination and you’ll learn new ways to bring those ideas to life from industry leaders and your peers. Capture elevates your creative, streaming and technical ministry to a whole new level.

• Plano, TX
• August 4-5, 2020

Design Revival

• Columbas, GA
• August, 28-29

Design Revival is a two-day conference in Columbus, GA that will equip, encourage, and train pastors, lay-leaders, volunteers, and church staff to raise the standard of design and media for the purpose of presenting the Gospel.

Attendees will be inspired in Main Sessions by creative and engaging speakers. The workshops will equip attendees with skills and techniques they can begin using in their church creative process immediately.

The Canvas Conference

We stand at a stalemate. In many ways, the church doesn’t want the creative and the creative doesn’t want the church. This is in part because the church doesn’t know what to do with creatives and creatives no longer see the church’s value.

• Santa Ana, CA
• August 30-31, 2020

Experience Conference

• Orlando, FL
• September 8-11, 2020

Scores of worship leaders from around the country and across denominational lines gather each year at Experience Conference, one of the largest worship conferences in America, to connect in community with one another, get equipped with key resources, and become empowered to see how God might use us to change the world.

Circles Conference

• Richardson, TX
• September 10-11, 2020

Circles Conference is a three-day design and development conference by Circles Co., bringing together designers and makers from around the globe. Learning from transformative thinkers and connecting with like-minded innovators, Circles provides a space where you’ll be challenged to push yourself in the creative process while drawing inspiration from those thriving in the industry.

That Church Conference

• Atlanta, GA
• September 22-23, 2020

That Church Conference is not the type of conference where you sit and listen, but instead, you do and practice. We do things a little differently than you might expect from a church conference. That’s because we want you to be different.

So many churches blend into the culture around them, without making any significant impact on it. The tools we provide equip churches to stand out, to make an impact, to not go unnoticed. And when that happens the church can reach more people.

Gateway Conference

• Southlake, TX
• September 28-29, 2020

The Gateway Conference desires to share practical wisdom for cultivating real growth by nurturing true and biblical health in the spiritual community of the local church. We want to share these principles because we desire to do everything in our power to build God’s kingdom through His local church.

SALT: The Creative Arts Conference

• Nashville, TN
• October 2020

We’re living in a unique moment in time where creativity is craved, created and consumed at a rate like never before. This moment in time provides an opportunity for us in the Church to leverage our God-given gifts to make a tremendous impact in our community and society at large.

We believe that God has likely given you the platform and the ability to leverage your influence at such a time as this. Join us at SALT19 as we explore the intersection of influence, creativity, and the local Church.

Refresh Ministry Conference

• Aurora, CO
• October 8-9, 2020

This Conference is dedicated to seeing Believers refreshed in their walks with God, it is our passion to see the church fulfill their call to minister the Gospel while serving the Lord. The heart behind this conference is to set an atmosphere of refreshing fellowship for those who desire to serve, are currently serving, or making their way back into serving the Lord with their gifts. Through encouraging Bible Studies, community, creativity, and powerful worship, we hope to refresh Believers as they go back out and impact the world in even greater ways!

Hillsong Creative Conference

• Sydney, Australia
• October 22-23, 2020

A 2 days / 3 nights gathering of the creatively gifted ones; the prophets and the poets; the artisans and the producers; humbly hosted by Hillsong Creative. Expressed through Co-Labs; innovative circles of thought leaders; small and large gatherings; Midnight Massive; friendships will be forged. Together telling the story of Jesus and making creativity the center of God’s Church today.

Faith Leads Tech Conference

A one-day, single-track conference bringing together followers of Jesus Christ centered on technology and innovation.

• Whitehouse, TN
• TBA

The Christmas season is such a unique time of the year for the Church. Not only do studies show that more people are likely to fill your pews in this time, but that their hearts are much more conditioned to receive a message. Because of this, it’s common to see churches everywhere working diligently in preparation for the coming crowds at their Christmas services.

As the big day approaches fast, we’ve prepared 7 last-minute ideas to take your Christmas service to the next level. Don’t worry—they are quick and easy to pull off.

1. Read The Christmas Story In A Creative Way

Reading about Christ’s birth from Luke 2 is a popular element in Christmas services. Just having this as a part of your gathering is special already. But, you can always add a little creativity to make it more memorable. Some of our favorite ideas are adding soft piano music or cinematic tracks behind the reading. Or, you could change your lighting along with the different moments of the story. You could even use video on your screen to go along with a live reading. These are elements that add to the experience and make it easier for your audience to engage.

