Holy Week Worship Slide Strategy
Oh my – Holy Week – just seven days long and so many important worship services! Holy Week offers such diverse worship experiences - from triumphant to despair to an incredibly joyous celebration. It’s an amazing journey, but it can leave a worship slide designer’s head spinning. Maybe that’s a good thing – you will certainly know that your gifts are being used well and, hopefully, the journey will bring you closer to God too.
So how do you prepare for this dynamic week: start early. Ask the music director for all the songs that the choir or band is working on for Holy Week. Go to music streaming service or YouTube and listen to the songs but don’t watch the videos on YouTube. God has called you to this role – allow your own vision of the songs to unfold.
Attend a few choir rehearsals to get a feel for how your choir or band will perform the music. If it’s big, powerful music, you need to have powerful slides.
Meet with the Pastor(s) and go through each worship service individually. A great question to ask is what takeaways does the Pastor want from each service and Holy Week as a whole.
Once you have an idea of what you will need – start looking for the images or slides that you will need to build the worship service. We have many gorgeous worship slides for you at Envision Worship so I hope you will start here: Palm Sunday & Passion Sunday; Holy Thursday & Good Friday and Easter. Come if only to get ideas.
To keep from getting overwhelmed, it is a good idea to work on one worship service at a time. It will help you stay true to your vision for that worship service. If you are switching around - take a moment to clear your mind and remind yourself what the new worship service is all about - and then try to capture that feeling on the screens. Don't forget to invite the Holy Spirit into the process by starting each design session with prayer.
It's important to go to Dress Rehearsal and click the slides as the choir sings. This will help you ensure the lyrics are correct and that the design works with the song. You've got this! Lisa