Sunday, December 19, 2010

5 Days Until Christmas Eve Services


Only five days left to prepare for that afternoon/evening of the year when churches have the largest crowds of the year (Easter may come in close). This can be a nerve racking service as well, when you start to think about all the people who will experience the Gospel message for the first time or experience your church for the first time. The desire to effectively and creatively communicate the most important message ever can understandably add to the stress of this already busy and hectic time of year. Those working in tech ministry are especially stretched, as we juggle Christmas productions, special outreach events, and special service days and times in addition to normal weekly duties. But, to put all this in perspective, this is one of the best opportunities we have all year to reach people for Christ. They are often open, they are coming to church for the first time since April, and they are often thinking about the meaning of the season.

So do put extra effort and creative work into your Christmas Eve productions. Do work on that special video or dramatic piece or extra stage element. But don't put so much faith in human efforts that you allow the details overwhelm the fact that God is the one who will bring all the elements together to work in hearts. I love for things to be perfect on the production and creative content end, so this is often hard for me. But we all have a great opportunity to be a part of what God is doing this Christmas season and I for one don't want to miss out because I was buried in worry over details.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

TBC Lightshow Day 2

Today will be the second round of shows in the annual Topeka Bible Church Christmas Lightshow. The show runs 3 nights with 5 show per night. So far things have been amazingly smooth with almost no technical difficulties to speak of. Our musicians, parking lot crew, hospitality crew, and tech crew have been doing a great job. Unfortunately, the weather has turned chilly so tonight promises to be less pleasant than last night.

For those of you who may not know, the TBC Lightshow is a programmed Christmas light display that is synchronized with live musicians and narration that tells the Christmas story in an engaging and creative way. Click tracks, dedicated light programing volunteers, and careful timing are key in making the whole show work. A low-power FM transmitter sends the live mix to the cars in the parking lot drive-in movie style. This year we are expecting to have more than 5,000 people come to the show over the three nights.

Check out previous Lightshows on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFuEI8a50QM&feature=related