2. Use A Creative Sermon Slide Design

A message from the Bible where your guests hear about Jesus coming to save us is the most important part of a Christmas service. Make a big impression with your screens by using a captivating sermon title graphic. A creative Christmas graphic will take your presentation to the next level by making it easier for your audience to remember your message. Check out our full library of editable Christmas templates to make it easy.

3. Serve Christmas-Themed Treats

Having breakfast available before service is a great way to build community and have some fun in the lobby with your church family. For Christmas, take it to the next level by serving some holiday-themed donuts or baked goods. It’s a sweet surprise for your faithful attenders and new guests alike. You could even add in hot chocolate or apple cider. The cost for something like this is relatively small compared to the value that it adds to the day.

4. Play A Christmas Video Opener

Christmas is the perfect time to start your service in a special way. Using a video opener can really speak to the hearts of your audience. A video like this is a great way to communicate a message of what’s truly important at Christmas, and it will leave people talking about the service throughout their holiday.

5. Take A Holiday-Themed Poll

Now is the perfect time to be more intentional with your church’s social media pages. Post poll questions, such as asking what their favorite Christmas movie is. You’ll be amazed by how much conversation these types of posts generate. Then, take time during the welcome time of your service or in the beginning of the sermon to reveal some of those answers. This is an exciting way to interact with your congregation and to have some fun. We’ve put together some social graphics to help make this easier for you.

6. Play A Festive Christmas Playlist

Guests will be visiting your church, many for the first time. Playing music in the background is an easy way to create a welcoming atmosphere. You can play music in your lobby, before service and as people exit. To give you some inspiration for the types of songs that work best, our team has put together a Spotify playlist carefully curated for holiday church services.

7. Update Your Worship Backgrounds

Motion backgrounds are the perfect way to create a dynamic visual experience during your church’s worship songs. They bring creativity to an otherwise boring aspect of your service – text lyrics. For a Christmas service, it’s best to have backgrounds that go with the holiday aesthetic, such as the samples below from our new CMG Pack for December.

Ready to give your worship slides that special Christmas look? Click below to see more of our new motion pack that we created just for Christmas 2019.

One of the easiest ways to bring a fresh look to your worship environment is switching up the style of your lyric slides. If you’re looking for something original for the new year, the January 2020 CMG Pack is an easy choice to get started. This creative look for January 2020 features colorful, metallic liquid set against a dark background. Its flowing, reflective waves will make your slides shine.

Try These 8 Creative Styles

If you want to take your January look even further, we’ve put together 8 slide arrangements that are easy to recreate in your presentation software. You’ll see that when you’re working with quality backgrounds, all you need is a simple font and shapes to make your lyrics really pop. We hope these slide ideas will inspire you!

1. Outline Flow

Font: CMG Sans Bold & Bold Outline
Background: Liquid Metal Crave

2. Double Bars

Font: CMG Sans Bold
Background: Liquid Metal Fun

3. Scribble Script

Font: CMG Sans Bold & Ramland Script
Background: Liquid Metal Flow

4. Serif Corners

Font: Rylan
Background: Liquid Metal Push

5. Slanted Underline

Font: CMG Sans ExtraBold Italic
Background: Liquid Metal Ridge

6. Color Drop Shadow

Font: CMG Sans Bold
Background: Liquid Metal Fall

7. Tall & Handsome

Font: BW Stretch
Background: Liquid Metal Lines

8. Centered Space

Font: CMG Sans Regular & ExtraBold
Background: Liquid Metal Oceans

Ready To Try It?

If you’re ready to make your worship lyrics slides look like this, it’s super easy. Click below to download this pack of January motion backgrounds. Then, apply the recommended fonts and shapes in your presentation software to add a cherry on top.

Serving in church media, tech, or production is one of the most important responsibilities in making Sunday services possible. This job is not about just being a button-pusher; it’s about helping people experience Jesus by creating a distraction-free environment that equips them for participation in worship and teaching. You are setting the stage, both literally and figuratively, for people to hear the gospel of Jesus, maybe for the first time ever.

Whether you are a one-man crew or have a team full of staff/volunteers, here are three important rules to live by when you are serving in this area of ministry.

1. Honor Your Leader’s Vision

It is of the utmost importance to honor the vision of your church’s leadership. It can be tempting to chase every new church media trend that pops on Instagram, but this can go off-vision fast. Before making new plans or trying new ideas, ask yourself if this helps to accomplish the goals of the house. Will this help to take your church where your leadership is trying to take it? Will this help your pastor carry out his vision for this season?  A church media team that looks great but doesn’t follow the vision of its leaders isn’t great at all.

It’s also important to note that what works in other churches may not necessarily work in your specific community. Before implementing new styles in graphics, screen visuals, social media strategies, etc., ask if this fits with the people that you are trying to reach. Does this reflect the personality of your church and leadership well? If you’re not sure, it never hurts to take the time to ask.

