One of the biggest discussions (and most misunderstood elements) in churches today is defining what “worship” means. Many people attribute worship to just the songs or music within the church service and nothing more. It has become where “worship” and “music in church” have become interchangeable. While music in the context of the church service is a PART of worship, it is not all encompassing. It’s like saying that all dogs are Golden Retrievers. We know that all Golden Retrievers are dogs, but the opposite is not true. The same applies here: music in the context of the church service is worship but worship is not limited to just music in the context of the church service. So what is worship? Webster defines worship as “the outward expression and thankfulness to God.” Simply put, worship is us expressing our thankfulness to our Creator. And because he is a Creator, he created us to be creative. That’s one reason that we use music and song to express our adoration to Him. It’s a chance for us, as creatives, to give back to Him what He has given us.

What is visual Worship?

Understanding that worship is an opportunity for us to give our thankfulness to God, our Creator, then Visual Worship is simply a subset of worship that focuses on the visual aspect of worship. It can be defined as follows:

1) The use of creativity through visual elements to worship God - essentially this is the Visual Worship Leader
2) The reaction and interaction with visual elements that produce other expressions of worship to God - the Visual Worshipper

So, everything that we visually see, experience, and create can enhance or distract from our worship of God. Just like music in a church service is a chance for us to express to God through the creativity that He has given us, visual elements like lighting and images allow us to express to God through other mediums our worship. Now, there are churches that use lighting, imagery, and video to enhance their worship. There are some that it causes distractions in worship. But, if the person creating it is doing to honor the Creator, then we need to understand that as Visual Worshippers. That is their way of being a Visual Worship Leader. Too often church people draw a hard line that says a certain lighting or visual effect is a show or performance (and unfortunately, there are times where this is the case and it is all about the person doing the creating and not about the Creator). As Visual Worshippers, though, we need to understand that these pieces are supposed to enhance our worship of the One who created it all, us included. In fact, the Word of God actually talks about Visual Worship and gives us some examples:

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
- Romans 1:20 (NLT)

Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
Of course, there’s no speech, no words -
their voices can’t be heard -
But their song extends throughout the world;
their words reach the ends of the earth.
- Psalm 19:1-4 (CEB)

Let’s Get Practical

So, what are things we can do as Visual Worship Leaders to enhance and not distract so that others can worship God through the visual elements? The first thing is to learn about color theory.

Color Theory

Understanding color theory will help anyone who works with visuals, whether they are doing lighting in a church service or worshipping God while taking a walk through the woods. You see God’s amazing creativity with colors as He uses colors to complement and contrast when needed. Think about a vivid blue sky as a background behind a beautiful tree in autumn with the orange, reds, and browns all lit up from a bright sun shining behind you.

You can see God’s handiwork and use of colors right here in front of our own eyes. Doing a simple google image search for “Color Theory Wheel” will return a myriad of information on primary and secondary colors as well as what colors complement and what colors contrast. Colors also have meaning behind them. Not only do reds be warm and blues cool, but purple mean royalty, green means growth, and so on. In fact, many churches recognize the importance of colors and are very intentional about their use in their services (see how the United Methodist Church, for example, uses colors in its services). Additionally, if you have ever seen Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ you may not have realized the use of color within that movie. Many of the darker scenes (especially at the opening) have a very cool blue hue to them whereas many of the flashback scenes have a warmer red hue. This is done intentionally to enhance what you are visually seeing. Remember, don’t haphazardly choose your colors. Be intentional with them and make sure they are enhancing what you are trying to direct attention to - the Creator of us all.

Fonts

If you are displaying any type of text in a visual medium (whether it be a bulletin, poster, or lyrics on a projection screen), you need to understand fonts. There are so many fonts out there it can be daunting to find the right one. One website even has a catalog of over 550,000 fonts that you can search through! The important thing is to find fonts that are readable and understandable for your specific needs. Script fonts, for example, can be very pretty for wedding invitations, but for lyrics or things that need to be read quickly, they can be difficult. When it comes to fonts for print and screen that are easy to read, you need to understand the difference between Serif and San-Serif fonts. Serif fonts have points on the edges of letters to make them look more regal (those points are called serifs). On the other hand, San-Serif (literally “without Serifs”) fonts are flat and have no extra points on the edges. These types of fonts are usually easier to read, especially if someone has to read quickly. But they are more boring than a Serif or even a Script Font. One of my favorite San-Serif fonts to use (for projection screens and printed medium) is called CMG Sans.

Design

Finally, understanding basic design layout is important to make sure that you are utilizing your space correctly and that things are visually appealing (again, we are wanting to enhance and not distract). As you work on visual mediums, you need to recognize your “safe space” which is the area within your design that gives you some space before reaching the border. That way, text and images are not too close to the edge and run the risk of getting cut off when printed or displayed on a screen. Also, when working with text, you need to understand how text flows can make something easier or more difficult to read. If you are doing lyrics to a song on a screen, for instance, you want to do line breaks where the musical phrasing occurs and page breaks for each stanza. You also want to make sure your font is sized large enough to be readable to the person sitting in the furthest location from your screen. Finally, you don’t want to leave single words on a line by themselves (called Orphans) or part of a phrase on a page by itself where it couldn’t all fit on the previous page (called Widows). Adjust spacing, sizing, and phrasing to make your text as easy to read as possible.

When it comes to shadows and outlines, the tendency is to create hard shadows or thick outlines to make something stand off the page. Unfortunately, this isn’t natural looking and can cause people to be distracted. Instead, utilize shadows with a blur effect and grayish color (almost all design software allows you to do this) to create a natural-looking depth on your visuals.

Finally, using images as backgrounds or complementary for your design can enhance the message. But, it is very easy to go overboard and instead distract from the message. Make sure you are using images that complement what you are trying to do. Also, from a design perspective, clip art can take away from the seriousness of your message. If you choose to use clip art, use it sparingly and not for elements that are important and serious.

So now what?

If you follow the above suggestions, it will help you be a better Visual Worship Leader. As a summary, remember to focus on enhancing (and not distracting) and pointing to God, our Creator, in everything you do. What do you suggest for Visual Worship Leaders? Leave a comment and join the conversation. If you want to talk one-on-one with ideas and suggestions on how you can be a better Visual Worship Leader, feel free to schedule a time with us.