More Video Ideas

A few weeks ago I asked a few preteen pastors to share with me how they use video in their ministries. They had so much to say  that I have to share it over a few posts. Last post, Mike Sheley gave some great examples of using video. This post, my friend Matt Morgan gives you a few more good ideas.

Matt: We use video in 1 of 3 ways.

First, video can be a great introduction to a lesson. A movie clip or news story often helps to setup the main point for the teaching.

Second, we use video to “land the plane.” There are times when the teaching needs a closing statement or application to really make sense to preteens. We’ve used music videos, inspirational stories, and other videos to call them to action at the end of the lesson.

We used this clip a few weeks ago to “land the plane” for a series of lessons. The end of the series talked about how the star led the wise men to the Savior, and we called 5th graders to shine like stars so others might see and find the Savior. The song is all over the radio, the video is really well done, and the lyrics said exactly what we were saying. It worked.

Here’s a link to the video we used:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B07iK9uh9qY&kw=kari+jobe&ad=7848601103&feature=pyv

Since then, the students have been talking about the different projects they’ve been doing as small groups and at home. They are definitely shining. We had a group of girls raise over $600 to buy presents for families in our local homeless shelter. They and their moms purchased and wrapped the presents, and I delivered them “anonymously” this week. They asked me not to tell them who or where the gifts came from, just that Jesus loves them and Merry Christmas. This coming Sunday, all the students will get a chance to share how they were able to “shine like stars” over the past weeks. At the end of the sharing time, we will replay this video and encourage them to keep shining.

Third, we use funny, self-produced videos to connect with preteens. We
will video events at the schools or create a funny video with small
group leaders so that students can have a moment to laugh. We typically show these types of videos outside of the teaching time, either at the very start or end of the service.

Matt Morgan is the content writer for PreteenMinistry.net and preteen pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, AR. You can check out his blog at mattmo.org.