2. Be Ready To Respond

When you’re running the lyrics, video, lights, or sound, you have one of the most important roles on a Sunday morning. Quite literally, no one can see if you don’t turn the lights on. No one can hear the pastor if you don’t unmute the microphone. And, let’s be honest, many people wouldn’t be able to sing along without the lyrics on the screen.

With this much on the line, it’s important to be prepared. The best way to do this is to review the entire order of service, and even more importantly, have a practice run beforehand. This ensures that everything is tested before you have an audience in the seats. Even if you can only run through your specific tasks, it’s better than nothing.

During service, it’s important to be focused on the worship leader, pastor, and anyone else leading a particular section of the service. Watch and listen to any cues that may hint that they are going off-script. You must be able to go with the flow and have a protocol on what to do in times of spontaneous or off-script moments.

3. Serve With Excellence

Serving with excellence doesn’t mean that you have to be perfect. When you are serving with excellence, you are simply striving to give God your best in your area. A few ways to serve with excellence would be by preparing for the service ahead of time, show up to call-time early, working well with others, and staying positive.

Serving with excellence goes beyond the Sunday service, though. You could also strive for excellence by answering scheduling request emails immediately, improving your skills through videos, podcasts and books, or taking care of equipment as if it were your own.

Bonus: Connect With Others Like You

A great way to continue growing in church media is to get connected to other media teams like yours is by joining our Facebook Group filled with over 35,000 church tech leaders and volunteers who are facing the same challenges as you. We encourage you to join our group and share your experience with others. We think you’ll be surprised by how many others are like you and have advice to share.

Social media is a powerful tool that your church can use to reach people both inside and outside of your congregation during the week. What’s the best way to reach these people? By posting engaging content that they actually enjoy seeing in their feed. If this doesn’t sound like the typical stuff you’ve been posting on your church’s pages, we can help.

Here are some fresh ideas taken from our CMG Social collection that are proven to spark interest. Love them? All of these graphics are available for individual purchase or can be downloaded with our Premium Subscription.

1. “Who is your favorite athlete?”

People are so passionate about sports. You’ll love how people will engage with posts like this.

2. “With God All Things Are Possible”

This is a great reminder to your audience that our God is powerful. It’s very sharable!

3. “What worship song do you have on repeat?”

Asking a question about a topic that is related to your Sunday experience is sure to spark conversation. Plus, this example is a great way to learn more about your people.

4. “Take a minute right now to say a prayer for a friend.”

Prompts for spiritual disciplines like prayer add value to the lives of your followers.

5. “Don’t miss this.”

Let your online audience know of exciting things that are happening at your church.

6. “Do something kind today.”

Reminders that encourage people to be Christ-like in their actions are always a win.

7. “Tag a friend you want to sit with you at church.”

Having your audience tag friends is a great way to get more people following your pages. Try it!

8. “In Jesus the victory is won.”

Celebrate our great God through inspirational messages like this. They are easy to like!

9. “Tonight we sleep. Tomorrow we praise.”

A last-minute reminder about church can be a big help since life gets so busy at times. Posting something like this will get them excited for service with just a simple invite.

10. “God of this city.”

Visually captivating graphics like this are the perfect way to stop the scroll, plus communicate something spiritual. You will be surprised to see how much engagement they bring in.

CMG Is Here To Help You

Social graphics like this can make a major impact on your online pages. Church Motion Graphics offers a large collection of scroll-stopping images that are easy to download and share. Or, you can take it a step further by customizing them with the included Photoshop files or with CMG Editor.  These social graphics can be purchased individually, or you can join a CMG Premium Subscription to gain unlimited access.

Today, Renewed Vision held a keynote and live stream announcing a brand new version of their popular church presentation software, ProPresenter. This new release has been highly anticipated by church tech teams over the past few months as the company has dropped hints of their newest update. The best part? It’s available to download immediately.

Our team at Church Motion Graphics are long-time users of this presentation tool, so we were excited to get our hands on ProPresenter 7. If you’re considering updating from a previous version, or perhaps jumping into this software for the first time, here’s a quick look at some of the best new features in Pro7.

1. A Content-Focused Interface

The first big change that we noticed with ProPresenter 7 is a massive overhaul to their interface. You’ll love the new dark mode that makes the software much easier on your eyes when working in darker production environments. Other great changes include more convenient buttons to clear elements, a helpful search bar, and multiple presentation libraries. Plus, in the new “preview” area on the right, you can view the output of any of your screens.

2. Display Multiple Scripture Translations At One Time

Is your congregation multilingual? Or, do you ever need to compare two different translations of a Bible verse in your teaching? This new feature allows you to quickly create slides that show multiple translations of the Bible on your screens.

