Where are the lyrics to your congregational music? It used to be that the music director simply announced the page number, and everyone turned in their hymnals to the matching hymn. Everyone read the lyrics at their own reading pace, looking down at their hymn book. Today, in most worship in large Churches, the lyrics are projected onto one or more screens. Everyone looks up to read the words and sing. But how do you decide on the timing of those screens?

A number of presentation programs are geared to congregational singing. Some allow you to set the pacing by recording the sequence. Some will even match the transitions up to a “click track” or metronome beat. Most require that an operator press the “go forward” key at just the right time as the congregation is singing. How do you know the right time to change screens? That is often a matter of style.

IMHO, you should change to the next screen at the point where people are singing the last word on the last line in a slow song, or the first word of the last line in a fast song. The objective should be to give people enough time to read the next line before they have to sing it. When I have been running the lyrics, I have always sought to meet that objective precisely. It just makes it easier for people to follow along and sing.

Of course, some would argue that the congregation probably knows the lyrics anyway, so what difference does it make when you put them up? There will always be someone in the congregation that either doesn’t know the song, or is a little intimidated by singing. For those people, the lyrics are the best way to help them sing out. So the timing of the transitions does matter. For example, it would be ludicrous to switch to the next screen of words after everyone has sung them. And you want to match what the lead singer is singing, so that it reinforces their leadership.

You often have volunteers running the presentation software, so it may be difficult to be consistent. But you should strive to all be following the same rule for timing transitions. That way, people know when to expect the words to change. It will help the whole congregation sing out loud and strong!

If you have all of the lyrics for the songs on screen, then why do you still need a bulletin? Many Churches have decided to drop the paper bulletin, since all of the information was a duplicate of what appears on the video screens anyway. However, there are still some advantages to having a paper bulletin:

• People can take home the paper bulletin.
• A printed page can be written on; for example, you can have a sermon outline.
• People still like to have something to read before and after the service.
• You can put stuff in the paper bulletin that you don’t have time to announce.

Does your Church still publish a paper bulletin each Sunday? If so, what do you put in it that is different from the information content of the worship presentation? And how do people in the congregation like it?

One recent development in worship lyrics uses a moving background. This departs from the previous technique, where you used a static image as the background for your worship slides. Now you can have a dynamic background for the song lyrics. You can even use live shots, but more often you want something that is simply a moving background. The movement helps keep the congregation’s attention.

So how do you pick a moving background? First of all, you should ensure that you maintain good contrast between the words and every frame of the moving background. Otherwise, people will have trouble reading the words while singing. For example, you should show white text on a dark color; or you could show dark text on a light color. Secondly, the moving background should be designed so that the words dominate. If someone glances briefly at the screen, the words should stand out in their mind’s eye. Thirdly, you should choose a moving background that matches the lyrics. For example, a song about creation could show a moving background that was a scene from nature, e.g. a babbling brook. A song about the God of the universe could show shots of the stars. By following these principles, you increase the interest of the congregation in watching the screens.

How does your church use moving backgrounds? Feel free to comment below.