3. Increased Text Size For Operators

A new EasyView feature allows complete customization of slide text specifically on the operator side. Without affecting your slide formatting that displays to your audience, you can now change the font, color, size, and more of your slides on your operator display. This is great for increased visibility when running your slides. No more squinting needed!

4. Better Support For Windows

Since its original release, ProPresenter has been a Mac-focused program. Even though the past few versions have included a Windows option, it has always received new updates much later and been more of a little brother to the Mac version. With Pro7, Renewed Vision has built a new platform from the ground up to ensure an identical 64-bit experience on both Windows and Mac. PC fans everywhere can rejoice!

5. Built-In Configuration For Multiple Screens

In the past, many ProPresenter users utilized the Multiscreen Module and TripleHead2Go adapters to achieve multiple screen outputs. Since most computers now support multiple outputs natively, Pro7 allows you to fully control what content goes to each of your screens, through SDI, NDI, and HDMI. You can output to as many screens as your computer will allow with more customization than ever. Another great feature of these new screen controls is that the software will remember your output settings, even after restarting or unplugging.

6. Increased Stage Display Flexibility

In past versions, formatting and display options for stage displays, or “confidence monitors,” was pretty limited. With Pro7, there is a brand new Stage Display editor that allows you to create layouts with similar controls as creating slides. Plus, you can now send separate stage display looks to different screens in your space. For example, you could have a fullscreen clock on one display and song lyrics on another.

7. A Completely New Editor Mode

ProPresenter’s new Editor has been rewritten with new features that users have requested most for slide design. Fresh shapes, fills, alignment guides, text controls, and more have been added that make outside presentation software like PowerPoint unnecessary. 

8. A Separate Announcement Layer

Have you ever wished that you could display pre-service slides in the lobby while displaying other content in the auditorium on one computer? Now you can. The new Announcements layer in Pro7 allows you to simultaneously display certain slides on one screen, while you’re completely free to run different content on another display. This will be particularly useful during soundcheck on Sundays.

9. All Modules Are Now Included For Free

For years some of the best ProPresenter tools were reserved for customers who could afford to pay a couple hundred bucks more per feature. Altogether, these extra modules would cost you over $2500 to unlock these advanced capabilities. With Pro7, all of that changes because those modules are all included for free! That’s right—features such as midi support, edge blending, alpha keying, SDI/NID support, and more are built-in at no additional charge.

Ready To Try It For Yourself?

You can find out more about ProPresenter 7 and how you can purchase it for your ministry at RenewedVision.com. But, your presentation software is only as good as your visuals.

For the very best in worship backgrounds, slide templates, and countdowns to use with Pro7, Church Motion Graphics has you covered. We make it simple to keep a fresh look with thousands of media downloads available at your fingertips, plus, fresh content is added each month. It’s truly the best companion for your new software.

Much more goes into church events than many outsiders realize. One of the most important elements of preparing for your event is promotion. (After all, you do want people to actually show up!) There’s no doubt that it can be overwhelming when trying to spread the word about your event to all of your congregation and the surrounding community. We get it! In this post, we’ll give you four foolproof tips that will help you attract a crowd.

1. Start Promoting Early

It’s important to start promoting your event early enough that those who will be interested in attending have the appropriate time to purchase tickets, request time off from work, and find childcare if needed. Many times, people are unable to participate in events simply because they did not know about them early enough. Jobs usually require time-off requests several weeks or more in advance.

A good rule of thumb is to promote church events farther in advance based on how much you’re asking from the attendee. For example, if you are promoting a multi-day event that costs money and is in the middle of the week, you are asking a lot. People would need to know about this 3-6 months in advance. However, if you’re doing something small after service one Sunday, there is little that you’re asking from the attendee. People only need a few weeks notice for something on this scale. Aim to give people at least 2-3 weeks notice since most people do not attend your church every Sunday.

2. Embrace Social Media

Social media is a regular part of our culture now. No matter your age, it’s likely that you’re active on at least one network. Because of this, social media is a great place to begin spreading the word about your upcoming event.

Creating a Facebook event will allow others to invite their friends to the event, plus allow you to remind people as it gets closer. Give your event a compelling description that will spark interest in potential attendees.

Create a hashtag that anyone can use when sharing or posting about the event. This is a fun way to spark excitement and inspire others to start talking about your event online.

Create a shareable post that doesn’t overwhelm people with information, but inspires them to learn more about the event. Be sure to include a link to your website in the post. Need some help? Our CMG Social library contains thousands of social graphics that can be edited to fit your event.

3. Use Your Church Website

Having a central place for information is essential when promoting your event. This is a perfect time to utilize your church website.

Design a page that matches the graphics of your upcoming event. Include important information such as the date and time, location, cost, target audience, and schedule.

It is important that if you require a RSVP or ticket purchase, that you include the appropriate steps and/or links to complete those steps right on your website.

4. Cover Your Community

You want as many people as possible to talk about your event. Get as much exposure as you can by spreading the word in multiple places around your community.

Provide your local newspaper, television programs, and radio stations with a press release. Most of the time, these local stations will provide free coverage on your event, especially if it involves the community. Have your congregation take invite cards and flyers to spread to their friends and workplaces. (Hint: Nothing works better than a personal invite.)

It’s also likely that there are websites, Facebook groups, and online community boards for your specific area. Post graphics for your events in these places where it’s welcome.

Renewed Vision recently announced a brand new version of their popular church presentation software, ProPresenter. Our team members at Church Motion Graphics are long-time users of this presentation tool, so we were excited to get our hands on ProPresenter 7.

To make this new release even better, we have partnered with the team at RV to provide Pro7 users with 10 free motion backgrounds from the Church Motion Graphics library.

How To Download The 10 Free Motions

Follow these steps to download the complementary CMG content that comes with every free and paid version of ProPresenter. (That’s right, even if you download the free trial, you can still gain access to these freebies.)

1. Download and install ProPresenter 7. Just click here to get started.

2. Continue through the Welcome Screen until you see, “Continue Learning” section. Click the first item on the screen titled, “Get Sample Content.” Alternatively, you could get to this screen by clicking Window > Welcome To ProPresenter in the top menu.

3. In the MEDIA bin click, “Sample Content” and open up the CMG folder.

4. Enjoy 10 free CMG motion backgrounds from our Marble Flow and Liquid Metal Packs.

Switching up the style of your lyric slides is a great way to bring a fresh look to your worship environment. To make this easy, try our new February 2020 Monthly Pack that’s made up of bright, colorful beams gliding together. Its multicolor, flat layers will make your worship visuals immediately catch the eye of your audience.

Try These Text Block Looks

If you want to take your February look even further, we’ve put together 8 slide arrangements that are easy to recreate in your presentation software. You’ll see that when you’re working with quality backgrounds, all you need is a simple font and shapes to make your lyrics really pop. We hope these slide ideas will inspire you!

1. Full Width Flex

Font: CMG Sans Bold Condensed
Background: Bright Beams Slant

2. Edgy Italic

Font: CMG Sans Medium Italic
Background: Bright Beams Grid

3. Gradient Geo

Font: CMG Sans Bold
Background: Bright Beams Spaceship

4. Double Duo

Font: CMG Sans Extra Bold
Background: Bright Beams Bits

5. Color Burned

Font: CMG Sans Bold Italic
Background: Bright Beams Blank

6. Masked Mirror

Font: CMG Sans Bold
Background: Bright Beams Cut

7. Gradient Highlight

Font: CMG Sans Extra Bold Italic
Background: Bright Beams Dent

8. Big Bold Box

Font: CMG Sans Extra Bold
Background: Bright Beams Wheel

Ready To Try It?

If you’re ready to make your worship lyrics slides look like this, it’s super easy. Click below to download this pack of February motion backgrounds. Then, apply the recommended fonts and shapes in your presentation software to add a cherry on top.

After polling our Facebook community, we were surprised to hear how many church tech leaders and volunteers rarely get to take a Sunday off.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about taking a weekend off from serving in your church media role and letting other staff or volunteers make it happen?

• Things are going to go so wrong, and I’ll have to jump in anyway.
• I’ve tried that before. It was a mess.
• Someone may quit afterward out of frustration with another team member.
• My pastor will tell me that I’m never allowed to do that again.
• We don’t ever have enough people show up to cover all of the positions.

Believe it or not, it is possible to build your team to the point where you can take a weekend off every month. It’s going to take three steps that may seem simple, but will take true commitment to the cause to actually pull off.

1. Have Clear Checklists For Every Position On Your Team

Write down everything, from where they get new batteries for remotes, to what needs to be turned on in what order, to what input the projectors need to be set to. Then, create a checklist so that every time they come to volunteer, they run through the same process.

Along with your checklists, create an FAQ binder. What are the questions that you get asked all of the time? What is the most common mistake when turning on the lighting computer? Where are all of the passwords for the whole team?

Having clear checklists and an FAQ binder will allow people to have somewhere else to look for answers besides coming to you.

You have to be willing to stop turning everything on for your team, taking the remote and solving problems for them, and withholding necessary passwords.

Remember your first job? If it was at a restaurant chain or a retail chain, they probably had checklists for the beginning of your shift and end of your shift. It’s helpful when someone with little (or infrequent) experience has the confidence to do their job. This is the same idea.

2. Execute These Checklists With Your Team Many Times

This isn’t going to be a quick process. However, it’s probably been a long time since you took a day off, so it’s worth investing some more time to meet your end result.

A simple method for training someone with a checklist:
• You do it, they watch.
• You do it, they help.
• They do it, you help.
• They do it, you watch.

If someone on your team only serves once a month, then the process listed above may take you 4 months.

Make sure you’re handling the checklists the way you want them to handle it. If you need them to actually mark the checklist, then mark the checklist. If you expect them to sign their name, then you should sign your name. Be sure that you’re executing everything exactly the way you need them executed.

Part way through this process, you’ll probably notice something you’ve missed on the checklist, or something that your team doesn’t understand. You may find something that is on “Person A’s” checklist that actually needs to go on “Person B’s” checklist.

Be ready to adjust your checklist along the way.

3. Build A Position For Someone To Lead That Day

You might call that person the “service coordinator,” “production manager,” or “tech team leader.” No matter the title, have someone who is responsible to make decisions for the team so they all know who is in charge and who to go to if a decision needs to be made.

In the same way that everyone else has a checklist, give this person a list to verify that everyone else’s tasks are completed.

For a while, you might need to hold this role, but be clear to everyone that this is a team position, not your position. Ask if anyone would like to learn this position, and actively look for someone to train. Work closely with this person so that they understand the decisions you would make in each situation.

Celebrate when someone is shadowing you in this position with the team. “_______ is shadowing me as production manager today!”

On the first day that someone is taking that position themselves, let your team know that what he or she says goes today. If you disagree, make it happen and then discuss it later.

Final Thoughts

This process won’t be easy, but it’s worth the extra effort. Image what it would be like for you to show up on time for a worship service, and leave when the service is done and be completely hands-off at least once a month. Imagine being able to take a vacation without worrying about the place crashing down. Keep the end goal in mind, and work your way towards it.

Why do my leaders roll their eyes when I share a new idea?

When will my pastor start letting me do what I know is best?

Why does my leadership question my methods so often?

These questions aren’t unique to any one individual, or church. In fact, at some point in time, almost all of us have gone through these exact questions. But, when we hear about other churches that aren’t struggling with these problems, we start to wonder why we’re always being questioned.

It comes down to trust.

Leadership experts have debated for a long time whether trust is given or trust is earned, and it’s probably a combination of both. But, before you give up assuming that there’s nothing you can do until other people start to trust you, you have to realize that trust is built on consistency. If you’re not being consistent in what you say and do, then there will probably never be a platform for trust.

Here are 3 ways that you can build the foundation of trust by being consistent:

1. Show Up When You Say You Will

When you click “Accept” on a Planning Center serving request, it’s important. Beyond that, when you’re supposed to be at your post at a certain time, it’s your responsibility to be there.

What about when the kids are sick, or I get a flat tire, or something unexpected goes wrong? Then communicate—let your leadership know when you’ll be there. These examples are fringe examples, though. Most of the time, you stayed up late the night before then slept in, or started working on something and lost track of time, or weren’t motivated to go to “another one of those meetings.” Regardless of how you feel, make being on time a priority.

Show up when you say you’ll show up every time. Communicate if something changes.

2. Do What You Have Been Asked To Do

Nothing erodes trust with your leaders more than when you don’t do what you’ve been clearly asked to do. What does it say when you’re working hard to complete an idea that you came up with, but haven’t fulfilled the tasks that you were clearly given by your pastor?

Too often, we set our priorities based on what we think is important rather than honoring our defined job description or requested jobs.

You will be surprised to see how much more receptive your leaders are to hearing your ideas when you’ve built a reputation for honoring their requests.

3. Take Responsibility For Your Actions

If you make a mistake, own it. Let your leadership know how you’ll handle it differently next time. There’s nothing more frustrating to a leader than to ask for details on why something went wrong, didn’t happen, timing was off, etc. and then get a shrug.

A better answer is, “I’m sorry for the trouble. I’m working on making sure that doesn’t happen again by doing this…”

If you can’t tell your leader how you’ll resolve a concern, they won’t be quick to trust that it will resolve itself.

Final Thoughts

A lot of times, following these three principles is easier said than done. In the heat of the moment, it’s much easier to show up on your own schedule, do things your own way, or assign the blame of your mistake to someone else. But, all of your actions don’t go unseen. Over time, you build a reputation either as someone that is easy to work with or someone that’s difficult.

As you put in the hard work of following these guidelines, you will earn trust with your leaders that will propel you to a greater role.

There are more choices for worship backgrounds than ever before. Just in our CMG library, we have over 4,000 motions that have been specifically designed to complement text lyrics and make your worship environment engaging.

When choosing backgrounds for each song in your worship set, it’s important that you make selections with intentionality. Each motion should fit the song that you’re singing, contribute to the worship space, and avoid distracting your audience.

Here are 5 factors to consider when choosing a worship background:

1. Song Tempo

Motion backgrounds come in a variety of speeds ranging from subtle to hyper. It is important that you choose a motion that has the same speed as the tempo of your song. For example, for a contemplative song, it is best to have a slow-moving background so that you don’t distract from the moment. However, for an upbeat, praise song that kicks off your service, it would be best to have a fast-moving motion that adds to the celebratory feel.

At CMG, we have made it easy to find the perfect background quickly with TempoMatch. With this tool, it’s easy to find motions quickly that fit into these categories – subtle, slow, medium, fast, hyper.

Action Church (Winter Park, Florida)

2. Message of the Song

Your worship visuals will look the most intentional when they have a visual characteristic that matches the message of your song. For example, if you’re singing a song that mentions oceans, having a background with water, or at least a blue color, is a great choice. Additionally, if your song focuses on the sacrifice of Christ, choosing a motion with a cross would be a perfect selection.

More importantly, you should be careful to avoid using backgrounds that contradict the message of the song. If you’re singing about “Holy Spirit fire,” you would never want to use a visual with water.

3. Worship Environment

One of the major benefits of having a CMG Subscription is that you have access to many different styles of backgrounds. Some motions are much more abstract or elaborate in style. It’s important that you choose backgrounds that fit your church’s individual style. It can be tempting to just select motion backgrounds that are trendy or that you personally like more. However, it is important to follow the vision of your specific ministry. If you aren’t sure which backgrounds fit the style of your church the best, talk to your leadership team.

4. Color Theory

When creating an environment for worship, selecting the colors for each song is a great way to set the tone for each moment. Different colors help create a different atmosphere and mood. Every color is associated with societal and cultural symbolism, emotions, personal preference, and meaning. For example, a room lit with a red light. The room will “feel” warmer than a room lit with just a regular white light, even though the temperature in the two rooms is exactly the same.

You may use a red background to symbolize the blood of Christ, a blue motion to create a feeling of peace, or a green visual to represent new life in Christ. The implementation of color meaning is an advanced skill and will take time to hone. Be sure that your backgrounds match the colors of your stage lighting, as well as fit the mood of the song.

5. Readability

The most important factor to consider when choosing your backgrounds is the ability for your audience to easily read the lyrics. After all, the main reason for projecting these slides is so that your audience can sing along. Also, be sure to choose motions that have colors and shapes that make it easy to see your text.

In the event that you want to use a background that doesn’t have a clear spot for displaying text, a text box or shape under your lyrics can help to make your words more legible.

Church of the Highlands (Birmingham, Alabama)

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If you apply this thinking when you’re making selections, you can feel confident in your content every Sunday. Worship backgrounds are more than just decoration; they have the power to make or break an environment that points people to Christ.

Facebook’s Frame Studio allows anyone to create their own custom profile frames for their cause. This easy tool provides a huge advantage to churches who can share a customized frame that allows followers to easily spread the word about the church or upcoming events.

With Easter just around the corner, many churches are using this tool to get the word out about their services. By having your congregation add frames with event information onto their Facebook profile pictures, many of their friends outside of the church see this info right in their news feed. It’s a great way to get free publicity.

Download 3 Free Templates

To make it easy for you to get started, we have put together 3 free Photoshop templates that you can customize for your church. Each of them matches our Ink Blast Easter 2020 Themes that we’ve designed to look great for this holiday. In less than 5 minutes, you can fill in your church information and export a PNG file that’s ready to use. It’s easy and fun!

See All Matching Easter Resources

How To Publish A Custom Facebook Profile Frame

1. Go to the Frame Studio page to start creating your profile frame.

2. Click the “Create A Frame” button. Then, click “Open Frame Studio.”

3. A new “Create A Frame” window will pop up. Here, you’ll be prompted to drag and drop a PNG image. This is where you can upload your PNG template frame.

4. Make sure that your previews look exactly as planned. Click Next to move forward. You’ll be brought to a page of options. Here, you’ll name your frame and provide some other basic information like when you want to make this frame available. Once you’ve completed this page, click Next.

5. Finish the process by clicking Publish. Your new custom profile frame is now ready to be used and shared with your community!

Ready to try it for yourself? Download these templates now to get started.

Easter is almost here, and churches all over the world are preparing for powerful worship services to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. One of the most important elements of every Easter service is the music.

To help make your life easier going into your Resurrection Day services, we’ve handpicked motion backgrounds that match perfectly with the top 10 most popular songs for this season. All of these motions are from our new April 2020 Monthly Pack.

1. Glorious Day

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Dual
Artist: Passion

2. King of Kings

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Pure
Artist: Hillsong Worship

3. Living Hope

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Smile
Artist: Hillsong Worship

4. Way Maker

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Dusk
Artist: Leeland

5. Gone

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Power
Artist: Elevation Worship

6. He Lives

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Aqua
Artist: Church of the City

7. Aint No Grave

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Night
Artist: Bethel Music/Travis Cottrell

8. Resurrecting

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Beauty
Artist: Elevation Worship

9. See The Light

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Grow
Artist: Hillsong Worship

10. Death Was Arrested

April 2020 CMG Pack | Ink Blast Love
Artist: North Point Worship

Ready To Try Them Out?

Easter is the perfect time to add a little extra creativity to your worship slides. Download this new pack of motion backgrounds to make it easy to have a great look.

Social media is a powerful tool that your church can use to reach people inside and outside of your congregation during the week. But, other than church announcements and Bible verses, has your ministry struggled to come up with content? Don’t worry—we have you covered. With Easter coming up soon, this is a great time to start posting engaging social content.

Here are some fresh ideas taken from our CMG Social collection that are perfect for Easter. All of these graphics are available for individual purchase or can be downloaded with our Premium Subscription.

1. “Which color jellybean is your favorite?”

This question is a great way to spark conversation. You’ll be surprised by how passionate people can be about snacks! Encourage your church staff to post their answers first.

2. “Show us your Easter outfit.”

This post is a great one for Easter Sunday. It can be really fun for people to show off the special outfit they picked out for this day. A lot of people will post a photo they took at church.

3. “It is finished.”

Remind your audience that this holiday is really about celebrating Jesus’ death and resurrection. Posts like these with powerful imagery are likely to be shared.

4. “What emoji describes your excitement for Easter?”

Any post that uses emojis is an easy way to bring fun to your church’s social pages. Start with a fun question like this, then add in your Easter service info to the text portion of the post.

5. “Which candy egg is best?”

Prepare for a lot of friendly debate! This one is sure to spark some comments from your community, plus attract attention from people who have not visited your church yet.

6. “Those who listen to my message…”

Sharing Bible verses is a great reminder to focus on what’s truly important during this holiday.

7. “Easter Egg Hunt”

Don’t forget to post about upcoming events on your social media pages so that your community is informed. Encourage your leaders to set a good example by sharing these posts.

8. “What would you want in your Easter basket?”

Hypothetical questions like this are a fun way to spark conversation on your pages and remind of the upcoming holiday. Don’t forget to include your Easter service info in the post!

9. “Celebrate With Us”

A simple invitation like this to your online community can be an excellent way to get the word out about your services. Use this as an opportunity to tell people what they can expect when they come on this big day.

10. “Our Savior is risen!”

Without the resurrection, there is no Easter. Remind your online audience that we have much to celebrate! You’ll notice that realistic imagery like this will grab the attention of people online.

11. “The tallest chocolate egg ever made stood 34′ tall…”

Posting random facts like this can generate a lot of interest and a lot of fun for people to share.

CMG Is Here To Help You

Social graphics like this can make a major impact on your online pages. Church Motion Graphics offers a large collection of scroll-stopping images that are easy to download and share. Or, you can take it a step further by customizing them with the included Photoshop files or with CMG Editor.  These social graphics can be purchased individually, or you can join a CMG Premium Subscription to gain unlimited access.

We know that churches everywhere are being affected by Coronavirus.

To make things a little easier, our team at Church Motion Graphics has put together some resources. We have just added a collection of customizable social graphics and slide templates to help you as you’re communicating in this season.

A few of them are even 100% free to download.

We hope this helps your ministry during this difficult time.

Social Media Graphics

These customizable graphics make it easy to communicate with your community on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. Whether you’re having to announce a service cancellation or just reminding to wash your hands, these images will help spread the word. You can easily make them your own in Adobe Photoshop or in our CMG Editor.

Announcement Slide Templates

These customizable slide templates make it easy to communicate with your congregation on your church’s screens. Whether you’re inviting them to join you in prayer or instructing to not shake hands, these images will provide visuals to your spoken announcements. You can easily make them your own in Adobe Photoshop or in our CMG Editor.

You’re Not Alone In This

Churches all over the world are facing the same challenges that you are in this season. Get connected to other media teams like yours by joining our Facebook Group filled with over 35,000 church tech leaders and volunteers who know what it’s like to be in your shoes. We encourage you to join our group and share your experience with others. We think you’ll be surprised by how many others are like you and have advice to share.